CppTextFinder

find all files in directory tree with text that matches a regular expression

About CppTextFinder Repo

1.0 Overview

A command-line tool that walks a directory tree and reports files whose content matches a regular expression. Written in C++23 with named modules, built with CMake 3.28+.

2.0 Features

  • Regex search over file contents (text and binary files)
  • Recursive or single-directory walk
  • File-extension filtering (e.g. search only .cpp, .h)
  • Built-in skip list: build artifacts and VCS directories are never entered
  • Two output modes controlled by /H: real-time traversal vs. clean match-only output
  • Summary line: files visited and files matched

3.0 Command-Line Options

Option Meaning Default
/P <path> Root directory to search . (current directory)
/p <ext,...> Comma-separated file extensions to include all files
/r <regex> Regular expression matched against file content . (any content)
/s Recurse into subdirectories true
/H true: print a directory only when it has a match (clean). false: print every directory as it is entered (real-time progress). true
/v Verbose — echo all options before searching off
/h Print help and exit off
Example — find all .cpp files containing std::regex under the current tree: 
text_finder /P . /p .cpp /r "std::regex"
Git Bash / MINGW note: The shell converts /P, /r, etc. to Windows paths. Prefix the command with MSYS_NO_PATHCONV=1 to suppress this: 
MSYS_NO_PATHCONV=1 ./build/EntryPoint/text_finder /P . /p .cpp /r "std::regex"
PowerShell and cmd.exe do not have this issue.

4.0 Building

Prerequisites
  • CMake 3.28 or later
  • A C++23-capable compiler with named-module support
    • Windows: Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 19.41+) — recommended
    • Linux/macOS: Clang 17+ or GCC 14+ with Ninja
Windows (Visual Studio 2022) 
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
cmake --build build --config Release
The text_finder executable is placed under build/EntryPoint/Release/.
Linux / macOS (Ninja) 
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja
cmake --build build

5.0 Running Tests

ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure
To run one component's tests in isolation: 
ctest --test-dir build -R cmd_line_tests --output-on-failure
ctest --test-dir build -R dir_nav_tests  --output-on-failure
ctest --test-dir build -R output_tests   --output-on-failure

6.0 Directory Layout

CppTextFinder/
├── Constitution.md         governing design document
├── Structure.md            C++/CMake implementation rules
├── CMakeLists.txt          top-level build file
├── generate_part.py        script: regenerate source files via Claude API
├── CommandLine/
│   ├── Spec.md
│   ├── Notes.md
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   └── src/
│       ├── CmdLine.ixx     export module cmd_line;
│       └── test.cpp
├── DirNav/
│   ├── Spec.md
│   ├── Notes.md
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   └── src/
│       ├── DirNav.ixx      export module dir_nav;
│       └── test.cpp
├── Output/
│   ├── Spec.md
│   ├── Notes.md
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   └── src/
│       ├── Output.ixx      export module output;
│       └── test.cpp
└── EntryPoint/
    ├── Spec.md
    ├── Notes.md
    ├── CMakeLists.txt
    └── src/
        ├── main.cpp
        └── test.cpp

7.0 Architecture

Three independent libraries, wired together only in main.cpp: 
CommandLine   DirNav   Output
      \          |       /
           EntryPoint
  • Libraries never import each other.
  • DirNav fires events via std::function callbacks registered by EntryPoint.
  • Output is a plain class with on_dir() and on_file() methods.
Default directories excluded from traversal:
Language / tool Skipped names
C# / .NET bin, obj
Rust target
C++ build, out
Python __pycache__, .venv, venv, dist
VCS / IDE .git, .vs, .idea
Archives archive
Directory names are matched by bare name at any depth in the tree.