Debug and inspect KGF specs — view tokenization results, parse trees, and extracted edges from source files. Use when adding/fixing language support or when…
indexion kgf
Inspect and debug KGF language specs by viewing tokens, parse events, and extracted edges.
When to Use
User wants to debug how indexion processes a specific file
User is developing or modifying a KGF spec
User asks "how does indexion parse this file?"
Verifying that tokenization/parsing works correctly for a language
Debugging grep patterns: when a grep pattern doesn't match, use
kgf tokens to see the actual token kinds
Subcommands
indexion kgf list — List Installed Specs
indexion kgf list
indexion kgf update — Update All Specs
Download the latest specs from GitHub.
indexion kgf update
indexion kgf add — Install a Single Spec
indexion kgf add <spec-name>
indexion kgf inspect — Full Inspection
Show tokens, events, and edges all at once.
indexion kgf inspect <file>
indexion kgf inspect --spec=typescript src/app.ts
indexion kgf tokens — Tokenization Only
Show how a file is tokenized.
indexion kgf tokens <file>
indexion kgf tokens --spec=go-mod go.mod
indexion kgf events — Parse Events Only
Show parse events generated from tokens.
indexion kgf events <file>
indexion kgf edges — Extracted Edges Only
Show the dependency edges extracted from a file.
indexion kgf edges <file>
indexion kgf edges fixtures/project/npm/package.json
Options
Option
Default
Description
--spec=NAME
auto-detect
KGF spec name to use
--kgf-dir=PATH
kgfs
KGF specs directory
Relationship to grep
indexion grep uses KGF tokenization under the hood. Pattern aliases
(pub → KW_pub) are derived from the === lex section of KGF specs.
When a grep pattern doesn't match as expected:
# 1. See the actual tokens for a file
indexion kgf tokens src/config/paths.mbt
# 2. Check which token kinds exist
indexion kgf tokens src/config/paths.mbt | head -20
# 3. Then adjust your grep pattern to match the actual token kinds
indexion grep "KW_pub KW_fn Ident" src/config/paths.mbt
Common token kinds (MoonBit):
KW_pub, KW_fn, KW_struct, KW_enum, KW_type, KW_trait, KW_let, KW_for
Ident (lowercase identifiers), TypeIdent (PascalCase type names)
LPAREN, RPAREN, LBRACE, RBRACE, LBRACKET, RBRACKET
NL (newline), SKIP (whitespace — filtered from grep patterns)
DocComment, DocLine, DocSection, LineComment, BlockComment
String, Number, Char
Workflow
Run indexion kgf inspect <file> to see the full processing pipeline
If something looks wrong, drill down with tokens, events, or edges
Compare with the KGF spec file (kgfs/<lang>.kgf) to diagnose issues
KGF Development Pitfalls
Common bugs found when writing or modifying KGF specs:
PEG Item Ordering (first-match-wins)
KGF uses PEG parsing. In Item -> A / B / C, if A matches, B and C are
never tried. DocComment as a standalone alternative before declaration
rules will consume doc comments that should be attached to declarations.
# BAD: DocComment before FuncDecl — doc is consumed as standalone item
Item -> NL / DocComment / FuncDecl / Other
# GOOD: DocComment after declarations — FuncDecl's doc:DocComment? gets it
Item -> NL / FuncDecl / DocComment / Other
NL Between Doc and Keyword
Source code has newlines between doc comments and declarations. Without
NL? or NL*, the optional doc capture fails silently:
# BAD: DocComment immediately followed by keyword — NL breaks the match
FuncDecl -> doc:DocComment? KW_fn id:Ident ...
# GOOD: NL? allows the typical newline between doc and keyword
FuncDecl -> doc:DocComment? NL? KW_fn id:Ident ...
Bottom-Up Event Order (bind/scope)
Events fire bottom-up: child rules before parent rules. If ExportDecl
wraps FunctionDecl, FunctionDecl fires first. Use bind/$scope to
pass data from child to parent:
on FunctionDecl {
bind ns "value" name "child_decl_id" to $id
edge declares from $file to sym_id attrs obj(...)
}
on ExportDecl when $doc {
let id = $scope("value", "child_decl_id")
edge declares from $file to sym_id attrs obj("doc", $doc, ...)
}
Token Priority Conflicts
Tokens defined earlier take priority. A generic Operator /[=+\-*]+/
before EQ /=/ will consume = as Operator. Define specific tokens first:
# BAD: Operator matches = before EQ can
TOKEN Operator /[!$%&*+\-.\/:<=>?@^|~]+/
TOKEN EQ /=/
# GOOD: EQ defined first, takes priority
TOKEN EQ /=/
TOKEN Operator /[!$%&*+\-.\/:<=>?@^|~]+/
Verifying Doc Extraction
After modifying a KGF, always verify doc appears in declares edges:
# Must show doc="..." in the declares edge
indexion kgf edges test_file.ts --spec=typescript | grep declares
# If doc is missing, check events to see where the DocComment went
indexion kgf events test_file.ts --spec=typescript | grep DocCommentdon't have the plugin yet? install it then click "run inline in claude" again.