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

grepai trace callees "FunctionName"

Example

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

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --json

Output:

{

  "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)

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

Output:

{

  "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:

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --toon

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

Extraction Modes

Fast Mode (Default)

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --mode fast

Precise Mode

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --mode precise

Mode

Speed

Accuracy

Dependencies

fast

⚡⚡⚡

Good

None

precise

⚡⚡

Excellent

tree-sitter

Use Cases

Understanding Function Behavior

# What does this complex function do?

grepai trace callees "handleRequest"

# Map the data flow

grepai trace callees "processPayment"

Finding Dependencies

# What external services does this call?

grepai trace callees "syncData"

# What database operations happen?

grepai trace callees "saveUser"

Code Review

# 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

# 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

# Combined analysis

grepai trace callers "processOrder"   # Who uses this?

grepai trace callees "processOrder"   # What does it do?

Filtering Results

By File Type

# Get callees and filter to only .go files

grepai trace callees "main" --json | jq '.results[] | select(.file | endswith(".go"))'

Exclude Test Functions

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

Count by Category

# 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:

# Direct callees only

grepai trace callees "main"

# Full dependency tree (recursive)

grepai trace graph "main" --depth 3

Scripting Examples

List All Callees

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

Check for Specific Callee

# Does processOrder call sendEmail?

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

Generate Dependency Report

#!/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