Groups > alt.comp.os.windows-10 > #195241

PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH

From	Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com>
Newsgroups	alt.comp.os.windows-10, comp.mobile.android, alt.msdos.batch
Subject	PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH
Date	2026-08-26 20:08 -0600
Organization	BWH Usenet Archive (https://usenet.blueworldhosting.com)
Message-ID	<116o67j$1uct$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com> (permalink)

Cross-posted to 3 groups.

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PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH

This is an Android:Windows cross-platform problem that I run into every 
day because most adb examples we find on the net use grep (not findstr).

It's a PITA to constantly convert adb examples using grep to findstr.

So this approach below is what I just decided to finally do after getting
tired of converting adb|grep examples found on the net to findstr syntax.

I recognize there are many ways to add "grep" to the Windows path.
But, since I already had WSL installed for other reasons, it bothered me
that I couldn't just call the Ubuntu grep from the Windows command line.

What good is WSL if you can't use it when you need it?

Hence, I came up with this method of calling the WSL grep from Windows.

It may be one of the simplest methods to run any WSL Linux tool directly
from the Windows CMD (or powershell) using a simple wrapper script.

But I've only tested it just now with just grep (not sed, awk, ls, etc.).

Unfortunately, WSL Linux binaries aren't normal Windows executables. 

Hence, just adding the WSL Linux binary to Windows PATH 
won't make CMD able to execute it. That would be too easy.

But this method just now worked perfectly, for me, on Windows 10.

Here's the sample x-platform adb:android:windows command we want to run.
 C:\> adb shell pm list packages | grep -i gsf
      'grep' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
      operable program or batch file.

Of course, we've all used CYGWIN and other UNIX binaries in the 
past, but I already have WSL so why not use the grep it came with.

First, let's prove WSL 1 is installed and working.
 C:\> wsl --list --verbose
        NAME      STATE           VERSION
      * Ubuntu    Stopped         1

And, let's prove WSL has a working grep too.
 C:\> wsl grep --version
      grep (GNU grep) 3.11

Since it's there, let's add a "grep.cmd" to a file in our path:
 C:\> gvim C:\path-to\grep.cmd
      @wsl grep %*

Then test from anywhere on the command line:
 C:\> grep --version
      grep (GNU grep) 3.11

Let's get back to what we were doing, which was testing GSF:
 C:\> adb shell pm list packages | grep -i gsf
      package:com.google.android.gsf

Voila!

I haven't tested any of the other WSL Linux commands, but from this simple
grep test, I would hope that the others (sed, awk, etc.) should work too.

Do they?
-- 
On Usenet, kind hearted people try to help each other all day every day.

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PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-26 20:08 -0600
  Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 00:05 -0600
    Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-27 07:13 +0000
      Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "R.Wieser" <address@is.invalid> - 2026-08-27 10:02 +0200
        Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 12:14 -0600
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "R.Wieser" <address@is.invalid> - 2026-08-27 22:06 +0200
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 20:39 -0600
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "R.Wieser" <address@is.invalid> - 2026-08-28 14:35 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 14:47 -0600
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-27 20:19 +0000
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-27 22:31 +0200
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 20:33 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-28 04:59 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-30 21:03 -0600
      Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-27 10:22 +0000
        Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 11:36 -0600
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 12:39 -0600
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-27 22:20 +0200
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-28 18:07 +0000
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 14:49 -0600
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-27 19:11 +0000
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 13:21 -0600
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH vallor <vallor@vallor.earth> - 2026-08-27 19:59 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 21:11 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-28 05:00 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 15:27 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-28 22:26 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Hank Rogers <Hank@nospam.invalid> - 2026-08-28 17:47 -0500
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-29 14:35 +0000
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-27 20:09 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-30 20:32 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-30 20:53 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-31 05:34 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-31 12:45 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-31 09:34 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-31 22:28 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-31 21:33 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-01 07:31 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-09-02 17:44 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-09-02 17:41 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-09-02 14:50 -0400
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-09-02 22:00 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-09-02 21:16 +0100
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-09-02 23:42 +0300
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-09-02 21:36 -0400
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 02:28 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-09-02 23:18 -0400
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 05:03 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-09-03 08:23 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-09-04 04:28 +0930
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-09-04 18:37 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Dan Purgert <dan@djph.net> - 2026-09-02 19:51 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-09-02 22:05 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Dan Purgert <dan@djph.net> - 2026-09-02 20:25 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH CDB <bellemarecd@gmail.com> - 2026-09-02 22:39 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-31 14:24 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-31 11:50 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH vallor <vallor@vallor.earth> - 2026-08-31 18:25 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-09-03 01:18 +0430
      Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 11:53 -0600
        Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-27 20:18 +0000
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 22:56 -0600
        Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-27 22:30 +0200
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 23:12 -0600
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-28 06:34 +0000
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 02:56 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-29 16:40 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-30 02:03 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-29 23:05 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-30 06:56 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-08-30 05:26 -0400
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-30 08:23 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-30 23:31 +0000
    Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "J.O. Aho" <user@example.net> - 2026-09-03 08:39 +0200
  Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-08-27 04:36 -0400
    Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 10:45 -0600
      Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-08-27 14:44 -0400
        Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 12:59 -0600
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 13:16 -0600
        Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-27 19:41 +0000
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH vallor <vallor@vallor.earth> - 2026-08-27 20:03 +0000
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 19:18 -0600
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Herbert Kleebauer <klee@unibwm.de> - 2026-08-28 12:13 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 09:51 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Herbert Kleebauer <klee@unibwm.de> - 2026-08-28 18:24 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 11:13 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Herbert Kleebauer <klee@unibwm.de> - 2026-08-28 19:36 +0200
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-08-28 18:25 +0000
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 13:06 -0600
                Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 12:18 -0600
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 19:37 -0600
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-28 04:28 +0000
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 10:46 -0600
        Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-28 01:21 +0000
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-08-27 22:21 -0400
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-28 04:25 +0000
              Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windows command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-27 23:35 -0600
      Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-28 10:25 -0600
        Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-08-28 15:37 -0400
          Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-29 13:16 +0200
            Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-29 16:27 -0600
  Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-08-30 12:58 +0200
    Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH "Kerr-Mudd, John" <admin@127.0.0.1> - 2026-08-30 12:48 +0100
      Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-30 08:23 -0600
  Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Brian Gregory <void-invalid-dead-dontuse@email.invalid> - 2026-08-31 01:15 +0100
    Re: PSA: How to add WSL grep to the Windwos command-line PATH Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-08-30 20:19 -0600

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