What it does
BareGrep provides Windows text search with literal or regex modes, recursive folders, incremental results and named search patterns.
Use a literal search for a known phrase, or a regular expression when the text follows a changing pattern. BareGrep updates results and syntax feedback as you type, can search folders recursively and can place captured groups in sortable result columns. Export those results to the clipboard or a file, choosing columns, separators, widths and truncation markers to suit the report. Its regex support is a common subset of Perl, PHP and Java patterns. The published 3.50a release is from 2006 and lists older Win32 systems through Vista; the free edition also has a startup splash that cannot be disabled.
Strengths
- Incremental text search
- Named reusable patterns
Watch out for
- The free edition's startup splash cannot be disabled
Best for
- Searching legacy Windows text collections
Sources
- Bare Metal Software > BareGrep - Free grep for Windows (Oct 26, 2026)
- Bare Metal Software | BareGrep: Free grep for Windows (Oct 26, 2026)
- Bare Metal Software | BareGrep Export Reference (Oct 26, 2026)