findstr

Syntax

UPPERCASE words are placeholders to replace. Brackets in the syntax line describe optional arguments; do not type those brackets literally.

findstr [/l] [/n] /c:"TEXT" FILE

Example

findstr /l /n /c:"ERROR" app.log

Expected result

Matching literal ERROR lines with line numbers.

Notes and traps

FINDSTR has a limited regex dialect and encoding limitations. It is not interchangeable with GNU grep.

Related commands

• PowerShell: Select-String
• Bash: grep
• Bash: find

Related tasks may need different flags and have different semantics. Check the entry before translating a command between shells.

Updated 13 September 2026. Examples describe the expected behavior; not every platform is available for execution testing.