Livegrep

Spec sheet

Purpose

Livegrep is an open-source tool for interactive regex search of source repositories around gigabyte scale.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Intended users

The project describes itself as a tool for interactively searching source code, including large repositories.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Deployment

The project documents Docker images and example commands for running its indexer, backend, and web frontend.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Support

The about page lists [email protected] as the feedback contact.Read 4 Oct 2026 · livegrep.com

Maker

Livegrep is written and run by Nelson Elhage.Read 10 Oct 2026 · livegrep.com

Architecture

The backend index and search process is written in C++ and the web frontend is implemented in Go.Read 10 Oct 2026 · livegrep.com

Build requirements

The project builds with Bazel and requires a relatively recent C++ compiler; the initial build downloads around 100 MB of dependencies.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Docker

Livegrep's CI builds Docker images on every merge to main, and the repository documents running its indexer, backend, and frontend in containers.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

File browsing

Livegrep can display source files directly in its interface when configured with local source paths.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

GitHub integration

A helper called livegrep-github-reindex can automatically update and index selected GitHub repositories.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Index files

The backend can save and reuse standalone index files, including indexes too large to fit in RAM.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Indexing

Codesearch can build an in-memory index or save an index file that can be reused for later runs.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Local deployment

By default, the frontend connects to a local codesearch instance on port 9999 and serves HTTP on port 8910.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Open source

Livegrep is open source and is written and run by Nelson Elhage.Read 4 Oct 2026 · livegrep.com

Regex engine

Livegrep uses RE2 and inherits its supported syntax.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Repository access

After an index is built, Livegrep works from that index without further access to the original Git repositories.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Repository browser

Livegrep can display source files directly in its interface when configured with local source paths.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Resource requirements

An index is usually 3–5 times the size of indexed text; memory-mapping allows indexes larger than available RAM, while faster SSDs are recommended for performance.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Search syntax

The web search supports regular expressions and special terms including path:, repo:, and max_matches:.Read 10 Oct 2026 · livegrep.com

Self-hosting

To run Livegrep, users invoke both the codesearch backend and the web interface.Read 10 Oct 2026 · github.com

Where Specifiction places it

• Code Search Tools#26 of 427.1