Coccinelle vs Refrax
Coccinelle
coccinelle.gitlabpages.inria.frRefrax
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Coccinelle | Refrax |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Code Refactoring Tools | 7.9 (#9) | 6.8 (#21) |
| Purpose | Coccinelle is a program matching and transformation engine that uses SmPL to specify desired matches and transformations in C code. | Refrax is an AI-powered agent for refactoring Java code, implemented in Go. |
Plans
In their own words
Coccinelle
Coccinelle is a free program matching and transformation engine for working with C code. It uses SmPL to describe code patterns and the transformations to apply when matches are found. A single semantic patch can change code at many sites across hundreds of files while allowing for differences in spacing, variable names, irrelevant code, and coding style. The project describes uses including automating collateral changes after library API evolution and finding and fixing bugs in systems code. Coccinelle semantic patches and bug fixes have been integrated into the official Linux tree, and semantic patches are available in the Linux scripts directory for use with coccicheck. It supports C and C++, with C++ mode invoked using --c++; the project says its C++ support is still being extended, including for high performance computing. The download page lists version 1.3.3, dated September 2, 2026, with source code and precompiled spatch builds. It is available for Linux and macOS as desktop software. Source builds require OCaml, with Python and Menhir needed in specified cases.