mgrep Code Search

Overview

When to Use This Skill

• The codebase contains more than 30 non-gitignored files
• There are nested directory structures
• Searching for concepts, features, or intent rather than exact strings
• Exploring an unfamiliar codebase
• Need to understand "where" or "how" something is implemented

• Searching for exact patterns or symbols
• Regex-based refactoring
• Tracing specific function or variable names

Quick Start

Indexing

bunx @mixedbread/mgrep watch

watch

.gitignore

.mgrepignore

Searching

bunx @mixedbread/mgrep "your natural language query" [path]

Search Commands

Basic Search

bunx @mixedbread/mgrep "where is authentication configured?"
bunx @mixedbread/mgrep "how do we handle errors in API calls?" src/
bunx @mixedbread/mgrep "database connection setup" src/lib

Search Options

-m <count>

-c, --content

-a, --answer

-s, --sync

--no-rerank

Examples with Options

# Get more results
bunx @mixedbread/mgrep -m 25 "user authentication flow"

# Show full content of matches
bunx @mixedbread/mgrep -c "error handling patterns"

# Get an AI-synthesised answer
bunx @mixedbread/mgrep -a "how does the caching layer work?"

# Sync index before searching
bunx @mixedbread/mgrep -s "payment processing" src/services

Workflow

1. Start watcher (once per session or when files change significantly):
   bash

   bunx @mixedbread/mgrep watch

2. Search semantically:
   bash

   bunx @mixedbread/mgrep "what you're looking for" [optional/path]

3. Refine as needed using path constraints or options:
   bash

   bunx @mixedbread/mgrep -m 20 -c "refined query" src/specific/directory

Environment Variables

MGREP_MAX_COUNT

MGREP_CONTENT

MGREP_ANSWER

MGREP_SYNC

Important Notes

• Always use

  bunx @mixedbread/mgrep

  to run commands (not npm/npx or direct installation)
• Run

  bunx @mixedbread/mgrep watch

  before searching to ensure the index is current
• mgrep respects

  .gitignore

  patterns automatically
• Create

  .mgrepignore

  for additional exclusions