Code Indexing

Fast symbol search using tree-sitter. Supports TypeScript, JavaScript, Go, Python, Rust, and many more languages.

Usage

aide code index              # Index codebase (incremental)
aide code search "getUser"   # Search symbols
aide code symbols src/auth.ts  # List file symbols
aide code references getUser   # Find call sites
aide code stats              # Index statistics
aide code clear              # Clear index

MCP Tools

8 code-related MCP tools are available to the AI:

Tool	Purpose
code_search	Search indexed symbol definitions (functions, classes, types)
code_symbols	List all symbols defined in a specific file
code_references	Find all call sites and usages of a symbol
code_stats	Get index statistics (files, symbols, references)
code_outline	Get collapsed file outline with signatures and line numbers
code_top_references	Rank symbols by reference count across the codebase
code_read_check	Check if a file is indexed, unchanged, and estimate its token cost
token_stats	Get estimated token usage and savings statistics

File Watcher

When the MCP server is running, a file watcher automatically re-indexes changed files. Controlled by:

• --code-watch flag on aide mcp
• AIDE_CODE_WATCH=1 environment variable
• AIDE_CODE_WATCH_DELAY=30s debounce delay (default 30s)

The watcher also triggers findings analysers on changed files.

Smart Read Hints

When the file watcher is enabled, aide tracks which files the AI has read during a session. If the AI attempts to re-read a file that hasn't changed, a soft hint suggests using code_outline, code_symbols, or code_references instead. This avoids redundant full-file reads and preserves context window tokens.

The hint includes an estimated token count for the file, based on calibrated per-language character ratios.

Token Estimation (Experimental)

note

Token tracking is experimental and all values are estimates. Token counts are approximations based on calibrated character ratios, not exact tokenizer output. Use them for relative comparisons and trend analysis, not precise cost accounting.

Each indexed file stores an estimated token count alongside its symbols. Estimates are calibrated against the Anthropic count_tokens API with per-language ratios (e.g., Go ~2.8 chars/token, TypeScript ~3.2, Markdown ~3.7). These estimates are used by the smart read hints and the Token Intelligence dashboard in aide-web.

Token events (reads, outline substitutions, avoided re-reads) are recorded in the store and can be viewed with aide token stats or the aide-web Tokens page.

File Exclusions

Create a .aideignore file in your project root to exclude files from indexing and analysis. Uses gitignore syntax. Built-in defaults already exclude common generated files, lock files, build artifacts, and directories like node_modules/, .git/, vendor/, etc.

Skill

Use /aide:code-search to search code symbols and find call sites interactively.