afnanenayet AST Navigation with tree-sitter MCP
You have access to tree-sitter MCP tools that let you navigate code structurally rather than as flat text. Use these tools when you need precise, language-aware understanding of code structure.
Available Tools
parse_file
Parse a file and get its top-level AST structure. Returns the root node with its children's kinds and spans.
When to use: Starting point for exploring an unfamiliar file. Shows you what top-level constructs exist (functions, classes, imports, etc.).
file_path: "/path/to/file.rs"
language: "rust" # optional — auto-detected from extension
list_symbols
List all top-level symbols (functions, structs, classes, traits, enums, constants) with their names, kinds, and locations.
When to use: Getting an overview of what a file defines. Much faster than reading the whole file when you just need to know what's there.
file_path: "/path/to/file.rs"
get_definition
Get the full source text of a specific symbol by name.
When to use: Reading one specific function/struct/class without loading the entire file.
file_path: "/path/to/file.rs"
symbol_name: "MyStruct"
get_children_of
Get child definitions within a named scope (methods inside a class/impl, fields in a struct).
When to use: Exploring the contents of a class, impl block, or module.
file_path: "/path/to/file.rs"
symbol_name: "MyStruct"
get_node_at_position
Get the deepest AST node at a specific line/column position.
When to use: Understanding what syntax construct exists at a specific location (e.g., when investigating a compiler error at a given line).
file_path: "/path/to/file.rs"
line: 42
column: 8
get_scope
Get the enclosing scope (function, class, module) at a position, with the full parent chain.
When to use: Understanding the nesting context at a specific location — what function am I in? What class is that function in?
file_path: "/path/to/file.rs"
line: 42
column: 8
navigate
Move from a position in a direction: parent, first_child, next_sibling, prev_sibling, next_named_sibling, prev_named_sibling.
When to use: Traversing the AST step by step from a known position. Useful for exploring neighboring constructs.
file_path: "/path/to/file.rs"
line: 42
column: 8
direction: "parent"
query
Run a raw tree-sitter S-expression query and get all matches with captures.
When to use: Complex structural searches that the other tools don't cover. For example, finding all functions that take a specific parameter type, or all assignments to a variable.
file_path: "/path/to/file.rs"
query: "(function_item name: (identifier) @name parameters: (parameters (parameter type: (type_identifier) @type))) @fn"
Supported Languages
Rust, Python, TypeScript, TSX, JavaScript, Go, Java, C, C++, C#, Ruby, Bash, PHP, OCaml, CSS, HCL.
Usage Patterns
Exploring an unfamiliar codebase:
list_symbolson key files to understand structureget_definitionfor specific symbols you need to understandget_children_ofto drill into classes/modules
Investigating a specific location:
get_node_at_positionto see what's at a line/columnget_scopeto understand the nesting contextnavigatewithparentto walk up the tree
Structural search:
querywith S-expressions for pattern matching across the AST