Hacker ApprovedDepartments

wgrep

Shares rank 19 of 24 Emacs packages by recommenders

Lets you edit grep search results directly in Emacs and save the changes back to the files. People call it one of their favorite Emacs tools, and it has landed in Emacs 30.

Lets you edit grep search results directly in Emacs and save the changes back to the files. People call it one of their favorite Emacs tools, and it has landed in Emacs 30.

6 people gave an opinion

recommend it
6
criticize it
0
approval share
100%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 5 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: not recommended
  2. December 2025: not recommended
  3. January 2026: not recommended
  4. February 2026: not recommended
  5. March 2026: recommended
  6. April 2026: recommended
  7. May 2026: recommended
  8. June 2026: not recommended
  9. July 2026: recommended
  10. August 2026: not recommended
  11. September 2026: recommended
  12. October 2026: not recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Why it doesn’t carry the badge

  • 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
  • Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.

The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works

What people say about it

The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.

Why people recommend it

Each mark is one comment

  • Edits grep results in place

    “or do the same for a set of files (grep-mode and wgrep)”

    Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “Neovim 0.12.0”

    “wgrep-mode for editing files is amazing”

    Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “My Emacs Configuration (Dired)”
  • Praised as a favorite Emacs tool

    “Strengths: magit, wgrep, vterm, buffer management, plugins & packaging.”

    Comment from 1 May 2026 in “I have officially retired from Emacs”

    “it's been one of my favorite tools”

    Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “Emacs Bedrock 2.0”
  • Integrates well with other Emacs tools

    “Strengths: magit, wgrep, vterm, buffer management, plugins & packaging.”

    Comment from 1 May 2026 in “I have officially retired from Emacs”

    “what makes them great is actually the integration between them”

    Comment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Ask HN: What's your favorite Emacs package?”

Other Emacs packages people recommend

The four most recommended other Emacs packages, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.

wgrep compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
Evil mode for Emacs39785%11—Approved
agent-shell25681%11—Approved
TRAMP for Emacs251071%8—Approved
gptel20195%12—Approved
wgrepThis page60100%5——
See all 24 Emacs packages, ranked

What people said

All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“it's been one of my favorite tools”

RecommendsComment from 8 Sep 2026 in “Emacs Bedrock 2.0”

“wgrep-mode for editing files is amazing”

RecommendsComment from 24 Jul 2026 in “My Emacs Configuration (Dired)”

“Strengths: magit, wgrep, vterm, buffer management, plugins & packaging.”

RecommendsComment from 1 May 2026 in “I have officially retired from Emacs”

“what makes them great is actually the integration between them”

RecommendsComment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Ask HN: What's your favorite Emacs package?”

“or do the same for a set of files (grep-mode and wgrep)”

RecommendsComment from 29 Mar 2026 in “Neovim 0.12.0”

“wgrep having landed in Emacs 30”

MixedComment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Two Years of Emacs Solo: 35 Modules, Zero External Packages, and a Full Refactor”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.