Finding files and text

When DataMind Oda needs a file on your computer, or a piece of text inside one, it searches for it. A file search matches files by their name; a content search matches text inside files. This page covers what each search accepts and how precise it can be. For reading a single file, see Read, write and edit files; for the chat side of a search, see Read a search step in the chat.

The two searches

• A file search matches files by their name and returns a list of paths. It returns files only, never folders, and lists them in the order each file last changed.
• A content search matches text inside files and returns the matching lines. Each match keeps its line number and is grouped under the file it sits in.

Both searches run in the folder Oda works in for the chat. Name another folder in your request and the search runs there instead; a relative name is read from the folder Oda works in.

Searching by file name

Oda matches each file's name against a pattern, so a search can be as wide or as narrow as you need:

• A pattern with no folder separator matches the file's name at any depth, so *.ts finds that kind of file everywhere below the folder being searched, however deep it sits.
• A pattern that includes a folder separator stays anchored to that folder.
• The step is titled with the pattern, named with the folder when one was given, as in Glob *.md in docs.
• A search that finds nothing is not an error: the result reads No files found.

Searching inside files

Oda works through the files below the folder to find a piece of text:

• The text is matched as a regular expression: a pattern that can describe several forms of text, not only one exact string. Ask for what you mean in your own words and Oda writes the pattern.
• One filter can narrow the search to certain kinds of file, for example *.ts for one kind or *.{js,jsx} for two kinds in a single pattern. A filter must be one positive pattern: a filter that starts with !, or that lists patterns separated by commas, is refused.
• Each match is reported under its file with its line number. A search that finds nothing is not an error: the result reads No matches found.
• A matched line that is not plain text is replaced by a note: (line is not valid UTF-8).
• The step is titled with the pattern, and with the folder and filter when they were used, as in Grep todo in src (*.ts).

Read a search step in the chat

A content search shows as a step titled Grep, a file-name search as a step titled Glob (Oda's steps in chat covers step rows in general). While the search runs, the step shows only the pattern; the card appears when the search finishes.

• A content search groups its matches by file. Each file's header shows the file and how many matches it holds; under it, every match shows its line number and the line, for example 12: const foo = 1. Click a file's header to fold its lines away, and again to bring them back.
• A file-name search shows a flat list, one path per row.
• The card's header counts what it holds, for example 3 matches · 2 files or 2 paths. When the search found more than the card holds, it reads Showing 3 of 42 matches · 2 files or Showing 2 of 40 paths, and the line below the card names where the complete result is stored.
• Copy in the header copies everything the card holds as plain text.
• A very long result keeps its beginning and end, and … N more lines reveals the rest. A search that matched nothing reads No results.
• A search step has no arguments section; expanding shows the results. If a recorded result does not carry the details the card needs, the step shows the recorded text as it is.
• The card shows and copies results; it does not open files. Ask Oda to open or read a file instead (Opening files from chat).

When a search fails

A failed search turns its step into the error state. The collapsed step shows the first line of the problem, for example grep: invalid regular expression when the pattern was not valid; expanded, the same text appears in the OUT section while the first line stays as the summary. If the failure carries no text of its own, the step shows the error's name and code, for example ToolError: timeout. Nothing is changed by a failed search: ask again in your own words, naming the folder or describing the text more precisely.

What searches include and skip

• Version-control folders are excluded. Oda never searches the folders a version-control tool keeps its own data in: .git, .svn, .hg, .bzr, .jj and .sl. This holds even when a search points straight at one of those folders.
• Hidden and ignored files are included. A file whose name begins with a dot, or that an ignore list would normally hide, is searched like any other file.

How much a search can return

A search answers with one bounded result, so its size stays predictable:

• A file search keeps up to 100 paths in the result; a content search keeps up to 250 matches. A matched line longer than 2,000 characters is cut short and marked.
• When there is more than fits, the result says how much it shows of the full count and saves the complete list to a file: Full sorted result stored at: <locator>. Use read with offset/limit, or grep this path to search within it. A content search says Full grep result stored at: instead, and its header counts what it keeps against the full total, as in Found <kept> of <seen> matches.
• A capped file search may spread the shown paths across the folders below the search root instead of taking the first ones in change order; its note then reads sampled across <n> of the <m> top-level entries this pattern matched instead of taken in modification-time order.
• If the complete result cannot be saved, the note says so and suggests a narrower search, for example The complete result could not be saved; narrow pattern, path, or include to see more. For a file search, the note suggests a narrower pattern or path instead.
• A search stops if it runs for more than about 30 seconds, or if it produces more output than one result can carry (about 20 MB); Oda asks for a narrower search.
• A search runs like a single command: it starts, works and returns inside its step, and nothing keeps running afterwards.

The saved file is named glob-results.txt for a file search and grep-results.txt for a content search; where these files live and when they are cleared up is covered in Large results and spill files.

Questions, answered

Where does Oda search when I do not name a folder?

In the chat's workspace, the folder Oda works in for that chat (Workspaces, files and permissions). Name another folder in your request and the search runs there instead; a relative name is read from the workspace.

Does a search look in subfolders as well?

Yes. A pattern with no folder separator matches a file's name at any depth, so the search reaches every folder below the one it runs in. To keep a search in one folder, name that folder or include it in the pattern.

Does a search include hidden files?

Yes. A file whose name begins with a dot, or that an ignore list would normally hide, is searched like any other file; only the version-control folders stay out.

Why can't Oda search inside .git?

Folders like .git hold a version-control tool's own data, not your work, so no search enters them: .git, .svn, .hg, .bzr, .jj and .sl are excluded even when a search points straight at one of them. Files next to them are searched as usual.

Can I search only certain kinds of files?

Yes. Ask for the kind of file you mean, and Oda adds one name filter to the search, for example *.ts for one kind or *.{js,jsx} for two kinds in a single pattern. A filter must be one positive pattern; one that starts with !, or that lists patterns separated by commas, is refused.

What do the numbers in the search card mean?

The header counts what the card holds: the matches and the files they sit in for a content search (3 matches · 2 files), or the paths for a file-name search (2 paths). When the search found more, the count adds the full total: Showing 3 of 42 matches · 2 files.

A search failed. What should I do?

Nothing was changed by the failed search. The step shows the first line of the problem, for example grep: invalid regular expression when the pattern was not valid; ask again in your own words and Oda can search again.

Can I copy the search results?

Yes. Copy in the card's header copies everything the card holds as plain text: for a content search every file with its matches and line numbers, for a file-name search the path list.

How many results can one search return?

A file search keeps up to 100 paths in its result, and a content search up to 250 matches; a matched line longer than 2,000 characters is cut and marked. Anything beyond that is in the complete result Oda saves and names in the note on the result.

Why did a search stop before it finished?

A search is stopped if it runs for more than about 30 seconds, or if it produces more output than one result can carry (about 20 MB). Ask again with a narrower pattern, folder or filter and Oda runs a smaller search.

What does (line is not valid UTF-8) mean?

That match sits in a line that is not plain text, so Oda cannot show the line and writes this note in its place. The match is still reported, under its file and line number.

Does a search keep running after it gives me its result?

No. A search runs inside its step and returns there; nothing keeps working afterwards. There is no second page either: what did not fit is in the saved complete result.