GrepAI Trace Callers

This skill covers using

grepai trace callers

to find all code locations that call a specific function or method.

When to Use This Skill

Finding all usages of a function before refactoring
Understanding function dependencies
Impact analysis before changes
Code navigation and exploration

What is Trace Callers?

grepai trace callers

answers: "Who calls this function?"

func Login(user, pass) {...}
        ↑
        │
┌───────┴───────────────────┐
│   Who calls Login()?      │
├───────────────────────────┤
│ • HandleAuth (auth.go:42) │
│ • TestLogin (test.go:15)  │
│ • CLI (main.go:88)        │
└───────────────────────────┘

Basic Usage

bash

grepai trace callers "FunctionName"

Example

bash

grepai trace callers "Login"

Output:

🔍 Callers of "Login"

Found 3 callers:

1. HandleAuth
   File: handlers/auth.go:42
   Context: user.Login(ctx, credentials)

2. TestLoginSuccess
   File: handlers/auth_test.go:15
   Context: result := Login(testUser, testPass)

3. RunCLI
   File: cmd/main.go:88
   Context: err := auth.Login(username, password)

JSON Output

For programmatic use:

bash

grepai trace callers "Login" --json

Output:

json

{
  "query": "Login",
  "mode": "callers",
  "count": 3,
  "results": [
    {
      "file": "handlers/auth.go",
      "line": 42,
      "caller": "HandleAuth",
      "context": "user.Login(ctx, credentials)"
    },
    {
      "file": "handlers/auth_test.go",
      "line": 15,
      "caller": "TestLoginSuccess",
      "context": "result := Login(testUser, testPass)"
    },
    {
      "file": "cmd/main.go",
      "line": 88,
      "caller": "RunCLI",
      "context": "err := auth.Login(username, password)"
    }
  ]
}

Compact JSON (AI Optimized)

bash

grepai trace callers "Login" --json --compact

Output:

json

{
  "q": "Login",
  "m": "callers",
  "c": 3,
  "r": [
    {"f": "handlers/auth.go", "l": 42, "fn": "HandleAuth"},
    {"f": "handlers/auth_test.go", "l": 15, "fn": "TestLoginSuccess"},
    {"f": "cmd/main.go", "l": 88, "fn": "RunCLI"}
  ]
}

TOON Output (v0.26.0+)

TOON format offers ~50% fewer tokens than JSON:

bash

grepai trace callers "Login" --toon

Output:

callers[3]:
  - call_site:
      context: "user.Login(ctx, credentials)"
      file: handlers/auth.go
      line: 42
    symbol:
      name: HandleAuth
      ...

Note:
--json
and
--toon
are mutually exclusive.

Extraction Modes

GrepAI offers two extraction modes:

Fast Mode (Default)

Uses regex patterns. Fast and dependency-free.

bash

grepai trace callers "Login" --mode fast

Precise Mode

Uses tree-sitter AST parsing. More accurate but requires tree-sitter.

bash

grepai trace callers "Login" --mode precise

Comparison

Mode	Speed	Accuracy	Dependencies
`fast`	⚡⚡⚡	Good	None
`precise`	⚡⚡	Excellent	tree-sitter

Configuration

Configure trace in

.grepai/config.yaml

yaml

trace:
  mode: fast  # fast or precise

  enabled_languages:
    - .go
    - .js
    - .ts
    - .py
    - .php
    - .rs

  exclude_patterns:
    - "*_test.go"
    - "*.spec.ts"

Supported Languages

Language	Extensions
Go	`.go`
JavaScript	`.js` , `.jsx`
TypeScript	`.ts` , `.tsx`
Python	`.py`
PHP	`.php`
C/C++	`.c` , `.h` , `.cpp` , `.hpp` , `.cc` , `.cxx`
Rust	`.rs`
Zig	`.zig`
C#	`.cs`
Java	`.java`
Pascal/Delphi	`.pas` , `.dpr`

Use Cases

Before Refactoring

bash

# Find all usages before renaming
grepai trace callers "getUserById"

# Check impact of changing signature
grepai trace callers "processPayment"

Understanding Codebase

bash

# Who uses this core function?
grepai trace callers "validateToken"

# Find entry points to a module
grepai trace callers "initialize"

Debugging

bash

# Where is this function called from?
grepai trace callers "problematicFunction"

Code Review

bash

# Verify function usage before approving changes
grepai trace callers "deprecatedMethod"

Handling Common Names

If your function name is common, results may include unrelated code:

Problem

bash

grepai trace callers "get"  # Too common, many false positives

Solutions

Use more specific name:

bash

grepai trace callers "getUserProfile"

Filter results by path:

bash

grepai trace callers "get" --json | jq '.results[] | select(.file | contains("auth"))'

Combining with Semantic Search

Use together for comprehensive understanding:

bash

# Find what Login does (semantic)
grepai search "user login authentication"

# Find who uses Login (trace)
grepai trace callers "Login"

Scripting Examples

Bash

bash

# Count callers
grepai trace callers "MyFunction" --json | jq '.count'

# Get caller function names
grepai trace callers "MyFunction" --json | jq -r '.results[].caller'

# Get file paths only
grepai trace callers "MyFunction" --json | jq -r '.results[].file' | sort -u

Python

python

import subprocess
import json

result = subprocess.run(
    ['grepai', 'trace', 'callers', 'Login', '--json'],
    capture_output=True,
    text=True
)

data = json.loads(result.stdout)
print(f"Found {data['count']} callers of Login:")
for r in data['results']:
    print(f"  - {r['caller']} in {r['file']}:{r['line']}")

Common Issues

❌ Problem: No callers found ✅ Solutions:

Check function name spelling (case-sensitive)
Ensure file type is in
```
enabled_languages
```
Run
```
grepai watch
```
to update symbol index

❌ Problem: Too many false positives ✅ Solutions:

Use more specific function name
Add exclude patterns in config
Filter results with
```
jq
```

❌ Problem: Missing some callers ✅ Solutions:

Try
```
--mode precise
```
for better accuracy
Check if files are in ignore patterns

Best Practices

Use exact function name: Case matters
Check symbol index: Run
```
grepai watch
```
first
Use JSON for scripts: Easier to parse
Combine with search: Semantic + trace = full picture
Filter large results: Use
```
jq
```
or grep

Output Format

Trace callers result:

🔍 Callers of "Login"

Mode: fast
Language files scanned: 245

Found 3 callers:

1. HandleAuth
   File: handlers/auth.go:42
   Context: user.Login(ctx, credentials)

2. TestLoginSuccess
   File: handlers/auth_test.go:15
   Context: result := Login(testUser, testPass)

3. RunCLI
   File: cmd/main.go:88
   Context: err := auth.Login(username, password)

Tip: Use --json for machine-readable output
     Use --mode precise for more accurate results

grepai-trace-callers

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

GrepAI Trace Callers

When to Use This Skill

What is Trace Callers?

Basic Usage

Example

JSON Output

Compact JSON (AI Optimized)

TOON Output (v0.26.0+)

Extraction Modes

Fast Mode (Default)

Precise Mode

Comparison

Configuration

Supported Languages

Use Cases

Before Refactoring

Understanding Codebase

Debugging

Code Review

Handling Common Names

Problem

Solutions

Combining with Semantic Search

Scripting Examples

Bash

Python

Common Issues

Best Practices

Output Format