(Press Command-F in the Finder, select Content in the Search For Items Whose pop-up menu, and enter a search string in the text field.) But the Finder searches only inside files it has indexed, and it ignores hidden system files unless you expressly choose to search for visible and invisible files and add your System folder to the search. The Finder offers a similar function: the Find By Content search. (You can also use grep within certain text editors.) You can use grep easily from the command line to search for specific text, and you’ll get results in seconds. But the grep command is a time-saver when you’re trying to find what’s inside files. It’s easy to find files with the Finder when you know their names. Understanding grep is the first step in joining the guild of command-line wizards.
With this workhorse of the command line, you can quickly find text hidden in your files. It’s fast, it’s powerful, and its very name suggests that it does something technical: grep.
