Ast Grep

ast-grep

ast-grep (sg) is a CLI tool that searches, lints, and rewrites code using Abstract Syntax Trees instead of text patterns. It uses tree-sitter parsers, supports 20+ languages (including Markdown), and runs in seconds across large codebases.

Write a code snippet as a pattern, and ast-grep matches it structurally against the AST -- ignoring whitespace, comments, and formatting differences.

Patterns are one atomic building block. When a pattern alone can't express what you need (disambiguation, naming constraints, relational checks, transforms), graduate to a full YAML rule. Patterns handle ~60% of searches; YAML rules handle the rest.

1. Write valid parseable code as patterns. Tree-sitter must parse the pattern. Invalid syntax silently produces zero matches with no error, so always verify a new pattern returns results before adding constraints.
2. Metavariable names use UPPERCASE: $NAME, $$$ARGS, $_. Lowercase $name is treated as literal code, not a capture.
3. $X captures exactly one AST node. Use $$$X for zero-or-more. The mismatch is the most common cause of "pattern doesn't match" -- a single-arg pattern won't match a two-arg call.
4. Same name = same content: $A == $A matches x == x but rejects x == y. This is structural equality, not variable binding -- use it intentionally.
5. Every rule needs at least one positive atomic rule (pattern, kind, or regex). A not rule alone is invalid because ast-grep needs something to anchor the search.
6. regex matches the full node text. Partial matches fail. /foo/ does not match fooBar -- use ^foo if you want prefix matching.
7. fix replaces the single matched node. It cannot patch multiple locations. Use expandStart/expandEnd to consume surrounding tokens (trailing commas, semicolons).
8. Unmatched metavariables become empty strings in fix. This is intentional for optional captures, but verify your pattern actually captures what you expect before relying on it in a rewrite.
9. Use stopBy: end on relational rules (inside, has, follows, precedes) unless you specifically want neighbor-only matching. The default stopBy: neighbor stops at the first non-matching node and misses deeper results -- this is the second most common cause of "rule doesn't match."
10. Shell escaping for --inline-rules: the shell interprets $ as a variable. Wrap YAML in single quotes or escape each metavariable with \$VAR.
11. Write example code before writing rules. Small mistakes in rule composition cascade into completely invalid output. Write a concrete code snippet that should match, verify the AST structure with --debug-query=cst, then build the rule against that snippet.
12. Verify every rule before searching the codebase. Test against the example snippet with sg scan --inline-rules '...' --stdin or sg scan -r rule.yml test.file. This catches composition errors before they waste a full codebase scan.

Rules are compositions of atomic parts. A single error in one part cascades, so verify at each step.

1. Understand the intent -- what code pattern are you looking for? What should match and what should not?
2. Write example code -- a concrete snippet that should match the rule, and one that should not. These are the test fixtures.
3. Explore the AST -- sg run --pattern 'TARGET_CODE' --debug-query=cst -l LANG to see node kinds and structure of the example code.
4. Write the rule -- start with the simplest possible pattern. Add constraints, relational rules, and transforms incrementally. Test after each addition.
5. Test the rule against the example -- echo "example code" | sg scan --inline-rules '...' --stdin or sg scan -r rule.yml example.file. Confirm it matches the positive case and rejects the negative case.
6. Search the codebase -- sg scan for the full project. Review a sample of results to confirm precision.
7. Formalize -- if reusable, add id, message, severity, fix. Write test YAML with sg new test, generate snapshots with sg test -U.

When a rule doesn't work, go back to step 3. The AST structure frequently contradicts how source code looks visually -- verify with --debug-query=cst rather than assuming.

Before reporting a rule as done, run it against both the positive and negative example. Confirm it matches what it should and rejects what it shouldn't.

Copy code
sg run -p 'fetch($$$ARGS)' -l javascript

yamlCopy code
rule:
  pattern: $HOOK($$$ARGS)
constraints:
  HOOK: { regex: '^use' }

Copy code
sg run -p 'oldFunction($$$ARGS)' -r 'newFunction($$$ARGS)' -l typescript -U

Use context + selector when the target fragment needs surrounding syntax to parse:

yamlCopy code
rule:
  pattern:
    context: 'class A { a = 123 }'
    selector: field_definition

yamlCopy code
id: no-await-in-loop
language: TypeScript
rule:
  pattern: await $EXPR
  inside:
    any:
      - kind: for_statement
      - kind: for_in_statement
      - kind: while_statement
    stopBy: end

References

• Pattern Syntax -- Metavariables, matching rules, strictness modes, pattern object for disambiguation
• Rule Reference -- Atomic, relational, and composite rules, matching order, ESQuery selectors
• YAML Configuration -- Full rule file schema: fix, transform, constraints, utils, rewriters
• CLI Reference -- All commands, flags, output formats, CLI vs Playground differences
• Recipes -- Search, lint, rewrite, transform, debugging, and advanced technique examples