srclib is a polyglot code analysis library, built with hackability in mind.

srclib makes developer tools like editor plugins and code search better. It supports things like jump to definition, find usages, type inference, and documentation generation.

srclib consists of language analysis toolchains (currently for Go, Python, JavaScript, and Ruby) with a common output format, and developer tools that consume this format.

srclib originated inside ✱ Sourcegraph, where it powers intelligent code search over hundreds of thousands of projects.

Installation

To install srclib and use it in your editor, follow these steps.

1. Install `src`

The src command-line tool is the interface to srclib.

Binaries: Linux amd64, Linux i386, Mac OS X (unzip and place the src program in your $PATH)
Or build from source: go get -u -v sourcegraph.com/sourcegraph/srclib/cmd/src

2. Install toolchains

Toolchains add support for languages (JavaScript, Ruby, Go, etc.).

Install the standard set of toolchains: src toolchain install-std

You can skip languages you don't want by adding, e.g., --skip ruby.

To list installed toolchains, run src toolchain list.

3. Install an editor plugin

Install a srclib editor plugin, which provides doc lookups, find-usages, and type information with zero configuration needed (in most cases).

Interested in building a plugin for an editor srclib doesn't yet support? Let us know—we'd love to help!

	Python	Ruby	JS	Go	Java	C++	...
Emacs
Vim
Sublime
Atom
Eclipse
...

The Problem

Right now, most people write code in editors that don't give them as much programming assistance as is possible. That's because creating an editor plugin and language analyzer for your favorite language and editor combo is a lot of work. And when you're done, your plugin only supports a single language and editor, and maybe only half the features you wanted.

Because there are no standard cross-language and cross-editor APIs and data formats, it is difficult to reuse your plugin for other languages or editors. So if there are M languages and N editors, we need to build M × N different plugins. That number gets large quickly, and so we suffer from poor developer tools.

The Solution

srclib takes care of the code analysis that underlies key assistive features such as finding usages and jumping to definitions. It exposes a command-line API and outputs data in a well defined, language-independent format.

A plugin (or other tool) built on srclib just has to consume this data format to support all languages that srclib supports. srclib is designed to be modular and extensible. New languages can be added by implementing language toolchains that output the srclib format.

srclib handles:

package detection,
global dependency resolution,
type inference,
querying the graph of definitions and references in code,
versioning using different VCS systems, and
semantic blaming

in a way that is:

language-independent,
flexible,
extensible, and
configuration-free.

Sublime	Vim	Emacs	Atom	Eclipse	...
srclib
Python	Ruby	JS	Go	Java	C++	...

Get involved

srclib is currently in beta. We are fixing bugs, adding support for more languages, and building more editor plugins on top of it. Help us out by using srclib and sending us feedback, spreading the word, or contributing code!