Install Reflex Code Search Tool on Ubuntu 26.04

Reflex is a fast source code search and indexing utility that helps developers locate symbols, definitions, and references within software projects. It builds an index of a repository and provides powerful query capabilities for exploring large codebases efficiently. This tutorial explains how to install Reflex code search tool on Ubuntu 26.04.

Install Reflex

Retrieve the latest Reflex binary from the project release page and save it to a directory included in the system PATH:

sudo curl -sSLo /usr/local/bin/rfx https://github.com/reflex-search/reflex/releases/latest/download/rfx-search-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

Grant execute permissions to the downloaded file:

sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/rfx

Confirm that Reflex has been installed correctly by checking the version information:

rfx --version

Testing Reflex

Download the latest source archive of the Reflex project for demonstration purposes:

curl -sSLo reflex-main.tar.gz https://github.com/reflex-search/reflex/archive/main.tar.gz

tar xf reflex-main.tar.gz && cd reflex-main

Create a search index for the repository:

rfx index

For example, search for the symbol the CacheManager within the indexed project:

rfx query 'CacheManager' --symbols

The results display matching files, symbol types, line locations, and code snippets, allowing quick navigation to relevant sections of the source tree.

Uninstall Reflex

To remove Reflex from the system, delete the installed executable:

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/bin/rfx