ACE - Search

Unified codebase search -- one command that auto-detects files or content. ACE Logo

Gem Version Ruby License: MIT

Works with: Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, pi-agent, and more.

Getting Started | Usage Guide | Handbook - Skills, Agents, Templates

ace-search demo

ace-search gives developers and coding agents a single search entry point that chooses file or content mode automatically (DWIM -- Do What I Mean), keeps search scope predictable from any directory, and exposes fast output modes for workflow automation. Use /as-search-run for quick searches, /as-search-research for multi-search analysis, or /as-search-feature-research for implementation gap analysis.

How It Works

  1. Submit a query to ace-search and DWIM detection picks content search (ripgrep) or file search (fd) based on the pattern.
  2. Scope filters like --staged, --tracked, or --changed constrain results to Git-relevant files via ace-git.
  3. Results are returned in your chosen format (text, JSON, YAML, count, or files-with-matches) for human review or downstream automation.

Use Cases

Find code patterns without deciding tooling first - run ace-search "TODO" or ace-search "*.rb" and let DWIM detection pick the right backend automatically.

Constrain investigations to meaningful working sets - combine --staged, --tracked, or --changed to inspect only ace-git-relevant files during reviews and refactors.

Feed downstream tooling and automation - use --json, --yaml, --count, or --files-with-matches for machine-readable pipelines and scripted checks.

Standardize repeat searches across teams - apply named presets with --preset via ace-support-config for consistent daily scans and focused research queries.

Run multi-search research from an agent - use /as-search-research to execute multiple related searches and synthesize findings, or /as-search-feature-research to analyze implementation gaps.

Testing Model

ace-search uses the restarted testing contract:

  • ace-test ace-search for default deterministic fast tests
  • ace-test ace-search feat for deterministic feature contracts
  • ace-test ace-search all for combined deterministic lanes
  • ace-test-e2e ace-search for retained workflow-value scenarios only

Getting Started | Usage Guide | Handbook - Skills, Agents, Templates | Part of ACE