@kafeg/pi-grep-ast

Pi package that adds a grep_ast tool backed by Aider-AI/grep-ast.

grep-ast is not ast-grep: it searches by regular expression, then prints AST-aware structural context around matches (functions, methods, classes, loops, etc.) with line numbers. Use it when plain grep finds too little context and ast-grep is too structural for the task.

Based on code-archaeology use, grep_ast works best as a complement to plain grep rather than a complete replacement: use it first to discover entrypoints, classes/functions, dispatch points, and surrounding control flow; use plain grep for exhaustive literal audits such as status codes, exact response helpers, config keys, or all occurrences of one string.

Install

pi install git:github.com/kafeg/pi-grep-ast
# or, after publishing to npm:
pi install npm:@kafeg/pi-grep-ast

The extension expects the Python CLI to be available as grep-ast or gast:

python -m pip install git+https://github.com/Aider-AI/grep-ast.git

Tool

grep_ast

Parameters:

• pattern — regular expression to search for
• paths — optional files/directories; defaults to . and respects .gitignore
• ignoreCase — optional --ignore-case
• encoding — optional file encoding
• noGitignore — optional; pass --no-gitignore to include ignored files
• maxOutputChars — optional truncation limit, default 20000

The tool always passes --line-number so results can be cited as file:line references.

Example requests to Pi:

Use grep_ast to find all uses of fetchUser in src/ and show the surrounding functions/classes.

Use grep_ast to find Python requests.get calls in app/ and show the surrounding functions/classes.

Use grep_ast to map likely HTTP route handlers and dispatch functions. Then use grep to enumerate exact status-code branches.

Development

pi -e ./index.ts

For a quick CLI sanity check outside Pi:

grep-ast --no-color QTimer /path/to/repo/server