This is a mirror of http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=4450

Just like ack.vim but for the faster 'ag' utility.

For better formatting, see: https://github.com/rking/ag.vim#readme

This plugin is a front for ag, A.K.A. the_silver_searcher. Ag can be used as a replacement for 153% of the uses of ack. This plugin will allow you to run ag from vim, and shows the results in a split window.
Installation 


The Silver Searcher

You have to install ag, of course.

Usually it's a package named 'the_silver_searcher', but it should install easily from Github, otherwise:

git clone https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher
cd the_silver_searcher && ./build.sh && install

Then, if you're using pathogen:

cd ~/.vim/bundle && git clone https://github.com/rking/ag.vim
# And run :Helptags from within vim

If you're using something else (whether it's manual install or some vim package manager), feel free to give me the pasteable line to put here as instructions. Really, people should probably be using Pathogen, in my opinion.
Configuation

You can specify a custom ag name and path in your .vimrc like so:

let g:agprg="<custom-ag-path-goes-here> --column"

Usage

:Ag [options] {pattern} [{directory}]

Search recursively in {directory} (which defaults to the current directory) for the {pattern}.

Files containing the search term will be listed in the split window, along with the line number of the occurrence, once for each occurrence. [Enter] on a line in this window will open the file, and place the cursor on the matching line.

Just like where you use :grep, :grepadd, :lgrep, and :lgrepadd, you can use :Ag, :AgAdd, :LAg, and :LAgAdd respectively. (See doc/ag.txt, or install and :h Ag for more information.)
Gotchas

Some characters have special meaning, and need to be escaped your search pattern. For instance, '#'. You have to escape it like this :Ag '\\\#define foo' to search for #define foo.

Sometimes git grep is even faster, though in my experience it's not noticably so.
Keyboard Shortcuts

In the quickfix window, you can use:

o    to open (same as enter)
go   to preview file (open but maintain focus on ag.vim results)
t    to open in new tab
T    to open in new tab silently
h    to open in horizontal split
H    to open in horizontal split silently
v    to open in vertical split
gv   to open in vertical split silently
q    to close the quickfix window

Acknowledgements

This Vim plugin is derived (and by derived, I mean copied, almost entirely) from milesz's ack.vim, which I also recommend installing since you might be in a situation where you have ack but not ag, and don't want to stop to install ag. Also, ack supports --type, and a few other features.