Ripgrep vs Ack Key Differences | Generated by AI
Here’s a structured comparison of ripgrep (rg) and ack, without using a table format so it’s easier to read:
1. Speed and Performance
- ripgrep is extremely fast. It’s built in Rust, uses memory-mapped I/O, SIMD optimizations, and parallelism to search directories efficiently. It often outperforms both
ackandgrep. - ack is written in Perl, and while it’s faster than traditional
grepfor large codebases (because it skips irrelevant files by default), it’s noticeably slower thanripgrepwhen searching large directories.
2. File Filtering
- ripgrep automatically respects
.gitignoreand.ignorefiles, so it avoids binary files and files excluded by version control rules. - ack has its own file-filtering rules (ignores binary files, VCS directories like
.git/,CVS/, etc.) and is designed with programmers in mind, but it doesn’t integrate.gitignoreby default (you needack --ignore-dirfor similar behavior).
3. Usability and Features
- ripgrep has a
grep-like syntax, so users coming fromgrepfind it very natural. It also supports common flags like-i,-n,-v. - ack introduces its own interface, with shortcuts for code searching (e.g.,
ack --perl foosearches only in Perl files). It’s designed specifically for developers browsing source code.
4. Regular Expressions
- ripgrep uses Rust’s regex engine, which is very fast but lacks some advanced features like backreferences and look-behind assertions.
- ack uses Perl’s regex engine, so it supports the full range of Perl-compatible regular expressions, including advanced features.
5. Installation and Portability
- ripgrep is a compiled binary, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Easy to install via package managers (e.g.,
brew install ripgrep). - ack is a Perl script, so it requires Perl installed. That makes it highly portable (runs anywhere Perl runs) but slightly less convenient for environments without Perl.
6. Community and Ecosystem
- ripgrep has quickly become the go-to choice for developers and is often integrated into editors like VS Code, Sublime Text, and Neovim for “find in project”.
- ack was very popular in the late 2000s and early 2010s and inspired
ag(the Silver Searcher) andripgrep, but its community is smaller now.
Summary
- Choose ripgrep if you want maximum speed, automatic
.gitignoreintegration, and agrep-like feel. It’s the modern standard for searching large codebases. - Choose ack if you rely on Perl-compatible regex features or want language-specific search shortcuts built in. It’s slower but more regex-capable.
Do you want me to also include a historical timeline of how grep → ack → ag → ripgrep evolved? That would give you the full context of why ripgrep is dominant now.