ast-grep VSCode

ast-grep VSCode, a structural search and replace extension.

It uses ASTs to find and modify code patterns. No more tedious and error-prone text manipulation.

Introduction

Have you ever spent hours trying to find and replace a code pattern using plain text or regular expressions? If so, you know how tedious and error-prone it can be. However, there is a better way to do this: Structural Search and Replace, a technique that allows you to find and modify code patterns based on their syntax and semantics, not just their text.

ast-grep is a structural search/replace tool that uses abstract syntax trees (ASTs) to represent the syntax and structure of your code, and lets you write patterns as if you are writing ordinary code.

It can help you search and replace code elements more precisely and efficiently than using regular expressions or plain text. You can also use ast-grep to perform linting and rewriting tasks, and write your own rules using YAML configuration.

Features

The ast-grep VSCode is an extension to bridge the power of ast-grep and the beloved editor VSCode.

It includes two parts: a UI for ast-grep CLI and a client for ast-grep LSP.

Code search

Use pattern to structural search your codebase.

Search Pattern	Search In Folder

Code Replace

Use pattern to replace matching code.

Replace Preview	Commit Replace

Code Linting and Actions(*)

Require LSP setup

Code linting and code actions require setting up sgconfig.yml in your workspace root.

Requirements

• ast-grep binary in your path.

# install via npm
npm i @ast-grep/cli -g

# install via cargo
cargo install ast-grep

# install via homebrew
brew install ast-grep

Also see the quickstart guide for installation.

• (optional) setting up ast-grep project.

  This is an optional step to enable code linting and code actions. It requires at least one file and one folder to work:

  • sgconfig.yml, the project configuration file
  • a directory storing rule files, conventionally rules/

You can also use the command line tool to set it up.

ast-grep new

Available Commands

• ast-grep.restartLanguageServer Restart ast-grep langauge server. Useful to reload rule or configuration changes.

• ast-grep.searchInFolder Find ast-grep pattern in the specified folder in a project.

• ast-grep.executeAutofix Fix all auto-fixable Problems

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

• astGrep.serverPath: Specify the language server binary path. It can be a relative path to workspace root or an absolute path.

• astGrep.serverPath: Customize ast-grep config file path relative. Default is sgconfig.yml

Video Introduction

See the introduction on YouTube! Please give it a like~