Kythe

Spec sheet

Purpose

Kythe is a pluggable, mostly language-agnostic ecosystem for building tools that work with code.Read 4 Oct 2026 · kythe.io

API

The command-line tool can use serving tables directly or communicate with a remote API service.Read 4 Oct 2026 · kythe.io

Integrations

Examples cover extraction with Bazel, CMake, Gradle, make, and compile_commands.json workflows.Read 4 Oct 2026 · kythe.io

License

The repository identifies its license as Apache-2.0.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Build extractors

Kythe lists compilation extractors for javac, Maven, CMake, Go, and Bazel.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Build platforms

The getting-started documentation includes instructions for building on macOS and Debian-based Linux systems.Read 4 Oct 2026 · kythe.io

Community support

The repository lists separate Google Groups for the general Kythe community and Kythe development.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Extraction status

The configurable extraction documentation describes the system as a work in progress rather than a finished product.Read 4 Oct 2026 · kythe.io

Graph and schema

Kythe provides a language-agnostic graph format and an extensible schema for sharing source code information, including cross-references.Read 4 Oct 2026 · kythe.io

Indexers

The project lists indexer implementations for C++, Go, and Java.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Limitations

Kythe's overview says it is not intended to replace existing purpose-built intermediate representations or to serve as a compiler or optimizer.Read 4 Oct 2026 · kythe.io

Other tools

The project includes a generic verifier for indexers, a sample cross-reference service, and utility commands for Kythe artifacts.Read 4 Oct 2026 · kythe.io

Where Specifiction places it

• Static Analysis Tools#27 of 386.7
• Code Search Tools#30 of 426.7