findstr to find multiple strings in multiple files
- Sean O'Shea
- Sep 11, 2018
- 2 min read
As discussed on this blog in the past, the Windows command findstr can be used to perform complicated searches through multiple files, including regular expression searches. Here's a quick demo of how findstr can be used to search for multiple search terms in multiple files.
Compose a batch file with this code:
@echo off
for /F %%i in (searchlist.txt) do ( echo Files containing %%i findstr /C:%%i /S *.txt )
[Enter this in a text file and then save it with the extension 'bat'. ]

'searchlist.txt' refers to a file listing the strings you want to search for. Each string needs to be on a separate line.

The end of the code [*.txt] specifies that only .txt files should be searched.
The result shows the hits in context for each file, one search term at a time:
Files containing court frankenstein.txt:courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remaine frankenstein.txt:of the court, which had that night been my asylum, and I issued int frankenstein.txt:as witnesses, I accompanied them to the court. During the whole of frankenstein.txt:court she threw her eyes round it and quickly discovered where we w frankenstein.txt:his neck, a murmur of horror and indignation filled the court. frankenstein.txt:the court. frankenstein.txt:I rushed out of the court in agony. The tortures of the accused di frankenstein.txt:the court; my lips and throat were parched. I dared not ask the fa frankenstein.txt:court. He made, at that moment, a solemn vow to deliver him and th frankenstein.txt:town where the court was held. Mr. Kirwin charged himself with eve frankenstein.txt:brought before the court that decides on life and death. The grand mobydick.txt:sanctity, that I could not suspect him of courting notoriety by any mobydick.txt:to him who, in this world, courts not dishonor! Woe to him who would mobydick.txt:has proved but hollow courtesy. I drew my bench near him, and made some mobydick.txt:Babylon; and to have been Belshazzar, not haughtily but courteously, mobydick.txt:the shipΓÇÖs cabin belongs to them; and that it is by courtesy alone th
. . . and so on.

Thanks to Srini for the code.