Findstr.exe: What Is It & How to Properly Use It

Rediscover search with this powerful command-line tool

5 min. read

Updated onAugust 8, 2024

updated onAugust 8, 2024

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You already know how powerful the Windows Command Prompt is. You can evencustomize it. But did you know about its built-in command utility findstr.exe or Find String? Findstr.exe is a command-line utility that can search for strings in files.

It is used to find a specific string in one or more files. By default, it searches the current directory and all subdirectories. While it can be helpful, it will do you no good if you don’t know how to use it. Lucky for you, we share how to get the most out of it here.

What is the usage of findstr.exe in Windows?

You may be wondering why anyone would use a command-line utility when Windows already has the find feature in File Explorer or thesearchapp.exe processthat is associated with Windows search. While it works most of the time, it can be time-consuming and still not generate the expected results.

The main advantage of using findstr.exe over other textsearch toolsis that it allows you to search inside binary files such as Microsoft Office documents or PDFs.

In addition, findstr.exe provides options to control what kind of output is displayed and which lines are skipped when searching through large files with thousands of lines.

Other benefits of using findstr.exe include:

How to use Findstr in a batch file?

To use Findstr, you must run the Command Prompt withadministrative privileges. This way, you can access all the drives on your computer and their folders, and your search won’t be limited.

This allows you to run commands that search through every folder on your hard drive. Before you embark on your search, you must know how the findstr commands work and when to use them.

Below are some of the common parameters:

To test a few examples:

1. Use case-insensitive parameters

2. Search for specific text

3. Search files in a specific location

From the examples above, it is easy to see that Findstr.exe is a great resource when you want to search on your computer that you’ve never done before. It’s extremely useful but requires a specific syntax to know how to use it properly.

Hopefully, this little introduction to findstr.exe brings you a step closer to using it as part of your regular toolkit and taking advantage of all it offers.

Speaking of command-line utilities, we also have an awesome beginner guide on all thingstry-catch command, so be sure to check that out too.

Let us know how you will use this command-line in the comment section below.

Findstr.exe: What Is It & How to Properly Use It#

What is the usage of findstr.exe in Windows?#

How to use Findstr in a batch file?#

1. Use case-insensitive parameters#

2. Search for specific text#

3. Search files in a specific location#