Using fuzzy searches with tre-agrep
A Grep Replacement
Tre-agrep has all of grep's functionality but can also do ambiguous or fuzzy searches without deep knowledge of regular expressions.
Grep [1] is a standard command-line tool. It searches files for regular expressions, then displays any lines that include a match. In expert hands, grep can be a flexible tool, but gaining expertise can take years of practice. Nor do related commands like egrep [2] or fgrep [3] make grep any easier to use. For these reasons, those lacking expertise might want to check out TRE [4], which includes a reimplementation of agrep (approximate grep) [5] as a command-line utility. tre-agrep is a grep-like tool that has all of grep's functionality but can also do ambiguous or fuzzy searches that are much easier to learn.
Grep and tre-agrep share similar options, such as --ignore-case and --count. However, the logic of their searches can be different. (I say "can be" because often both commands have multiple ways of getting the same result.) To give a simple example, imagine that you are searching for files that contain both "Linux," and "Linus." Using grep, you would probably use regular expressions one way or the other. Probably the simplest would be:
grep 'Linu.' *.txt
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Debian Unleashes Debian Libre Live
Debian Libre Live keeps your machine free of proprietary software.
-
Valve Announces Pending Release of Steam Machine
Shout it to the heavens: Steam Machine, powered by Linux, is set to arrive in 2026.
-
Happy Birthday, ADMIN Magazine!
ADMIN is celebrating its 15th anniversary with issue #90.
-
Another Linux Malware Discovered
Russian hackers use Hyper-V to hide malware within Linux virtual machines.
-
TUXEDO Computers Announces a New InfinityBook
TUXEDO Computers is at it again with a new InfinityBook that will meet your professional and gaming needs.
-
SUSE Dives into the Agentic AI Pool
SUSE becomes the first open source company to adopt agentic AI with SUSE Enterprise Linux 16.
-
Linux Now Runs Most Windows Games
The latest data shows that nearly 90 percent of Windows games can be played on Linux.
-
Fedora 43 Has Finally Landed
The Fedora Linux developers have announced their latest release, Fedora 43.
-
KDE Unleashes Plasma 6.5
The Plasma 6.5 desktop environment is now available with new features, improvements, and the usual bug fixes.
-
Xubuntu Site Possibly Hacked
It appears that the Xubuntu site was hacked and briefly served up a malicious ZIP file from its download page.

