sgrep - Semantic Code Search

Use sgrep to search code semantically using natural language queries. sgrep understands code meaning, not just text patterns.

When to Use

•Finding code by concept or functionality ("where do we handle authentication?")
•Discovering related code patterns ("show me retry logic")
•Exploring codebase structure ("how is the database connection managed?")
•Searching for implementation patterns ("where do we validate user input?")

Prerequisites

Ensure sgrep is installed:

bash

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rika-labs/sgrep/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Basic Usage

Search Command

bash

sgrep search "your natural language query"

Common Patterns

Find functionality:

bash

sgrep search "where do we handle user authentication?"

Search with filters:

bash

sgrep search "error handling" --filters lang=rust
sgrep search "API endpoints" --glob "src/**/*.rs"

Get more results:

bash

sgrep search "database queries" --limit 20

Show full context:

bash

sgrep search "retry logic" --context

Command Options

•--limit <n> or -n <n>: Maximum results (default: 10)
•--context or -c: Show full chunk content instead of snippet
•--path <dir> or -p <dir>: Repository path (default: current directory)
•--glob <pattern>: File pattern filter (repeatable)
•--filters key=value: Metadata filters like lang=rust (repeatable)
•--json: Emit structured JSON output (agent-friendly)
•--threads <n>: Maximum threads for parallel operations
•--cpu-preset <preset>: CPU usage preset (auto|low|medium|high|background)

Indexing

If no index exists, sgrep will automatically create one on first search. To manually index:

bash

sgrep index              # Index current directory
sgrep index --force      # Rebuild from scratch

Watch Mode

For real-time index updates during development:

bash

sgrep watch              # Watch current repo
sgrep watch --debounce-ms 200

Configuration

Check or create embedding provider configuration:

bash

sgrep config                    # Show current configuration
sgrep config --init             # Create default config file
sgrep config --show-model-dir   # Show model cache directory
sgrep config --verify-model     # Check if model files are present

sgrep uses local embeddings by default. Config lives at ~/.sgrep/config.toml.

If HuggingFace is blocked (e.g., in China), set HTTPS_PROXY environment variable or see the offline installation guide.

Examples

Find authentication code:

bash

sgrep search "how do we authenticate users?"

Find error handling:

bash

sgrep search "error handling patterns" --filters lang=rust

Search specific file types:

bash

sgrep search "API rate limiting" --glob "src/**/*.rs"

Get detailed results:

bash

sgrep search "database connection pooling" --context --limit 5

Agent-friendly JSON output:

bash

sgrep search --json "retry logic"

Understanding Results

Results show:

•File path and line numbers: Where the code is located
•Score: Relevance score (higher is better)
•Semantic score: How well it matches the query meaning
•Keyword score: Text matching score
•Code snippet: Relevant code excerpt

Best Practices

•Use natural language: Ask questions like you would ask a colleague
•Be specific: "authentication middleware" is better than "auth"
•Combine with filters: Use --filters lang=rust to narrow by language
•Use globs: --glob "src/**/*.rs" to search specific directories
•Check context: Use --context when you need full function/class definitions
•Use JSON for automation: Use --json for structured output in scripts