grep output to show only matching file

Question

What is the option for grep that will allow me only to print the matching file and not the line within a file that matches the criteria?

I typically only use this command when searching for files that call a specific function or method. — Gearoid Murphy, Sep 20 '12 at 08:26
use case (search and replace foo->bar in all files recursively): sed -i 's/foo/bar/' \`grep -lR 'foo'\` — user323094, Sep 08 '13 at 20:04
Possible duplicate of [How can I use grep to show just filenames (no in-line matches) on linux?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6637882/how-can-i-use-grep-to-show-just-filenames-no-in-line-matches-on-linux) — 7ochem, Nov 30 '15 at 13:21

score 391 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 12 '13 at 22:54

391

grep -l

(That's a lowercase L)

edited Mar 12 '13 at 22:54

Vincent Scheib

answered Oct 11 '10 at 16:37

a'r

4

[Letter O Considered Harmful](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortran#Humor) – user234461 Jan 23 '20 at 13:19

score 51 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 26 '12 at 17:27

You can use the Unix-style -l switch – typically terse and cryptic – or the equivalent --files-with-matches – longer and more readable.

The output of grep --help is not easy to read, but it's there:

-l, --files-with-matches  print only names of FILEs containing matches

score 30 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 11 '10 at 16:38

30

-l (that's a lower-case L).

answered Oct 11 '10 at 16:38

Mark Ransom

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 13 '20 at 04:33

3

Also remember one thing. Very important
You have to specify the command something like this to be more precise
grep -l "pattern" *

answered Jan 13 '20 at 04:33

Vinod Kumar

4 Answers4