Eclipse Edit

Eclipse Code Editing

Edit files in Eclipse workspace projects using the eclipse-coder MCP tools. These tools keep Eclipse editors synchronized, trigger incremental compilation, and maintain local history for undo.

Available Editing Tools

• applyPatch — Atomically apply a unified diff after validating every hunk. It supports multiple hunks and fuzzy context matching, preserves the file's line delimiter, creates an undoEdit backup, and can show Eclipse's Apply Patch wizard with showDialog=true.
• replaceString — Find and replace exact string. Good for single targeted changes. Optionally scoped to a line range.
• insertIntoFile — Insert content before a specific line (1-based).
• createFile — Create a new file and open it in the editor.
• deleteFile — Delete a file from the project.
• deleteLinesInFile — Delete a range of lines (1-based, inclusive).
• replaceFileContent — Replace entire file content.
• formatFile — Format a Java file using Eclipse's formatter (Ctrl+Shift+F).
• organizeImports — Organize imports in a Java file (Ctrl+Shift+O).
• organizeImportsInPackage — Organize imports across all files in a package.
• undoEdit — Restore a file from Eclipse's local history.

Direct file edits return only after Eclipse has synchronized the saved resource, workspace notifications, cached content, JDT compilation unit (for Java files), and editor selection. Check the Workspace state line in the result for saved, cache/JDT state, and the final modification stamp.

Refactoring Tools

For Java files, prefer refactoring tools over manual rename/move — they update all references:

• refactorRenameJavaType — Rename class/interface/enum with workspace-wide reference updates.
• refactorMoveJavaType — Move type to different package with reference updates.
• refactorRenamePackage — Rename package with all declaration and reference updates.
• moveResource — Move file/folder (no reference updates — use refactorMoveJavaType for Java).

Workflow

1. Read efficiently — Don't dump entire files:
   • getClassOutline → understand class structure (~30 lines vs ~300)
   • getMethodSource → read only the methods you need to edit
   • getFilteredSource → full source with non-relevant methods collapsed
   • readProjectResource with excludeImports=true → skip import noise
   • Reserve getSource / full readProjectResource for small files
2. Edit using the appropriate tool (see above)
3. Verify with getCompilationErrors to check for problems
4. Clean up with organizeImports if new types were referenced, formatFile for conventions

Tips

• For multi-hunk changes, prefer applyPatch over multiple replaceString calls
• replaceString requires exact whitespace matching — if it fails, try applyPatch instead
• All tools require projectName (Eclipse project name) and filePath (relative to project root, without project name)
• Editing tools open/refresh the affected file and reveal the edited line; multi-file refactorings reveal the primary or first changed file
• Use getProjectLayout with scopePath and maxDepth to navigate large projects
• Line numbers from getClassOutline, getMethodSource, and getFilteredSource are always accurate for replaceString line ranges and applyPatch hunks