.TH RREP 1 "rrep 1.3.7" "User Commands"
.nh
.SH "NAME"
rrep \- replace patterns in files.
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.B rrep
.RI [ OPTIONS ]
.I PATTERN
.I REPLACEMENT
.RI [ FILE .\|.\|.]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
The \fBrrep\fR utility searches input
.IR FILE s
for matches to a given
.I PATTERN
and replaces those matches by a given
.IR REPLACEMENT .
The pattern is, by default, a basic regular expression.
The replacement string may contain special characters to refer to portions of
the matched pattern.
.PP
Binary files are, by default, ignored.
A file is regarded as binary if it contains the null character.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.TP
.BR \-E ", " \-\^\-extended\-regexp
.I PATTERN
is interpreted as an extended regular expression (ERE).
.TP
.BR \-F ", " \-\^\-fixed\-strings
.I PATTERN
and
.I REPLACEMENT
are interpreted as fixed strings, not as regular expressions or escape
sequences.
.TP
.BR \-R ", " \-r ", " \-\^\-recursive
Each directory that is given on the command line is processed recursively.
Files and sub-directories starting with the
.B .
character are, by default, ignored.
.TP
.BI \-\^\-include= FILE_PATTERN
Only files are processed that match the pattern
.IR FILE_PATTERN ,
except for files that are specifically given on the command line.
\fB*\fR, \fB?\fR, and \fB[\fR...\fB]\fR can be used as wildcards in
.IR FILE_PATTERN .
Wildcards and backslash characters can be quoted with \fB\e\fR.
.TP
.BI \-\^\-exclude= FILE_PATTERN
Files that match the pattern
.I FILE_PATTERN
will be skipped, except for files that are specifically given on the command
line (using wildcard matching as described under \fB\-\^\-include\fR).
.TP
.BI \-\^\-exclude\-dir= PATTERN
Directories that match
.I PATTERN
will be skipped, except for files that are specifically given on the command
line (using wildcard matching as described under \fB\-\^\-include\fR).
.TP
.BR \-V ", " \-\^\-version
Print the version number of \fBrrep\fR.
.TP
.BI \-S " SUFFIX" "\fR,\fP \-\^\-suffix=" SUFFIX
Override default backup suffix.
This option implicitly activates backups.
.TP
.BR \-a ", " \-\^\-all
Files and sub-directories starting with the \fB.\fR character in recursively
processed directories (see \fB\-\^\-recursive\fR) are processed as well.
.TP
.BR \-b
Backup before overwriting files.
The backup files are written into the directory of the original file.
Equivalent to using
\fB\-\^\-backup=existing\fR.
.TP
.BI \-\^\-backup \fR[\fP = CONTROL \fR]\fP
Like \fB\-b\fR but accepts a version control argument.
The file name of the backup file is appended by a \fB~\fR character.
The backup suffix is \fB~\fR, unless set with \fB\-\^\-suffix\fR or
.IR SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX .
The version control method may be selected via the \fB\-\^\-backup\fR option or
through the
.I VERSION_CONTROL
environment variable. Here are the values:
  \fBnone\fR, \fBoff\fR       never make backups
                  (even if \fB\-\^\-backup\fR is given)
  \fBnumbered\fR, \fBt\fR     make numbered backups
  \fBexisting\fR, \fBnil\fR   numbered if numbered backups exist, simple
                  otherwise
  \fBsimple\fR, \fBnever\fR   always make simple backups
.TP
.BR \-\^\-binary
Do not ignore binary files.
A file is regarded as binary if it contains the null character \fB\e0\fR.
.TP
.BR \-\^\-dry\-run
The replacement is just simulated.
No file is actually modified.
.TP
.BI \-e " PATTERN" "\fR,\fP \-\^\-regexp=" PATTERN
Use
.I PATTERN
for matching.
This option can be used to specify a pattern beginning with \fB\-\fR.
.TP
.BR \-h ", " \-\^\-help
Display a help message that describes the command line options and exit
afterwards.
.TP
.BR \-i ", " \-\^\-ignore\-case
Case distinctions in
.I PATTERN
are ignored.
.TP
.BR \-\^\-keep\-times
The original access and modification times of files and directories are
restored after processing.
.TP
.BI \-p " REPLACEMENT" "\fR,\fP \-\^\-replace\-with=" REPLACEMENT
Use
.I REPLACEMENT
for substitution.
.TP
.BR \-\^\-interactive
Each time before a file is modified the user is prompted and can cancel the
modification.
.TP
.BR \-q ", " \-\^\-quiet ", " \-\^\-silent
All normal output messages are suppressed.
.TP
.BR \-s ", " \-\^\-no\-messages
All error messages are suppressed.
.TP
.BR \-w ", " \-\^\-word\-regexp
Only those matches of
.I PATTERN
are replaced that match whole words.
.TP
.BR \-x ", " \-\^\-line\-regexp
Only those matches of
.I PATTERN
are replaced that match whole lines.
.SH "EXIT STATUS"
Exit status is 1 if any error occurs, 0 otherwise.
.SH "AUTHOR"
Written by Arno Onken.
.SH "REPORTING BUGS"
If you find a bug in \fBrrep\fR, please send electronic mail to
.RB < asnelt@asnelt.org >.
Include the version number, which you can find by
running \fBrrep \-\-version\fR.
Also include in your message the output that the program produced and the
output you expected.
.PP
If you have other questions, comments or suggestions about \fBrrep\fR, contact
the author via electronic mail to
.RB < asnelt@asnelt.org >.
The author will try to help you out, although he may not have time to fix your
problems.
.SH "COPYRIGHT"
Copyright 2011, 2013, 2019, 2022 Arno Onken
.PP
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.
There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.SS "Regular Manual Pages"
find(1), grep(1), sed(1), xargs(1), regex(7).
.SS "TeXinfo Documentation"
The full documentation for rrep is maintained as a TeXinfo manual.
If the info and rrep programs are properly installed at your site, the command
.IP
.B info rrep
.PP
should give you access to the complete manual.