GrepAI Trace Callees

This skill covers using

grepai trace callees

to find all functions called by a specific function.

When to Use This Skill

Understanding function dependencies
Mapping function behavior
Finding deeply nested dependencies
Code comprehension and documentation

What is Trace Callees?

grepai trace callees

answers: "What does this function call?"

func ProcessOrder(order) {
    validateOrder(order)
    calculateTotal(order)
    sendConfirmation(order.email)
}
        │
        ↓
┌───────┴───────────────────┐
│  What does ProcessOrder   │
│  call?                    │
├───────────────────────────┤
│ • validateOrder           │
│ • calculateTotal          │
│ • sendConfirmation        │
└───────────────────────────┘

Basic Usage

bash

grepai trace callees "FunctionName"

Example

bash

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder"

Output:

🔍 Callees of "ProcessOrder"

Found 4 callees:

1. validateOrder
   File: services/order.go:45
   Context: validateOrder(order)

2. calculateTotal
   File: services/order.go:48
   Context: total := calculateTotal(order.Items)

3. applyDiscount
   File: services/order.go:51
   Context: total = applyDiscount(total, order.Coupon)

4. sendConfirmation
   File: services/order.go:55
   Context: sendConfirmation(order.Email, total)

JSON Output

bash

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --json

Output:

json

{
  "query": "ProcessOrder",
  "mode": "callees",
  "count": 4,
  "results": [
    {
      "file": "services/order.go",
      "line": 45,
      "callee": "validateOrder",
      "context": "validateOrder(order)"
    },
    {
      "file": "services/order.go",
      "line": 48,
      "callee": "calculateTotal",
      "context": "total := calculateTotal(order.Items)"
    },
    {
      "file": "services/order.go",
      "line": 51,
      "callee": "applyDiscount",
      "context": "total = applyDiscount(total, order.Coupon)"
    },
    {
      "file": "services/order.go",
      "line": 55,
      "callee": "sendConfirmation",
      "context": "sendConfirmation(order.Email, total)"
    }
  ]
}

Compact JSON (AI Optimized)

bash

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --json --compact

Output:

json

{
  "q": "ProcessOrder",
  "m": "callees",
  "c": 4,
  "r": [
    {"f": "services/order.go", "l": 45, "fn": "validateOrder"},
    {"f": "services/order.go", "l": 48, "fn": "calculateTotal"},
    {"f": "services/order.go", "l": 51, "fn": "applyDiscount"},
    {"f": "services/order.go", "l": 55, "fn": "sendConfirmation"}
  ]
}

TOON Output (v0.26.0+)

TOON format offers ~50% fewer tokens than JSON:

bash

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --toon

Note:
--json
and
--toon
are mutually exclusive.

Extraction Modes

Fast Mode (Default)

bash

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --mode fast

Precise Mode

bash

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --mode precise

Mode	Speed	Accuracy	Dependencies
`fast`	⚡⚡⚡	Good	None
`precise`	⚡⚡	Excellent	tree-sitter

Use Cases

Understanding Function Behavior

bash

# What does this complex function do?
grepai trace callees "handleRequest"

# Map the data flow
grepai trace callees "processPayment"

Finding Dependencies

bash

# What external services does this call?
grepai trace callees "syncData"

# What database operations happen?
grepai trace callees "saveUser"

Code Review

bash

# What side effects does this function have?
grepai trace callees "updateProfile"

# Is this function doing too much?
grepai trace callees "doEverything"  # Lots of callees = code smell

Documentation

bash

# Generate dependency list for docs
grepai trace callees "initialize" --json | jq '.results[].callee'

Callers vs Callees

Command	Question	Use Case
`trace callers`	Who calls me?	Impact analysis
`trace callees`	What do I call?	Behavior analysis

bash

# Combined analysis
grepai trace callers "processOrder"   # Who uses this?
grepai trace callees "processOrder"   # What does it do?

Filtering Results

By File Type

bash

# Get callees and filter to only .go files
grepai trace callees "main" --json | jq '.results[] | select(.file | endswith(".go"))'

Exclude Test Functions

bash

grepai trace callees "Login" --json | jq '.results[] | select(.callee | startswith("Test") | not)'

Count by Category

bash

# Count how many database vs. API calls
grepai trace callees "processOrder" --json | jq '.results[].callee' | grep -c "db"

What Callees Includes

The trace finds:

Direct function calls
Method calls
Built-in function calls (depending on mode)

Example

func ProcessOrder(order Order) error {
    // Direct call
    validateOrder(order)

    // Method call
    order.Validate()

    // Package function
    utils.Log("processing")

    // Built-in (may or may not be captured)
    fmt.Println("done")

    return nil
}

Callees found:

```
validateOrder
```
```
Validate
```
(method)
```
Log
```
(from utils)
```
Println
```
(depending on mode)

Limitations

What Callees Might Miss

Dynamic/runtime calls
Callbacks and closures
Interface method calls (may show interface, not implementation)
Reflection-based calls

Example of Undetected Call

func process(fn func()) {
    fn()  // Callee is unknown at static analysis time
}

Combining with Trace Graph

For recursive dependency analysis, use trace graph:

bash

# Direct callees only
grepai trace callees "main"

# Full dependency tree (recursive)
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 3

Scripting Examples

List All Callees

bash

grepai trace callees "main" --json | jq -r '.results[].callee' | sort -u

Check for Specific Callee

bash

# Does processOrder call sendEmail?
grepai trace callees "processOrder" --json | jq -e '.results[] | select(.callee == "sendEmail")' && echo "Yes" || echo "No"

Generate Dependency Report

bash

#!/bin/bash
echo "# Function Dependencies Report"
echo ""
for fn in main initialize processOrder; do
    echo "## $fn"
    grepai trace callees "$fn" --json | jq -r '.results[].callee' | sed 's/^/- /'
    echo ""
done

Common Issues

❌ Problem: Function not found ✅ Solution: Check spelling and ensure function exists in indexed files

❌ Problem: No callees found (but function has calls) ✅ Solutions:

Try
```
--mode precise
```
Check language is in
```
enabled_languages
```
Ensure symbols.gob is up to date (
```
grepai watch
```
)

❌ Problem: Missing some callees ✅ Solution: Use

--mode precise

for better accuracy

Best Practices

Use for understanding: Great for learning new codebases
Combine with callers: Full dependency picture
Use graph for deep analysis: When you need recursion
Filter results: Focus on relevant callees
Document findings: Export to markdown for docs

Output Format

Trace callees result:

🔍 Callees of "ProcessOrder"

Mode: fast
Function found in: services/order.go:40

Found 4 callees:

1. validateOrder
   File: services/order.go:45
   Context: validateOrder(order)

2. calculateTotal
   File: services/order.go:48
   Context: total := calculateTotal(order.Items)

3. applyDiscount
   File: services/order.go:51
   Context: total = applyDiscount(total, order.Coupon)

4. sendConfirmation
   File: services/order.go:55
   Context: sendConfirmation(order.Email, total)

Tip: Use 'grepai trace graph ProcessOrder' for recursive analysis

grepai-trace-callees

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

GrepAI Trace Callees

When to Use This Skill

What is Trace Callees?

Basic Usage

Example

JSON Output

Compact JSON (AI Optimized)

TOON Output (v0.26.0+)

Extraction Modes

Fast Mode (Default)

Precise Mode

Use Cases

Understanding Function Behavior

Finding Dependencies

Code Review

Documentation

Callers vs Callees

Filtering Results

By File Type

Exclude Test Functions

Count by Category

What Callees Includes

Example

Limitations

What Callees Might Miss

Example of Undetected Call

Combining with Trace Graph

Scripting Examples

List All Callees

Check for Specific Callee

Generate Dependency Report

Common Issues

Best Practices

Output Format