Why doesn't grep -r also look in subdirectories when I search with a glob? [duplicate]

Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

2

This question already has an answer here:

• 
  What does the asterisk (*) do in grep -nri “searchString” *?
  
  1 answer
  
  


• 
  How to use “grep” command to find text including subdirectories
  
  11 answers
  
  

Grep with -r was not working for me.

I then made a test situation. The directory /home/den/backup now contains a file with the word washer in it. I also made a subdirectory within /home/den/backup. In that directory a file contains the word washer. The following should return two hits at /home/den/backup/great.txt and /home/den/backup/aaa/info.txt

If I issue

grep -r "washer" /home/den/backup/*.*

the result is one hit.

If I issue

grep -r "washer" /home/den/backup/aaa/*.*

the result is one hit.

Shouldn't the first one have also found the second one, which is in one if its sub-directories?

command-line bash grep

share|improve this question

edited Sep 7 at 7:11

Zanna

48k13119227

asked Sep 6 at 22:32

user628388

8317

marked as duplicate by Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy, muru, karel, Zanna command-line
Users with the  command-line badge can single-handedly close command-line questions as duplicates and reopen them as needed.

StackExchange.ready(function()
if (StackExchange.options.isMobile) return;

$('.dupe-hammer-message-hover:not(.hover-bound)').each(function()
var $hover = $(this).addClass('hover-bound'),
$msg = $hover.siblings('.dupe-hammer-message');

$hover.hover(
function()
$hover.showInfoMessage('',
messageElement: $msg.clone().show(),
transient: false,
position: my: 'bottom left', at: 'top center', offsetTop: -7 ,
dismissable: false,
relativeToBody: true
);
,
function()
StackExchange.helpers.removeMessages();

);
);
);
Sep 7 at 8:52

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Also see: askubuntu.com/a/1028732/158442
  – muru
  Sep 7 at 2:46
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  *.* looks Windows-style. I prefer find . -type f -name '*' -exec grep 'washer' + because grep -r is prone not to do what you want: Either it does not recurse (because directories are usually not named like *.txt) or it throws errors because directories not being regular files.
  – rexkogitans
  Sep 7 at 6:11
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @Zanna with the updated title, looks more like a dupe of the post I linked to.
  – muru
  Sep 7 at 7:39
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @muru so it does :D
  – Zanna
  Sep 7 at 8:53
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

2

This question already has an answer here:

• 
  What does the asterisk (*) do in grep -nri “searchString” *?
  
  1 answer
  
  


• 
  How to use “grep” command to find text including subdirectories
  
  11 answers
  
  

Grep with -r was not working for me.

I then made a test situation. The directory /home/den/backup now contains a file with the word washer in it. I also made a subdirectory within /home/den/backup. In that directory a file contains the word washer. The following should return two hits at /home/den/backup/great.txt and /home/den/backup/aaa/info.txt

If I issue

grep -r "washer" /home/den/backup/*.*

the result is one hit.

If I issue

grep -r "washer" /home/den/backup/aaa/*.*

the result is one hit.

Shouldn't the first one have also found the second one, which is in one if its sub-directories?

command-line bash grep

share|improve this question

edited Sep 7 at 7:11

Zanna

48k13119227

asked Sep 6 at 22:32

user628388

8317

marked as duplicate by Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy, muru, karel, Zanna command-line
Users with the  command-line badge can single-handedly close command-line questions as duplicates and reopen them as needed.

StackExchange.ready(function()
if (StackExchange.options.isMobile) return;

$('.dupe-hammer-message-hover:not(.hover-bound)').each(function()
var $hover = $(this).addClass('hover-bound'),
$msg = $hover.siblings('.dupe-hammer-message');

$hover.hover(
function()
$hover.showInfoMessage('',
messageElement: $msg.clone().show(),
transient: false,
position: my: 'bottom left', at: 'top center', offsetTop: -7 ,
dismissable: false,
relativeToBody: true
);
,
function()
StackExchange.helpers.removeMessages();

);
);
);
Sep 7 at 8:52

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Also see: askubuntu.com/a/1028732/158442
  – muru
  Sep 7 at 2:46
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  *.* looks Windows-style. I prefer find . -type f -name '*' -exec grep 'washer' + because grep -r is prone not to do what you want: Either it does not recurse (because directories are usually not named like *.txt) or it throws errors because directories not being regular files.
  – rexkogitans
  Sep 7 at 6:11
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @Zanna with the updated title, looks more like a dupe of the post I linked to.
  – muru
  Sep 7 at 7:39
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @muru so it does :D
  – Zanna
  Sep 7 at 8:53
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

2

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

2

2

This question already has an answer here:

• 
  What does the asterisk (*) do in grep -nri “searchString” *?
  
  1 answer
  
  


• 
  How to use “grep” command to find text including subdirectories
  
  11 answers
  
  

Grep with -r was not working for me.

I then made a test situation. The directory /home/den/backup now contains a file with the word washer in it. I also made a subdirectory within /home/den/backup. In that directory a file contains the word washer. The following should return two hits at /home/den/backup/great.txt and /home/den/backup/aaa/info.txt

If I issue

grep -r "washer" /home/den/backup/*.*

the result is one hit.

If I issue

grep -r "washer" /home/den/backup/aaa/*.*

the result is one hit.

Shouldn't the first one have also found the second one, which is in one if its sub-directories?

command-line bash grep

share|improve this question

edited Sep 7 at 7:11

Zanna

48k13119227

asked Sep 6 at 22:32

user628388

8317

This question already has an answer here:

• 
  What does the asterisk (*) do in grep -nri “searchString” *?
  
  1 answer
  
  


• 
  How to use “grep” command to find text including subdirectories
  
  11 answers
  
  

Grep with -r was not working for me.

I then made a test situation. The directory /home/den/backup now contains a file with the word washer in it. I also made a subdirectory within /home/den/backup. In that directory a file contains the word washer. The following should return two hits at /home/den/backup/great.txt and /home/den/backup/aaa/info.txt

If I issue

grep -r "washer" /home/den/backup/*.*

the result is one hit.

If I issue

grep -r "washer" /home/den/backup/aaa/*.*

the result is one hit.

Shouldn't the first one have also found the second one, which is in one if its sub-directories?

This question already has an answer here:

• 
  What does the asterisk (*) do in grep -nri “searchString” *?
  
  1 answer
  
  


• 
  How to use “grep” command to find text including subdirectories
  
  11 answers
  
  

command-line bash grep

share|improve this question

edited Sep 7 at 7:11

Zanna

48k13119227

asked Sep 6 at 22:32

user628388

8317

share|improve this question

share|improve this question

edited Sep 7 at 7:11

Zanna

48k13119227

edited Sep 7 at 7:11

Zanna

48k13119227

edited Sep 7 at 7:11

Zanna

48k13119227

48k13119227

asked Sep 6 at 22:32

user628388

8317

asked Sep 6 at 22:32

user628388

8317

asked Sep 6 at 22:32

user628388

8317

8317

marked as duplicate by Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy, muru, karel, Zanna command-line
Users with the  command-line badge can single-handedly close command-line questions as duplicates and reopen them as needed.

StackExchange.ready(function()
if (StackExchange.options.isMobile) return;

$('.dupe-hammer-message-hover:not(.hover-bound)').each(function()
var $hover = $(this).addClass('hover-bound'),
$msg = $hover.siblings('.dupe-hammer-message');

$hover.hover(
function()
$hover.showInfoMessage('',
messageElement: $msg.clone().show(),
transient: false,
position: my: 'bottom left', at: 'top center', offsetTop: -7 ,
dismissable: false,
relativeToBody: true
);
,
function()
StackExchange.helpers.removeMessages();

);
);
);
Sep 7 at 8:52

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

marked as duplicate by Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy, muru, karel, Zanna command-line
Users with the  command-line badge can single-handedly close command-line questions as duplicates and reopen them as needed.

StackExchange.ready(function()
if (StackExchange.options.isMobile) return;

$('.dupe-hammer-message-hover:not(.hover-bound)').each(function()
var $hover = $(this).addClass('hover-bound'),
$msg = $hover.siblings('.dupe-hammer-message');

$hover.hover(
function()
$hover.showInfoMessage('',
messageElement: $msg.clone().show(),
transient: false,
position: my: 'bottom left', at: 'top center', offsetTop: -7 ,
dismissable: false,
relativeToBody: true
);
,
function()
StackExchange.helpers.removeMessages();

);
);
);
Sep 7 at 8:52

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Also see: askubuntu.com/a/1028732/158442
  – muru
  Sep 7 at 2:46
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  *.* looks Windows-style. I prefer find . -type f -name '*' -exec grep 'washer' + because grep -r is prone not to do what you want: Either it does not recurse (because directories are usually not named like *.txt) or it throws errors because directories not being regular files.
  – rexkogitans
  Sep 7 at 6:11
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @Zanna with the updated title, looks more like a dupe of the post I linked to.
  – muru
  Sep 7 at 7:39
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @muru so it does :D
  – Zanna
  Sep 7 at 8:53
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Also see: askubuntu.com/a/1028732/158442
  – muru
  Sep 7 at 2:46
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  *.* looks Windows-style. I prefer find . -type f -name '*' -exec grep 'washer' + because grep -r is prone not to do what you want: Either it does not recurse (because directories are usually not named like *.txt) or it throws errors because directories not being regular files.
  – rexkogitans
  Sep 7 at 6:11
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @Zanna with the updated title, looks more like a dupe of the post I linked to.
  – muru
  Sep 7 at 7:39
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @muru so it does :D
  – Zanna
  Sep 7 at 8:53
  

  
  
  
  

Also see: askubuntu.com/a/1028732/158442
– muru
Sep 7 at 2:46

Also see: askubuntu.com/a/1028732/158442
– muru
Sep 7 at 2:46

*.* looks Windows-style. I prefer find . -type f -name '*' -exec grep 'washer' + because grep -r is prone not to do what you want: Either it does not recurse (because directories are usually not named like *.txt) or it throws errors because directories not being regular files.
– rexkogitans
Sep 7 at 6:11

*.* looks Windows-style. I prefer find . -type f -name '*' -exec grep 'washer' + because grep -r is prone not to do what you want: Either it does not recurse (because directories are usually not named like *.txt) or it throws errors because directories not being regular files.
– rexkogitans
Sep 7 at 6:11

1

1

@Zanna with the updated title, looks more like a dupe of the post I linked to.
– muru
Sep 7 at 7:39

@Zanna with the updated title, looks more like a dupe of the post I linked to.
– muru
Sep 7 at 7:39

@muru so it does :D
– Zanna
Sep 7 at 8:53

@muru so it does :D
– Zanna
Sep 7 at 8:53

add a comment | 

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

You can see what's happening here by setting the shell into debug mode using set -x

$ set -x
$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/*.*
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt
washer

i.e. the shell is expanding *.* and matching the single file great.txt - so grep searches that single file.

If you want to recursively search the whole directory, just give the directory as the argument:

$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/
/home/steeldriver/backup/aaa/info.txt:washer
/home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt:washer

(You can turn debug mode off again using set +x)

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 6 at 23:21

steeldriver

62.9k1197165

add a comment | 

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

You can see what's happening here by setting the shell into debug mode using set -x

$ set -x
$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/*.*
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt
washer

i.e. the shell is expanding *.* and matching the single file great.txt - so grep searches that single file.

If you want to recursively search the whole directory, just give the directory as the argument:

$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/
/home/steeldriver/backup/aaa/info.txt:washer
/home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt:washer

(You can turn debug mode off again using set +x)

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 6 at 23:21

steeldriver

62.9k1197165

add a comment | 

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

You can see what's happening here by setting the shell into debug mode using set -x

$ set -x
$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/*.*
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt
washer

i.e. the shell is expanding *.* and matching the single file great.txt - so grep searches that single file.

If you want to recursively search the whole directory, just give the directory as the argument:

$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/
/home/steeldriver/backup/aaa/info.txt:washer
/home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt:washer

(You can turn debug mode off again using set +x)

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 6 at 23:21

steeldriver

62.9k1197165

add a comment | 

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

You can see what's happening here by setting the shell into debug mode using set -x

$ set -x
$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/*.*
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt
washer

i.e. the shell is expanding *.* and matching the single file great.txt - so grep searches that single file.

If you want to recursively search the whole directory, just give the directory as the argument:

$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/
/home/steeldriver/backup/aaa/info.txt:washer
/home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt:washer

(You can turn debug mode off again using set +x)

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 6 at 23:21

steeldriver

62.9k1197165

You can see what's happening here by setting the shell into debug mode using set -x

$ set -x
$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/*.*
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt
washer

i.e. the shell is expanding *.* and matching the single file great.txt - so grep searches that single file.

If you want to recursively search the whole directory, just give the directory as the argument:

$ grep -r "washer" /home/steeldriver/backup/
+ grep --color=auto -r washer /home/steeldriver/backup/
/home/steeldriver/backup/aaa/info.txt:washer
/home/steeldriver/backup/great.txt:washer

(You can turn debug mode off again using set +x)

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 6 at 23:21

steeldriver

62.9k1197165

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 6 at 23:21

steeldriver

62.9k1197165

answered Sep 6 at 23:21

steeldriver

62.9k1197165

answered Sep 6 at 23:21

steeldriver

62.9k1197165

62.9k1197165

add a comment | 

add a comment |