text-scan#

Description#

Search for relevant information in text files without reading the entire file. Returns matching lines with context, scored by relevance. Useful for quickly finding specific information in large files.

When to Use#

• You need to find a specific piece of information in a file but don't know the exact location
• You want to scan multiple files for relevant content before deciding which to read fully
• Marek wants you to extract specific lines from large files
• You're doing research and need to quickly scan through notes, logs, or documents
• The file is very large and reading it entirely would waste tokens/time

How It Works#

The script uses token-based matching with scoring:

• Exact token matches score 2 points
• Substring/partial matches score 1 point
• Phrase matches (adjacent query terms found together in the line) score 3 points
• Results are sorted by score and limited

Usage#

bash

# Basic search
python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/text-scan.py <file> --query "<search terms>"

# Brief format (line number + content)
python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/text-scan.py <file> --query "<search terms>" --brief

# JSON output (for programmatic use)
python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/text-scan.py <file> --query "<search terms>" --json

# Custom context window
python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/text-scan.py <file> --query "<search terms>" --before 3 --lines 5

# From stdin
cat <file> | python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/text-scan.py --query "<search terms>"

Examples#

bash

# Find the runway in STATE.md
python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/text-scan.py /home/marek/.openclaw/workspace/STATE.md --query "runway"

# Find today's work hours
python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/text-scan.py /home/marek/.openclaw/workspace/STATE.md --query "today work hours"

# Find all log entries about a topic
python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/text-scan.py /home/marek/.openclaw/workspace/LOG.md --query "weather"

Parameters#

ParameterDescriptionDefault--query, -qSearch query (keywords)required--lines, -aLines after each match5--before, -bLines before each match2--max-results, -nMaximum results to return5--jsonJSON output formatfalse--briefBrief format onlyfalse--fuzzyEnable fuzzy matchingfalse--output, -oWrite results to filestdout

Integration with OpenClaw#

This skill integrates with the standard read tool workflow:

1. Use text-scan to quickly find relevant lines in a file
2. If the result is significant, use read to load the full file context
3. This reduces token usage by avoiding reading unnecessary content

Tips#

• Use shorter queries for broader matches, longer phrases for precision
• The --brief flag is fastest for quick scans
• --json output is useful for scripting/automation
• Combine with find to scan multiple files: find . -name "*.md" | xargs ...
• Score 3+ matches are usually high-confidence — worth reading in full