grepai-search-advanced

GrepAI Advanced Search Options

This skill covers advanced search options including JSON output, compact mode, and integration with AI agents.

When to Use This Skill

• Integrating GrepAI with scripts or tools
• Using GrepAI with AI agents (Claude, GPT)
• Processing search results programmatically
• Reducing token usage in AI contexts

Command-Line Options

Option	Description
--limit N	Number of results (default: 10)
--json / -j	JSON output format
--toon / -t	TOON output format (~50% fewer tokens than JSON)
--compact / -c	Compact output (no content, works with --json or --toon)

Note: --json and --toon are mutually exclusive.

JSON Output

Standard JSON

grepai search "authentication" --json

Output:

{
  "query": "authentication",
  "results": [
    {
      "score": 0.89,
      "file": "src/auth/middleware.go",
      "start_line": 15,
      "end_line": 45,
      "content": "func AuthMiddleware() gin.HandlerFunc {\n    return func(c *gin.Context) {\n        token := c.GetHeader(\"Authorization\")\n        if token == \"\" {\n            c.AbortWithStatus(401)\n            return\n        }\n        claims, err := ValidateToken(token)\n        ...\n    }\n}"
    },
    {
      "score": 0.82,
      "file": "src/auth/jwt.go",
      "start_line": 23,
      "end_line": 55,
      "content": "func ValidateToken(tokenString string) (*Claims, error) {\n    ..."
    }
  ],
  "total": 2
}

Compact JSON (AI Optimized)

grepai search "authentication" --json --compact

Output:

{
  "q": "authentication",
  "r": [
    {
      "s": 0.89,
      "f": "src/auth/middleware.go",
      "l": "15-45"
    },
    {
      "s": 0.82,
      "f": "src/auth/jwt.go",
      "l": "23-55"
    }
  ],
  "t": 2
}

Key differences:

• Abbreviated keys (s vs score, f vs file)
• No content (just file locations)
• ~80% fewer tokens for AI agents

TOON Output (v0.26.0+)