Search
Search locates events by matching text in the Events pane. It supports literal text and regular expressions, with optional case sensitivity. Matching events are highlighted while the surrounding events remain visible, preserving the context of each invocation.
Search Procedure
With the Events pane focused, press Ctrl+F to open the search prompt. Enter a query and press Enter to execute the search.
The first matching event is selected. Press N to move to the next
match or P to move to the previous match. The result counter reports
the position within the matching events and their total number; 2/5, for
example, denotes the second of five matching events. Each event contributes
one result, even if the query occurs several times in its text. An unsuccessful
search displays No match.
Press Ctrl+F again to edit the query. The existing text and matching options are retained. To close search and remove the highlights, press Esc while editing. Thus, after submitting a query, use Ctrl+F followed by Esc to close it. Submitting an empty query has the same effect.
The following table lists the default bindings. They can be changed through Key Bindings.
| Context | Key | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Main Events pane | Ctrl+F | Open or edit the search query. |
| Query editor | Enter | Submit the query. |
| Query editor | Esc | Close search and clear its results. |
| Query editor | Ctrl+U | Clear the query text. |
| Query editor | Alt+I | Toggle case sensitivity. |
| Query editor | Alt+R | Toggle literal text and regular-expression matching. |
| Events pane, after submission | N / P | Select the next or previous matching event. |
Matching Rules
A new search uses case-insensitive literal matching by default. For example, sample.c
matches that text anywhere in an event line, including SAMPLE.C. The period
is treated as an ordinary character. With case sensitivity enabled, only the
specified letter case matches.
Regular-expression mode interprets the query as a pattern. For example,
sample-[ab]\.c matches sample-a.c or sample-b.c, while gcc|clang
matches either compiler name wherever it occurs in a line.
Case sensitivity can be changed independently of regular-expression mode.
The footer identifies the current modes while the query is being edited.
An invalid regex expression would cause a Regex Error popup to show.
The following recording compares literal and regular-expression matching for
sample-[ab]\.c. Enabling case sensitivity excludes SAMPLE-A.C; an invalid
pattern then illustrates error reporting and correction.
The displayed environment and working directory also form part of the search text. After submission, E and W toggle these fields in the Events pane and recompute the results. A hidden field does not contribute matches.
Example
Start a shell under tracexec.
tracexec tui -- bash --noprofile --norc
In the Terminal pane, execute the following commands:
/usr/bin/printf '%s\n' sample-a.c
/usr/bin/printf '%s\n' sample-b.c
/usr/bin/printf '%s\n' notes.txt
The explicit path invokes the external printf instead of shell builtin, so each command produces an
exec event. Switch to Events with Ctrl+S, open search
with Ctrl+F, and submit sample-. The first two printf
events match because their argument lists contain that text. The notes.txt
event remains visible but is not highlighted.
Use N and P to move between the results. To repeat the
search with a pattern, press Ctrl+F, clear the text with
Ctrl+U, enter sample-[ab]\.c, toggle regular-expression
mode with Alt+R, and press Enter.
Real-time Search
An active search query is applied to newly arriving events. Collection continues while the query is edited and while its results are inspected.
In this recording, the query is submitted before any matching events exist.
The result count increases as commands are executed in the Terminal pane.
An unrelated command leaves the count unchanged. A counter such as 0/2
indicates that two matches have arrived but neither has been selected through
search navigation yet.