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gemini-cli - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: Ripgrep binary path resolution failure in npm distribution (Windows)

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Gemini CLI 0.42.0 fails to locate the bundled Ripgrep binary on Windows, falling back to the slower GrepTool. This occurs because the binary resolution logic exclusively searches for a specific internal path which is missing in the npm distribution.

Root Cause

In bundle/chunk-7VVHSNDQ.js (or the equivalent source packages/core/src/tools/ripGrep.ts), the getRipgrepPath() function constructs candidate paths based on __dirname:

const candidatePaths = [
  // 1. SEA runtime layout
  path.resolve(__dirname, "vendor/ripgrep", binName),
  // 2. Dev/Dist layout
  path.resolve(__dirname, "../../vendor/ripgrep", binName)
];

In the npm-installed version (global), __dirname resolves to .../node_modules/@google/gemini-cli/bundle/. However:

  1. .../node_modules/@google/gemini-cli/bundle/vendor/ripgrep/ does not exist.
  2. .../node_modules/@google/gemini-cli/vendor/ripgrep/ does not exist.

The npm package structure lacks the vendor/ripgrep folder entirely.

Code Example

const candidatePaths = [
  // 1. SEA runtime layout
  path.resolve(__dirname, "vendor/ripgrep", binName),
  // 2. Dev/Dist layout
  path.resolve(__dirname, "../../vendor/ripgrep", binName)
];
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Bug Report: Ripgrep Binary Path Resolution Issue in Gemini CLI 0.42.0

Summary

Gemini CLI 0.42.0 fails to locate the bundled Ripgrep binary on Windows, falling back to the slower GrepTool. This occurs because the binary resolution logic exclusively searches for a specific internal path which is missing in the npm distribution.

Environment

  • Gemini CLI Version: 0.42.0
  • OS: Windows 10/11 (win32)
  • Node.js: (npm distribution)
  • Ripgrep (System): ripgrep 15.1.0 installed (but ignored)

Root Cause Analysis

In bundle/chunk-7VVHSNDQ.js (or the equivalent source packages/core/src/tools/ripGrep.ts), the getRipgrepPath() function constructs candidate paths based on __dirname:

const candidatePaths = [
  // 1. SEA runtime layout
  path.resolve(__dirname, "vendor/ripgrep", binName),
  // 2. Dev/Dist layout
  path.resolve(__dirname, "../../vendor/ripgrep", binName)
];

In the npm-installed version (global), __dirname resolves to .../node_modules/@google/gemini-cli/bundle/. However:

  1. .../node_modules/@google/gemini-cli/bundle/vendor/ripgrep/ does not exist.
  2. .../node_modules/@google/gemini-cli/vendor/ripgrep/ does not exist.

The npm package structure lacks the vendor/ripgrep folder entirely.

Evidence

Running a search triggers the following internal event: EVENT_RIPGREP_FALLBACK = "gemini_cli.ripgrep_fallback"

Proposed Fixes

  1. Short-term: Include the vendor/ripgrep binaries in the npm package distribution.
  2. Long-term: Update getRipgrepPath() to check if rg or rg.exe is available in the system PATH as a secondary fallback before resorting to the non-ripgrep GrepTool.

Reported on: 2026-05-16

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