ast-grep vs Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
ast-grep
ast-grep.github.ioSemantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
semanticdesigns.comSide by side
| Figure | ast-grep | Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Code Search Tools | 9.1 (#1) | 8.3 (#4) |
| Purpose | ast-grep is a fast, polyglot tool for structural code search, linting, and rewriting at scale. | The product interactively searches large source-code bases using language structure instead of only literal text matching. |
| Support | The project directs users with questions or issues to GitHub or Discord and also points to Stack Overflow and Reddit. | The maker provides [email protected] for inquiries and says custom scanners can be built for unusual languages, dialects, or structured text. |
Plans
Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
- Evaluation versionFree
- Production licensePriced on request
In their own words
ast-grep
ast-grep is a free, open-source tool for structural code search, linting, and rewriting. It matches patterns against syntax-tree nodes, helping developers locate and change code across a codebase rather than searching plain text. Its CLI can preview and apply rewrites interactively, and scan configurable YAML rules with error, warning, info, or hint severity. Rules can combine pattern, kind, regex, relational, and composite conditions, and CLI commands help create and snapshot-test them. The project says it supports more than 20 languages and can load custom languages. JavaScript and WebAssembly APIs allow programmatic syntax-tree work; a browser playground offers a way to try patterns without local installation. Editor options include a VS Code extension and language-server setups, including for Vim and Neovim. The tool is free, has a web interface, and is distributed through package managers or built from source. Its FAQ notes that some advanced static-analysis information is unsupported, and one rule cannot target multiple languages at once.
Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine searches and inspects indexed code using language structure, so queries can target constructs and complex statements as well as text patterns. It supports regular expressions and numeric values or ranges, and searches can disregard whitespace, line breaks, and comments. The maker says it can search millions of lines across tens of thousands of source files. Results include surrounding code and highlighted matches; users can open source text or launch an editor on the matching file. The engine also calculates Cyclomatic and Halstead complexity metrics and counts source, code, comment, and blank lines. Listed scanners include ABAP, C, C++, COBOL, Java, JavaScript, Python, PHP, SQL dialects, and XML, with beta scanners and custom options. Files are collected, scanned, and indexed on a recurring schedule. Results can be produced in XML for other graphical interfaces. The free evaluation covers 10,000 lines and requires registration; its license ends 90 days after download. Pricing for a production license is available on request.