Exclude directory from grep, e.g. .git, .svn

I tend to use ack. It's a great tool - definitely worth a look.

https://metacpan.org/module/PETDANCE/ack-1.96/ack-base

Seconding ack - it does things like this that you'd just want without having to be told about it. Ack is far nicer to use than grep, IMO.

git grep solves the specific problem rather well