Stories with Tag file manipulation

• Far – Sublime Inspired Find and Replace

  permalink

  Posted: 2025-05-21 11:07:48

  Verbose tl;dr

  Far is a command-line find and replace tool inspired by Sublime Text's powerful search functionality. It allows for regular expression searches and replacements across multiple files and directories, offering features like case sensitivity toggling, whole word matching, and previewing changes before applying them. Far aims to provide a fast, intuitive, and versatile command-line experience for efficiently manipulating text within files, similar to the ease and control offered by Sublime Text's editor.

  The GitHub repository titled "Far – Sublime Inspired Find and Replace" introduces a command-line utility named far that aims to replicate the efficient and intuitive find-and-replace functionality found in the popular text editor Sublime Text. This tool is specifically designed for use within a terminal environment and focuses on providing a streamlined workflow for searching and modifying text within files. It leverages regular expressions, offering the flexibility and power to perform complex pattern matching and substitutions.

  far distinguishes itself through its user-friendly interface, mimicking Sublime Text's approach by presenting a clear and concise display of search results. This presentation allows users to quickly preview the context of each match and selectively choose which instances to modify. This interactive selection process enhances precision and control, minimizing the risk of unintended changes. Furthermore, far boasts an exceptionally fast search engine, enabling near-instantaneous results even when operating on large codebases or extensive text files. This speed significantly improves productivity, particularly for tasks involving frequent searches and replacements.

  The project's documentation emphasizes the tool's ease of use and minimal setup, suggesting a straightforward integration into existing development workflows. The provided examples illustrate how far simplifies common text manipulation tasks, such as renaming variables or refactoring code. While inspired by Sublime Text's find-and-replace feature, far is implemented as a standalone command-line utility, offering a dedicated and optimized solution specifically for terminal-based text processing. Its focus on speed, combined with its interactive and selective replacement capabilities, positions it as a powerful tool for developers and anyone working with text files in a terminal environment.

  • find and replace
  • command-line tool
  • cli
  • regular expressions
  • regex
  • text processing
  • file manipulation
  • Batch Processing
  • productivity
  • developer tools
  • Sublime Text
  • Inspired by
  • Open Source
  • GitHub
  • Go
  • Golang

  Summary of Comments ( 5 )
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44050211

  Verbose tl;dr

  Hacker News users generally praised far for its speed and minimalist design, drawing favorable comparisons to Sublime Text's search functionality. Several commenters appreciated its keyboard-centric approach and the ability to easily integrate it into existing workflows. Some suggested improvements like adding support for regular expressions, while others noted potential conflicts with existing tools using the same name. The discussion also touched upon the benefits of using Rust for such tools, highlighting its performance characteristics. Some users expressed interest in similar tools for other operating systems besides Linux.

  The Hacker News post "Far – Sublime Inspired Find and Replace" discussing the far command-line tool spawned a modest discussion with several insightful comments.

  Several users expressed enthusiasm for the tool and shared their appreciation for its features. One user mentioned their fondness for Sublime Text's search functionality, stating they "absolutely adore Sublime's approach to find and replace," and expressing excitement over a command-line tool replicating this experience. They also noted the tool's potential to be a valuable addition to their workflow. Another user echoed this sentiment, calling far a "nice tool," while pointing out its similarity to another tool called fzf. This comparison prompted further discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of each.

  The conversation then delved into a more technical aspect, with a user highlighting far's dependence on ripgrep, a popular command-line search tool. They praised ripgrep for its speed and efficiency, stating it's "blazing fast" and expressing their satisfaction with far leveraging its capabilities. This comment led to a brief discussion on the benefits of using ripgrep as a foundation for search-based tools.

  One user expressed a desire for specific features, suggesting the inclusion of an option to perform replacements across multiple files. This suggestion prompted another user to provide a concrete command-line example demonstrating how to achieve this functionality using far in conjunction with sed. This helpful interaction showcased the practical application of the tool and its extensibility through piping with other command-line utilities.

  Finally, the original poster (OP) of the Hacker News submission chimed in, responding to some of the comments and addressing user feedback. They acknowledged the comparison to fzf, explaining their motivation for creating far stemmed from wanting a more integrated and seamless experience for find and replace operations, particularly in the context of coding and project-wide searches. They also responded to the feature request for multi-file replacement, thanking the user for the suggestion and expressing their intention to consider it for future development.

  This summary encompasses the core points of the discussion on Hacker News. The comments reflect a general positive reception for the far tool, appreciation for its underlying use of ripgrep, and a constructive dialogue around its features and potential improvements.