serpl

serpl brings the search-and-replace workflow of VS Code to the terminal with a full TUI. Unlike traditional sed commands or simple script-based alternatives, serpl provides an interactive, multi-pane interface that lets you preview matches, refine searches, and apply changes with confidence.

The tool supports multiple search modes to handle different use cases:

• Simple text search for straightforward literal matching
• Case-sensitive and whole-word options for precise control
• Regex patterns for complex search expressions
• AST Grep patterns for syntax-aware code manipulation

Replace operations are equally flexible, offering simple text replacement, case-preserving replacements to maintain the original casing of matched text, and AST-based replacements for structural code changes.

The interface is divided into four panes: the search input field, replace input field, results list showing all matches with file locations, and a preview pane displaying context around each match. Navigation follows vim-style conventions (hjkl keys) with full keyboard customization support. You can review all proposed changes before applying them in batch or selectively replace individual items.

serpl requires ripgrep for searching and optionally integrates with ast-grep for AST-based operations, making it particularly useful for large-scale refactoring tasks where you want to see exactly what will change before committing to the modifications.