ST Search - Recursive Text Search Tool

A multi-threaded GUI application for recursively searching text in files with advanced filtering and real-time progress tracking.

Features

• Multi-threaded Search: Configurable thread count (1-16) for fast searching
• GUI Interface: Easy-to-use tkinter-based interface
• File Type Filtering: Filter by file extensions organized into ecosystems:
  • Programming (py, js, java, c, cpp, etc.)
  • Web (html, css, php, etc.)
  • Data/Config (json, xml, yaml, ini, etc.)
  • Documents (txt, md, pdf, doc, etc.)
  • Scripts (sh, bash, ps1, bat, etc.)
  • Images (png, jpg, gif, svg, etc.)
  • Video (mp4, avi, mkv, etc.)
  • Audio (mp3, wav, flac, etc.)
  • Archives (zip, tar, gz, etc.)
  • Markup (xml, html, md, etc.)
• ASCII/Binary Toggle: Search ASCII files, binary files, or both
• Context Display: Show 1-20 lines of context around matches
• Case Sensitivity: Optional case-sensitive searching
• Clickable Results: Click file paths to open containing folder
• Progress Tracking: Real-time progress with spinner, percentage, and statistics
• Settings Persistence: Remembers your last search settings
• Search Statistics:
  • Files scanned vs total files
  • Files omitted by filters
  • Number of matches and files with matches
  • Search time elapsed

Requirements

• Python 3
• tkinter (usually included with Python)

Installation

Option 1: Run Directly

python3 st_search.py

Option 2: Use Launcher Script

chmod +x st-search.sh
./st-search.sh

Option 3: Install System-Wide

sudo cp st-search.sh /usr/local/bin/st-search
# Then run from anywhere:
st-search

Usage

1. Select Folder: Click "Browse" to choose the top-level folder to search
2. Enter Search Text: Type the text you want to find
3. Configure Options:
   • Select file types to include (checkboxes organized by ecosystem)
   • Choose ASCII/Binary file options
   • Set number of context lines (1-20)
   • Enable/disable case-sensitive search
   • Adjust thread count for performance (1-16)
4. Search: Click the "Search" button
5. View Results:
   • Click any file path to open its containing folder
   • Use right-click context menus to copy text
   • Review search statistics at the bottom

File Structure

• st_search.py - Main application
• st-search.sh - Launcher script
• snapcraft.yaml - Snap package configuration (experimental)

Credits

Developed by Solutions Today LLC and Arizona Software Development Company

Support

If you find this tool useful, consider supporting development:

• Buy Me a Coffee
• Ko-fi
• PayPal

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Solutions Today LLC / Arizona Software Development Company