advanced-search
Advanced search with ripgrep with more options
LABSCO SUMMARY
A search across a large repository stops costing you the context window it fills.
count-matches answers "how common is this" without returning a single hit, list-files answers "what would this even search" before you pay for the scan, and maxResults bounds whatever is left. advanced-search carries the flags that usually decide the outcome — fixedStrings when the pattern is literal text that looks like a regex, invertMatch when the interesting files are the ones without the match, includeHidden when the answer is in something ripgrep skips by default.
What it is
A ripgrep wrapper in five tools: a plain pattern search, an advanced search that exposes ripgrep's flags as parameters, a count-only mode, a dry run that lists the files a search would cover, and ripgrep's own type list.
What you get
- Pattern search with case sensitivity, a file glob, surrounding context lines and a result cap
- The flags that decide whether a search is useful, as parameters: fileType, fixedStrings, invertMatch, includeHidden, followSymlinks, showFilenamesOnly
- Counts instead of matches, per file or per matching line
- The set of files a search would cover, listed without running the search
- The file types ripgrep knows, so fileType is passed a name it recognises
Requirements
Ripgrep (rg) available on the machine, and Node on your PATH.
Setup effort
One command — npx -y mcp-ripgrep@latest
USE CASES
01
Finding every call site before a rename
Search with context lines to see how each hit is used, and count first when the pattern might be everywhere — a count tells you whether the rename is a ten-minute job or a week.
02
Searching for a literal string that looks like a regex
fixedStrings turns off pattern interpretation, so a version constraint or a path with dots matches as written rather than as a wildcard.
03
Finding the files that are missing something
invertMatch returns the lines that do not match, which is how you find the config files without a license header or the modules that never import the thing they should.
04
Checking what a search would actually cover
List the files a search would touch before running it, and read back the file types ripgrep recognises so the fileType filter is passed a name it knows rather than a guess.
5 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
count-matches
Count matches in files using ripgrep
list-file-types
List all supported file types in ripgrep
list-files
List files that would be searched by ripgrep without actually searching them
search
Search files for patterns using ripgrep (rg)
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
5 tools when we connected.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- Node.js
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 5 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Add the block to your client, or run the command directly.
Server setup
Configuration file
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-ripgrep": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-ripgrep@latest"
]
}
}
}npx
TERMINAL
npx -y mcp-ripgrep@latest
