gnu grep -r -R -recursive not working on Windows 11

Question

I submitted the following commands through the cmd window on a Windows 11 machine:

grep -r --include=*.c "return" 
grep -r --include="*.c" return
grep --recursive --include=*.c return

None of these commands returned. A very similar question here in SuperUser showed exactly the first command, except with a different search pattern, that allegedly worked.

If I submit the following command while in the directory right above the source files, you can see that an error occurs:

C:> grep -r --include=*.c "return" *.c
grep: *.c: No such file or directory

I have also tried other variations. The grep command does NOT seem to recurse through the directories.

Is there something wrong with the syntax? Have I found a bug? I kind of need it to work.

Answer 1

I eventually found an answer to my question. The thing that was needed was a place to start, which I unwisely assumed would be the directory you are in. So, the command would need to look as follows:

grep -r --include=*.c "return" .

or

grep -r --include=*.c "return" C:\Users\MyHomeDirectory\SourceFiles

As far as I can tell, there is nothing that says to put the starting location at the end of the line. If it in in the text produced by "grep --help", I can't find it.

I hope someone, someday, finds this helpful in the future.