gtags-code

A Visual Studio Code extension that integrates Gtags to provide fast and accurate code navigation across multiple languages.

Features

• Jump to symbol definitions using GNU Global
• Fast and scalable tag lookups powered by LevelDB
• Quick symbol search via VSCode's Quick Pick UI
• Supports many programming languages through Gtags
• Lightweight and configurable

Requirements

GNU global should be installed in the system.

Installation (VS Code)

Install the extension directly from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace:

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for gtags-code
4. Click Install

Usage

Generate GTAGS in your root directory.

and then write a script to get all tags file similar to ctags tag file output. I will push future update that use gtags directly. For now please use this script.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# gtags-to-ctags.sh
# Usage: ./gtags-to-ctags.sh [project-root] > tags
# Produces a ctags-compatible "tags" file (with search-pattern addresses)
set -euo pipefail

proj="${1:-.}"
cd "$proj" || exit 1

# Ensure GTAGS exists / update gtags database
if ! [ -f GTAGS ]; then
  echo "GTAGS not found: running gtags..." >&2
  gtags >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "gtags failed" >&2; exit 1; }
fi

# Print ctags header
printf "%s\n" "!_TAG_FILE_FORMAT\t2\t/extended format/" 

# Use global -f to list tags. Format of global -f lines (typical):
#    name lineno path rest-of-line-source
# We will produce: tag<TAB>path<TAB>/^escaped_source$/;"
# Use awk to parse and escape slashes and leading/trailing spaces.
global -f | awk '
{
  name = $1;
  lineno = $2;
  file = $3;
  # remove first three fields from $0 to get the source text (the rest)
  sub($1 FS $2 FS $3 FS, "", $0);
  src = $0;
  # trim leading/trailing spaces
  gsub(/^[ \t]+|[ \t]+$/, "", src);
  if (src == "") {
    # fallback to using a search by the name (safer than nothing)
    pattern = "/^" name "$/;"
  } else {
    # escape backslashes and slashes and caret/dollar which could break searches
    gsub(/\\/,"\\\\\\",src);
    gsub(/\//,"\\/\\/",src);
    # remove literal leading ^ or trailing $ to avoid double anchors
    gsub(/^[\^]+|[\$]+$/,"",src);
    # collapse multiple spaces for stability (optional)
    gsub(/[ \t]+/," ",src);
    pattern = "/^" src "$/;"
  }
  # Output: tag<TAB>file<TAB>pattern"<TAB> (ctags extended normally adds \" as comment start)
  printf("%s\t%s\t%s\"\\n", name, file, pattern);
}'

Any tool can be used as long as the below format of the tags file are holding

• Column 1: Symbol definition (tag name)
• Column 2: File information
• Column 3: Pattern to locate the symbol

📂 Place the tags file directly in the root of your workspace.

2. Store Tags (Build the Tags DB)

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P) and run:

Gtags: Store Tags

This command will parse the tags file and store its contents in a fast LevelDB-based key-value store (tagsdb) at the root of your workspace.

This step is required before using any search or navigation commands.

3. Jump to Tag

Once the tagsdb is built, you can navigate to symbol definitions using:

• Right-click on a symbol in the editor → Gtags: Jump to Tag
• Or use the Command Palette → Gtags: Jump to Tag

4. Search Tags

To search for any symbol globally across your project:

• Open the Command Palette and run:

Gtags: Search Tag

As you type, a Quick Pick dropdown will show matching symbols from the tagsdb, allowing instant navigation.

Extension Commands

Implementation Details

• tagsdb is implemented using LevelDB, a fast key-value store.
• Keys are tag names; values contain file paths and symbol location info.
• Lookup is optimized for incremental filtering and fast results.
• Tag search suggestion is optimized based on token match pattern search.

Contributing

Pull requests and feedback are welcome! Please open an issue or PR.

License

MIT