# Extension points — BurntSushi/ripgrep

> Canonical page: https://codevetter.com/unpack/ripgrep/extension-points

# Extension points — BurntSushi/ripgrep

Scanned commit 3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7 (2026-08-04). Generated by codevetter codevetter 1.12.0 on 2026-09-22.

ripgrep's extension seams are almost all static tables and traits rather than runtime plugin systems. Adding a flag means adding one unit struct implementing `Flag` and one entry in the `FLAGS` slice; everything downstream (parser trie, `-h`, `--help`, man page, four shell completions) derives from that. Adding a file type means one line in `DEFAULT_TYPES`. Adding a decompressor means one `add(glob, ARGS, &mut cmds)` line. At the library level, `Matcher` and `Sink` are the two real trait-based extension points: any regex engine implementing `grep_matcher::Matcher` can be plugged into the searcher, and any output format implementing `grep_searcher::Sink` can consume results. The `ParallelVisitorBuilder` trait in `ignore` lets external callers drive the parallel walker with their own per-thread state.
- The primary extension point is the `Flag` trait plus the `FLAGS: &[&dyn Flag]` slice; the module doc states the `defs` module "provides a single global slice of `&dyn Flag` values corresponding to all of the flags in ripgrep" used via dynamic dispatch. — [crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L52-L72](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L52-L72) [crates/core/flags/defs.rs#L38-L48](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/defs.rs#L38-L48)
- One `Flag` impl can expose four user-visible names — short, long, `name_negated()` and an arbitrary `aliases()` list — as with `-E`/`--encoding`/`--no-encoding` sharing a single implementation. — [crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L60-L115](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L60-L115)
- `Category` (Input, Search, Filter, Output, OutputModes, Indexing, Logging, OtherBehaviors) is the grouping key for generated docs; `Category::as_str` returns the template variable name interpolated into help and man templates. — [crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L180-L241](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L180-L241) [crates/core/flags/doc/help.rs#L38-L50](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/doc/help.rs#L38-L50)
- `CompletionType` (Other, Filename, Executable, Filetype, Encoding) is the hook a new flag uses to tell all four shell completion generators what to complete. — [crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L243-L256](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L243-L256) [crates/core/flags/complete/mod.rs](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/complete/mod.rs)
- Four completion generators are registered in `flags::mod` as `generate_complete_bash/zsh/fish/powershell` and surfaced through `GenerateMode`; adding a shell means adding a module under `flags/complete/` and a `GenerateMode` variant. — [crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L18-L39](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/mod.rs#L18-L39) [crates/core/main.rs#L327-L348](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/main.rs#L327-L348)
- `grep_searcher::Sink` is the output extension trait — implement `matched`, `context`, `context_break`, `binary_data`, `begin`, `finish` — and the crate ships a `sinks` submodule of closure-based conveniences (e.g. `UTF8`) for quick use. — [crates/searcher/src/sink.rs#L102-L228](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/searcher/src/sink.rs#L102-L228) [crates/searcher/src/lib.rs#L25-L60](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/searcher/src/lib.rs#L25-L60)
- `grep_matcher::Matcher` is the regex-engine extension trait; `grep-regex` and `grep-pcre2` are two implementations, and `PatternMatcher` in core is the enum that selects between them at runtime. — [crates/matcher/src/lib.rs](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/matcher/src/lib.rs) [crates/core/search.rs#L182-L190](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/search.rs#L182-L190) [crates/regex/src/lib.rs#L6-L18](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/regex/src/lib.rs#L6-L18)
- Printers are extended by adding a `Printer<W>` enum variant plus a `printer_*` builder in `HiArgs`; each variant only needs `get_mut()` and a `sink_with_path` method for `search_path`/`search_reader` to work. — [crates/core/search.rs#L192-L215](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/search.rs#L192-L215) [crates/core/flags/hiargs.rs#L606-L684](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/hiargs.rs#L606-L684)
- New file types plug into `DEFAULT_TYPES`, a `&[(&[&str], &[&str])]` table of (names, globs) that the doc comment explicitly invites PRs against; users extend it per-invocation with `TypesBuilder::add`/`add_def`. — [crates/ignore/src/default_types.rs#L1-L20](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/ignore/src/default_types.rs#L1-L20) [crates/ignore/src/types.rs#L421-L490](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/ignore/src/types.rs#L421-L490)
- New decompressors plug into `default_decompression_commands()` via a single `add(glob, ARGS_X, &mut cmds)` call; unavailable binaries are silently skipped after `resolve_binary` fails with a debug log. — [crates/cli/src/decompress.rs#L490-L532](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/cli/src/decompress.rs#L490-L532)
- `ignore::ParallelVisitorBuilder` and `WalkParallel::visit` let external code supply per-thread visitors with owned state, as an alternative to the closure-based `run`. — [crates/ignore/src/walk.rs#L1411-L1460](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/ignore/src/walk.rs#L1411-L1460) [crates/ignore/src/lib.rs#L51-L56](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/ignore/src/lib.rs#L51-L56)
- `WalkBuilder::filter_entry` and `add_custom_ignore_filename` are the per-caller filtering hooks; ripgrep itself uses the latter to register `.rgignore`. — [crates/ignore/src/walk.rs#L820-L832](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/ignore/src/walk.rs#L820-L832) [crates/ignore/src/walk.rs#L1046-L1060](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/ignore/src/walk.rs#L1046-L1060) [crates/core/flags/hiargs.rs#L912-L916](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/core/flags/hiargs.rs#L912-L916)
- `HyperlinkFormat` implements `FromStr` with named aliases (`HyperlinkAlias`), so new editor URL schemes are added by extending the alias table rather than the printer. — [crates/printer/src/hyperlink/mod.rs#L99-L200](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/printer/src/hyperlink/mod.rs#L99-L200)
- `IndexDiscovery` is configurable rather than hard-wired: `env_name()`, `dir_name()`, `cwd()` and `create()` builders let embedders relocate the index away from `RIPGREP_INDEX_PATH`/`.ripgrep`. — [crates/index/src/index.rs#L104-L172](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/index/src/index.rs#L104-L172)
- The `grep` facade crate is the intended embedding point for third parties, re-exporting the whole stack under one dependency, with a worked `simplegrep` example. — [crates/grep/src/lib.rs#L1-L21](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/grep/src/lib.rs#L1-L21) [crates/grep/examples/simplegrep.rs](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/3fce3b5bb0236da2df6d99672afb8a719642eca7/crates/grep/examples/simplegrep.rs)

Every claim links to its cited files at the pinned commit. Citations identify source evidence; they do not establish runtime correctness. Independent CodeVetter scan — not reviewed by upstream maintainers.

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