-#- ( # is a symbol used to represent an integer value)

Matches will be printed with # lines of leading and trailing context ; i.e., grep “2 pattern filename will cause grep to print the matched line with the two lines before and after it.

-A #, --after-context=#

Print # lines of trailing context after matching lines; i.e, the matched line and the specified # lines after it.

-B #, --before-context=#

Print # lines of leading context before matching lines; i.e., the matched lines and the specified # lines before it.

-C #, --context=#

Equivalent to -2 . Prints the two lines before and after the matched line.

-V, --version

Displays the version information about grep that should be included in all bug reports .

-a, --text, --binary-files=text

Processes binary files as text files.

-b, --byte-offset

Displays the byte offset before each line of output.

-c, --count

Prints a count of matching lines for each input file. With the -v prints a count of nonmatching lines.

-D action, --devices=action

If the input file is a device such as a socket or pipe, action is read from the device by default just as thought it were a normal file. If action is skip , the device will be silently skipped over.

-e PATTERN, --regexp=PATTERN

Use PATTERN literally as the pattern; useful to protect patterns beginning with - .

-f FILE, --file=FILE

Obtain patterns from FILE , one per line. The empty file contains zero patterns, and therefore matches nothing.

--help--

Display a usage message summarizing grep 's command-line options and bug reporting address, then exit.

-h, --no-filename

Suppress the prefixing of filenames on output when multiple files are searched.

-i, --ignore-case

Ignore case distinctions in both the pattern and the input files.

-L, --files-without-match

Print just the names of all files where the pattern does not match.

-l, --files-with-matches

Print just the names of all files where the pattern does match.

-m #, --max-count-#

Stop reading a file after specified number (#) of matching lines if the file is standard input or a regular file.

-n, --line-number

Prefix each line of output with the line number where the match occurred.

-q, --quiet

Suppress normal output. Can be used instead of -n .

-r, -R, --recursive,

--directories=recurse

For directories listed, reads and processes all files in those directories recursively; i.e., all directories from that directory down the tree.

-s, --silent

Suppress error messages about nonexistent or unreadable files.

-v, --revert-match

Invert the sense of matching, to select nonmatch in lines.

-w, --word-regexp

Select only those lines containing matches that are words. Matches are for strings containing letters , digits, and the underscore , on word boundaries.

-x, --line-regexp

Select only those matches that exactly match the whole line.

-y

Obsolete synonym for -i .

-U, --binary

Treat the file(s) as binary. This option is only supported on MS-DOS and MS-Windows.

-u, --unix-byte-offsets

Report UNIX-style byte offsets. This option has no effect unless -b option is also used; it is only supported on MS-DOS and MS-Windows.

-Z, --null

Places the ASCII null character at the end of filenames, instead of a newline.