AST & Code Graph Indexing

Overview

Text-based search (grep, ripgrep) finds string matches. AST-based analysis understands structure — it knows the difference between a function definition, a function call, a comment, and a string literal.

Primary tool: ast-grep (sg / ast-grep) — a fast, Rust-based CLI for structural code search, lint, and rewriting. It uses tree-sitter for parsing and supports 20+ languages out of the box.

Core principle: When the question is about code structure, use AST analysis. When the question is about text content, use grep.

Trigger Patterns

Detailed examples of when to trigger this skill: