What command would you use to search for specific text inside multiple files?

The command to search for specific text inside multiple files is grep -r "text" [directory]. The grep utility is specifically designed for searching text strings within files. The -r option stands for recursive, meaning that grep will search not only in the specified directory but also in all of its subdirectories. This makes it extremely useful for locating specific text across a wide range of files quickly.

When using this command, the user specifies the text to search for in quotes and the directory where the search should begin. This allows for a comprehensive search through all relevant files in the given directory tree.

In contrast, other commands mentioned do not serve the same purpose. For instance, the find command is used for locating files and directories based on various criteria, such as name or type, but it does not search the contents of those files for specific text. The locate command quickly finds file paths from a precompiled database, but it doesn't search within the files themselves. Lastly, the term search does not refer to a standard command in Linux, making it irrelevant in this context.