R: Search and replace strings in files

gsub_file {xfun} | R Documentation

## Search and replace strings in files

### Description

These functions provide the "file" version of `gsub()`, i.e., they perform searching and replacement in files via `gsub()`.

### Usage

    gsub_file(file, ..., rw_error = TRUE)

    gsub_files(files, ...)

    gsub_dir(..., dir = ".", recursive = TRUE, ext = NULL, mimetype = ".*")

    gsub_ext(ext, ..., dir = ".", recursive = TRUE)

### Arguments

`file` | Path of a single file.
`...` | For `gsub_file()`, arguments passed to `gsub()`. For other functions, arguments passed to `gsub_file()`. Note that the argument `x` of `gsub()` is the content of the file.
`rw_error` | Whether to signal an error if the file cannot be read or written. If `FALSE`, the file will be ignored (with a warning).
`files` | A vector of file paths.
`dir` | Path to a directory (all files under this directory will be replaced).
`recursive` | Whether to find files recursively under a directory.
`ext` | A vector of filename extensions (without the leading periods).
`mimetype` | A regular expression to filter files based on their MIME types, e.g., `'^text/'` for plain text files. This requires the mime package.

### Note

These functions perform in-place replacement, i.e., the files will be overwritten. Make sure you backup your files in advance, or use version control!

### Examples

    library(xfun)
    f = tempfile()
    writeLines(c("hello", "world"), f)
    gsub_file(f, "world", "woRld", fixed = TRUE)
    readLines(f)

[Package xfun version 0.31 Index]