grepai-languages

GrepAI Supported Languages

This skill covers the programming languages supported by GrepAI for indexing and call graph analysis.

When to Use This Skill

• Checking if your language is supported
• Configuring language-specific settings
• Understanding trace capabilities per language
• Troubleshooting language-related issues

Supported Languages Overview

GrepAI supports indexing for all text-based files, but has enhanced support for specific programming languages.

Full Support (Index + Trace)

Index Only (No Trace)

Language Configuration

Enabling/Disabling Languages for Trace

# .grepai/config.yaml
trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .go
    - .js
    - .ts
    - .jsx
    - .tsx
    - .py
    - .php
    - .rs
    - .c
    - .cpp
    - .cs
    - .java

Excluding Certain Extensions

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .go
    # Exclude JavaScript intentionally
    # - .js
 
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*_test.go"
    - "*.spec.ts"

Language-Specific Tips

Go

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .go
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*_test.go"
    - "mock_*.go"
    - "*_mock.go"

Trace accuracy: Excellent. Go's explicit syntax makes tracing very reliable.

JavaScript/TypeScript

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .js
    - .jsx
    - .ts
    - .tsx
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*.test.js"
    - "*.spec.ts"
    - "*.d.ts"  # Type declarations

Trace accuracy: Good. Some dynamic patterns may be missed.

Python

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .py
  exclude_patterns:
    - "test_*.py"
    - "*_test.py"
    - "conftest.py"

Trace accuracy: Good. Dynamic imports and decorators may be missed.

C/C++

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .c
    - .h
    - .cpp
    - .hpp
    - .cc
    - .cxx
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*_test.cpp"

Trace accuracy: Good. Macros and templates may affect accuracy.

Rust

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .rs
  exclude_patterns:
    - "**/tests/**"
    - "**/benches/**"

Trace accuracy: Excellent. Rust's explicit syntax aids accurate tracing.

PHP

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .php
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*Test.php"
    - "**/tests/**"

Trace accuracy: Good. Magic methods may not be fully traced.

Java

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .java
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*Test.java"
    - "**/test/**"

Trace accuracy: Good. Reflection-based calls may be missed.

C#

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    - .cs
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*Tests.cs"
    - "**/Tests/**"

Trace accuracy: Good. Delegates and events may be partially traced.

Multi-Language Projects

For projects with multiple languages:

trace:
  enabled_languages:
    # Backend (Go)
    - .go
    # Frontend (TypeScript)
    - .ts
    - .tsx
    # Shared (SQL, etc.)
    - .sql  # Index only
 
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*_test.go"
    - "*.spec.ts"

Index vs Trace Explained

Index (Semantic Search)

• Works on any text file
• Code is chunked and embedded
• Enables semantic search
• No language-specific parsing required

Trace (Call Graphs)

• Requires language-specific parsing
• Extracts function definitions and calls
• Builds caller/callee relationships
• Uses regex (fast) or tree-sitter (precise)

Trace Modes by Language

Adding Custom Extensions

If you have non-standard extensions, they'll be indexed but not traced:

# Custom extension files will be indexed
ignore:
  # Only add patterns for files you DON'T want indexed
  - "*.generated.go"

File Type Detection

GrepAI uses file extensions for detection. It does NOT use:

• Shebangs (#!/usr/bin/env python)
• File content analysis
• .editorconfig

Unsupported Languages (Index Works, No Trace)

These languages can be indexed for semantic search but don't have trace support:

• Ruby
• Swift
• Kotlin
• Scala
• Elixir
• Clojure
• Haskell
• OCaml
• F#
• Erlang
• R
• Julia
• Perl
• Groovy

Workaround: Use semantic search to find code, then manually trace.

Best Practices

1. Enable only needed languages: Faster trace building
2. Exclude test files: Cleaner trace results
3. Use precise mode for accuracy: When trace results seem incomplete
4. Match your tech stack: Configure based on your actual languages

Checking Language Support

# Check what's being indexed
grepai status
 
# Will show file counts by type

Common Issues

❌ Problem: Files not being indexed ✅ Solution: Check file isn't in ignore patterns

❌ Problem: Trace missing for language ✅ Solution: Ensure language is in enabled_languages

❌ Problem: Wrong language detected ✅ Solution: GrepAI uses extensions only; rename files if needed

Output Format

Language support summary:

📚 GrepAI Language Support

Full Support (Index + Trace):
- Go (.go)
- JavaScript (.js, .jsx)
- TypeScript (.ts, .tsx)
- Python (.py)
- PHP (.php)
- C/C++ (.c, .cpp, .h, .hpp)
- Rust (.rs)
- Zig (.zig)
- C# (.cs)
- Java (.java)
- Pascal (.pas, .dpr)

Index Only (No Trace):
- Ruby, Swift, Kotlin, Scala
- Shell scripts, SQL, HTML, CSS
- Config files (YAML, JSON, TOML)
- Documentation (Markdown)

Your config enables trace for:
- .go, .js, .ts, .py