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Add --max-bytes flag to limit bytes searched per file #3232

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Add --max-bytes flag to limit bytes searched per file #3232

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@manascb1344 manascb1344 commented Dec 1, 2025

This PR adds a new --max-bytes NUM flag that tells ripgrep to only read and search the first NUM bytes of each file or stream. This is useful when matches are expected only in a small header region (for example HTTP headers in large cache files), and can greatly reduce I/O.

  • New flag: --max-bytes NUM (per file/stream)
  • Applied consistently to mmap, regular files, stdin, and multiline searches
  • Multiline preallocation is capped by min(NUM, file_size) when --max-bytes is set
  • Plays well with --max-count 1 for fast “find first hit in header” use cases
  • Includes tests for normal files, stdin, and binary-looking files

Implements the feature requested in #3035.
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manascb1344 commented Dec 1, 2025

@BurntSushi
All tests and CI checks are now passing for this PR. When you have a moment, could you please review and consider merging the --max-bytes flag change?
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manascb1344 commented Dec 24, 2025

@BurntSushi Any updates on this?
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