PHP API Reference

PHP API Reference v1.8.1¶

Functions¶

detectLanguageFromExtension()¶

Detect language name from a file extension (without leading dot).

Returns null for unrecognized extensions. The match is case-insensitive.

Signature:

public static function detectLanguageFromExtension(string $ext): ?string

Returns: ?string

detectLanguageFromPath()¶

Detect language name from a file path.

Extracts the file extension and looks it up. Returns null if the path has no extension or the extension is not recognized.

Signature:

public static function detectLanguageFromPath(string $path): ?string

Returns: ?string

detectLanguageFromContent()¶

Detect language name from file content using the shebang line (#!).

Inspects only the first line of content. If it begins with #!, the interpreter name is extracted and mapped to a language name.

Handles common patterns: - #!/usr/bin/env python3 → "python" - #!/bin/bash → "bash" - #!/usr/bin/env node → "javascript"

The -S flag accepted by some env implementations is skipped automatically. Version suffixes (e.g. python3.11, ruby3.2) are stripped before matching.

Returns null when content does not start with #!, the shebang is malformed, or the interpreter is not recognised.

Signature:

public static function detectLanguageFromContent(string $content): ?string

Returns: ?string

getHighlightsQuery()¶

Get the highlights query for a language, if bundled.

Returns the contents of highlights.scm as a static string, or null if no highlights query is bundled for this language.

Signature:

public static function getHighlightsQuery(string $language): ?string

Returns: ?string

getInjectionsQuery()¶

Get the injections query for a language, if bundled.

Returns the contents of injections.scm as a static string, or null if no injections query is bundled for this language.

Signature:

public static function getInjectionsQuery(string $language): ?string

Returns: ?string

getLocalsQuery()¶

Get the locals query for a language, if bundled.

Returns the contents of locals.scm as a static string, or null if no locals query is bundled for this language.

Signature:

public static function getLocalsQuery(string $language): ?string

Returns: ?string

getLanguage()¶

Get a tree-sitter Language by name using the global registry.

Resolves language aliases (e.g., "shell" maps to "bash"). When the download feature is enabled (default), automatically downloads the parser from GitHub releases if not found locally.

Errors:

Returns Error::LanguageNotFound if the language is not recognized, or Error::Download if auto-download fails.

Signature:

public static function getLanguage(string $name): Language

Returns: Language Errors: Throws Error.

getParser()¶

Get a Parser pre-configured for the given language.

This is a convenience function that calls get_language and configures a new parser in one step.

Errors:

Returns Error::LanguageNotFound if the language is not recognized, or Error::ParserSetup if the language cannot be applied to the parser.

Signature:

public static function getParser(string $name): Parser

Returns: Parser Errors: Throws Error.

detectLanguage()¶

Detect language name from a file path or extension.

This compatibility alias matches the pre-Alef Python binding API.

Signature:

public static function detectLanguage(string $path): ?string

Returns: ?string

availableLanguages()¶

List all available language names (sorted, deduplicated, includes aliases).

Returns names of both statically compiled and dynamically loadable languages, plus any configured aliases.

Signature:

public static function availableLanguages(): array<string>

hasLanguage()¶

Check if a language is available by name or alias.

Returns true if the language can be loaded (statically compiled, dynamically available, or a known alias for one of these).

Signature:

public static function hasLanguage(string $name): bool

Returns: bool

languageCount()¶

Return the number of available languages.

Includes statically compiled languages, dynamically loadable languages, and aliases.

Signature:

public static function languageCount(): int

process()¶

Process source code and extract file intelligence using the global registry.

Parses the source with tree-sitter and extracts metrics, structure, imports, exports, comments, docstrings, symbols, diagnostics, and/or chunks based on the flags set in ProcessConfig.

Errors:

Returns an error if the language is not found or parsing fails.

Signature:

public static function process(string $source, ProcessConfig $config): ProcessResult

Returns: ProcessResult Errors: Throws Error.

init()¶

Initialize the language pack with the given configuration.

Applies any custom cache directory, then downloads all languages and groups specified in the config. This is the recommended entry point when you want to pre-warm the cache before use.

Errors:

Returns an error if configuration cannot be applied or if downloads fail.

Signature:

public static function init(PackConfig $config): void

Returns: void Errors: Throws Error.

configure()¶

Apply download configuration without downloading anything.

Use this to set a custom cache directory before the first call to get_language or any download function. Changing the cache dir after languages have been registered has no effect on already-loaded languages.

Errors:

Returns an error if the lock cannot be acquired.

Signature:

public static function configure(PackConfig $config): void

Returns: void Errors: Throws Error.

download()¶

Download specific languages to the local cache.

Returns the number of requested languages available after the call. Already compiled or cached languages are included in the count.

Errors:

Returns an error if any language is not available in the manifest or if the download fails.

Signature:

public static function download(array<string> $names): int

Returns: int Errors: Throws Error.

downloadAll()¶

Download all available languages from the remote manifest.

Downloads the platform bundle and extracts every library it contains. Languages that appear in the manifest but are absent from the bundle (e.g. grammars that failed to compile at release time) are silently skipped — they are not treated as an error.

Returns the total number of languages now available (statically compiled plus downloaded and cached).

Errors:

Returns an error if the manifest cannot be fetched or the bundle download fails.

Signature:

public static function downloadAll(): int

manifestLanguages()¶

Return all language names available in the remote manifest (305).

Fetches (and caches) the remote manifest to discover the full list of downloadable languages. Use downloaded_languages to list what is already cached locally.

Errors:

Returns an error if the manifest cannot be fetched.

Signature:

public static function manifestLanguages(): array<string>

downloadedLanguages()¶

Return languages that are already downloaded and cached locally.

Does not perform any network requests. Returns an empty list if the cache directory does not exist or cannot be read.

Signature:

public static function downloadedLanguages(): array<string>

cleanCache()¶

Delete all cached parser shared libraries.

Resets the cache registration so the next call to get_language or a download function will re-register the (now empty) cache directory.

Errors:

Returns an error if the cache directory cannot be removed.

Signature:

public static function cleanCache(): void

cacheDir()¶

Return the effective cache directory path.

This is either the custom path set via configure / init or the default: ~/.cache/tree-sitter-language-pack/v{version}/libs/.

Errors:

Returns an error if the system cache directory cannot be determined.

Signature:

public static function cacheDir(): string

Types¶

ByteRange¶

A byte range — start (inclusive) to end (exclusive).

ChunkContext¶

Metadata for a single chunk of source code.

CodeChunk¶

A chunk of source code with rich metadata.

CommentInfo¶

A comment extracted from source code.

Diagnostic¶

A diagnostic (syntax error, missing node, etc.) from parsing.

DocSection¶

A section within a docstring (e.g., Args, Returns, Raises).

DocstringInfo¶

A docstring extracted from source code.

DownloadManager¶

Manages downloading and caching of pre-built parser shared libraries.

Methods¶

new()¶

Create a new download manager for the given version.

Signature:

public static function new(string $version): DownloadManager

withCacheDir()¶

Create a download manager with a custom cache directory.

Signature:

public static function withCacheDir(string $version, string $cacheDir): DownloadManager

installedLanguages()¶

List languages that are already downloaded and cached.

Signature:

public function installedLanguages(): array<string>

downloadAllBestEffort()¶

Download the platform bundle and extract every library file it contains.

Unlike ensure_languages, this does not check the manifest language list against archive contents — it simply extracts all .so/.dylib/.dll files from the bundle. Languages in the manifest that are missing from the archive are silently ignored rather than returning an error.

Returns the number of library files extracted (including those already cached).

Signature:

public function downloadAllBestEffort(): int

cleanCache()¶

Remove all cached parser libraries.

Signature:

public function cleanCache(): void

ExportInfo¶

An export statement extracted from source code.

FileMetrics¶

Aggregate metrics for a source file.

ImportInfo¶

An import statement extracted from source code.

Language¶

LanguageRegistry¶

Thread-safe registry of tree-sitter language parsers.

Manages both statically compiled and dynamically loaded language grammars. Use LanguageRegistry::new() for the default registry, or access the global instance via the module-level convenience functions (get_language, available_languages, etc.).

Methods¶

getLanguage()¶

Get a tree-sitter Language by name.

Resolves aliases (e.g., "shell" -> "bash", "makefile" -> "make"), then looks up the language in the static table. When the dynamic-loading feature is enabled, falls back to loading a shared library on demand.

Errors:

Returns Error::LanguageNotFound if the name (after alias resolution) does not match any known grammar.

Signature:

public function getLanguage(string $name): Language

availableLanguages()¶

List all available language names, sorted and deduplicated.

Includes statically compiled languages, dynamically loadable languages (if the dynamic-loading feature is enabled), and all configured aliases.

Signature:

public function availableLanguages(): array<string>

hasLanguage()¶

Check whether a language is available by name or alias.

Returns true if the language can be loaded, either from the static table or from a dynamic library on disk.

Signature:

public function hasLanguage(string $name): bool

languageCount()¶

Return the total number of available languages (including aliases).

Signature:

public function languageCount(): int

process()¶

Parse source code and extract file intelligence based on config in a single pass.

Signature:

public function process(string $source, ProcessConfig $config): ProcessResult

default()¶

Signature:

public static function default(): LanguageRegistry

Node¶

A single syntax node within a Tree.

Nodes hold a strong reference to their parent tree so they remain valid regardless of how the tree is moved or stored at the FFI boundary.

Methods¶

clone()¶

Signature:

public function clone(): Node

kind()¶

Return the node's kind name (e.g. "function_definition").

Signature:

public function kind(): string

startByte()¶

Return the inclusive start byte offset of this node.

Signature:

public function startByte(): int

endByte()¶

Return the exclusive end byte offset of this node.

Signature:

public function endByte(): int

byteRange()¶

Return the node's byte range as a ByteRange.

Callers should slice their own source bytes — this is a zero-copy text accessor.

Signature:

public function byteRange(): ByteRange

startPosition()¶

Return the start Point (row, column).

Signature:

public function startPosition(): Point

endPosition()¶

Return the end Point (row, column).

Signature:

public function endPosition(): Point

isNamed()¶

True when this node is named (not punctuation/whitespace).

Signature:

public function isNamed(): bool

isError()¶

True when this is an error node.

Signature:

public function isError(): bool

isMissing()¶

True when this is a missing-token node.

Signature:

public function isMissing(): bool

isExtra()¶

True when this is an "extra" node (e.g. a comment).

Signature:

public function isExtra(): bool

hasError()¶

True when this node or any descendant is an error.

Signature:

public function hasError(): bool

parent()¶

Return this node's parent, if any.

Signature:

public function parent(): ?Node

child()¶

Return the i-th child of this node, if any.

Signature:

public function child(int $index): ?Node

childCount()¶

Total number of children (including unnamed).

Signature:

public function childCount(): int

namedChild()¶

Return the i-th named child of this node, if any.

Signature:

public function namedChild(int $index): ?Node

namedChildCount()¶

Number of named children of this node.

Signature:

public function namedChildCount(): int

childByFieldName()¶

Look up a child by its grammar-defined field name.

Signature:

public function childByFieldName(string $name): ?Node

toSexp()¶

Return the S-expression form of this node's subtree.

Signature:

public function toSexp(): string

walk()¶

Return a TreeCursor positioned at this node.

Signature:

public function walk(): TreeCursor

PackConfig¶

Configuration for the tree-sitter language pack.

Controls cache directory and which languages to pre-download. Can be loaded from a TOML file, constructed programmatically, or passed as a dict/object from language bindings.

Parser¶

A tree-sitter parser configured for one language at a time.

Methods¶

setLanguage()¶

Configure the parser to use the language identified by name (e.g. "python").

Resolves the language through the global registry — auto-downloading if necessary, when the download feature is enabled.

Errors:

Returns Error::LanguageNotFound if the language is not recognized, or Error::ParserSetup if the language ABI is incompatible.

Signature:

public function setLanguage(string $name): void

parse()¶

Parse a UTF-8 source string. Returns null if parsing was cancelled or no language is set.

Signature:

public function parse(string $source): ?Tree

parseBytes()¶

Parse a raw byte slice. Returns null if parsing was cancelled or no language is set.

Signature:

public function parseBytes(string $source): ?Tree

reset()¶

Reset internal state. The next call to parse will not be incremental.

Signature:

public function reset(): void

default()¶

Signature:

public static function default(): Parser

Point¶

A source position — row + column, zero-indexed.

Methods¶

from()¶

Signature:

public static function from(Point $p): Point

ProcessConfig¶

Configuration for the process() function.

Controls which analysis features are enabled and whether chunking is performed.

Methods¶

default()¶

Signature:

public static function default(): ProcessConfig

withChunking()¶

Enable chunking with the given maximum chunk size in bytes.

Signature:

public function withChunking(int $maxSize): ProcessConfig

all()¶

Enable all analysis features.

Signature:

public function all(): ProcessConfig

minimal()¶

Disable all analysis features (only metrics computed).

Signature:

public function minimal(): ProcessConfig

ProcessResult¶

Complete analysis result from processing a source file.

Contains metrics, structural analysis, imports/exports, comments, docstrings, symbols, diagnostics, and optionally chunked code segments. Fields are populated based on the ProcessConfig flags.

Span¶

Byte and line/column range in source code.

Represents both byte offsets (for slicing) and human-readable line/column positions (for display and diagnostics).

StructureItem¶

A structural item (function, class, struct, etc.) in source code.

SymbolInfo¶

A symbol (variable, function, type, etc.) extracted from source code.

Tree¶

A parsed syntax tree. Cheap to clone (refcount bump).

Methods¶

rootNode()¶

Return the root Node of this tree.

Signature:

public function rootNode(): Node

walk()¶

Return a TreeCursor positioned at the root.

Signature:

public function walk(): TreeCursor

TreeCursor¶

A cursor for traversing a Tree.

Methods¶

node()¶

Return the Node at the cursor's current position.

Signature:

public function node(): Node

gotoFirstChild()¶

Move the cursor to the first child of the current node. Returns true if a child existed.

Signature:

public function gotoFirstChild(): bool

gotoParent()¶

Move the cursor to the parent of the current node. Returns true if a parent existed.

Signature:

public function gotoParent(): bool

gotoNextSibling()¶

Move the cursor to the next sibling of the current node. Returns true if a sibling existed.

Signature:

public function gotoNextSibling(): bool

fieldName()¶

Return the field name for the current node, if any.

Signature:

public function fieldName(): ?string

Enums¶

StructureKind¶

The kind of structural item found in source code.

Categorizes top-level and nested declarations such as functions, classes, structs, enums, traits, and more. Use Other for language-specific constructs that do not fit a standard category.

CommentKind¶

The kind of a comment found in source code.

Distinguishes between single-line comments, block (multi-line) comments, and documentation comments.

DocstringFormat¶

The format of a docstring extracted from source code.

Identifies the docstring convention used, which varies by language (e.g., Python triple-quoted strings, JSDoc, Rustdoc /// comments).

ExportKind¶

The kind of an export statement found in source code.

Covers named exports, default exports, and re-exports from other modules.

SymbolKind¶

The kind of a symbol definition found in source code.

Categorizes symbol definitions such as variables, constants, functions, classes, types, interfaces, enums, and modules.

DiagnosticSeverity¶

Severity level of a diagnostic produced during parsing.

Used to classify parse errors, warnings, and informational messages found in the syntax tree.

Errors¶

Error¶

Errors that can occur when using the tree-sitter language pack.

Covers language lookup failures, parse errors, query errors, and I/O issues. Feature-gated variants are included when config, download, or related features are enabled.

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