Dependency code index

elide index answers questions about code in your resolved Maven dependencies and compiled main Java and Kotlin sources: which dependency defines a class, what a class references, and which local source files use a type or member. OpenRewrite uses the same index for dependency types and candidate file selection.

Experimental in 1.6.0; compatibility hardening is planned for 1.6.1.

Build the index

Run from an Elide project with elide.pkl:

elide index build --layers=l1,l2,l3
elide index status

build resolves dependencies, builds the requested dependency layers, and compiles the main Java and Kotlin sources to refresh the local reference index. status reports the layers available for each resolved Maven artifact; it does not list local classes.

For example, a project using Guava can declare:

amends "elide:project.pkl"

name = "index-demo"

dependencies {
  maven {
    packages { "com.google.guava:guava:33.4.8-jre" }
  }
}

Add src/main/java/demo/Main.java:

package demo;

import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;

public class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    System.out.println(ImmutableList.of());
  }
}

After building the index, the following queries inspect this dependency and its use in the project.

Find the dependency that defines a class

elide index resolve com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList

The first result is the class address on the main compile classpath:

maven:com.google.guava:guava:33.4.8-jre/com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList

If other indexed artifacts on that classpath define the same class, subsequent lines begin with shadows and name those addresses. Resolution follows classpath order. If an earlier artifact lacks the required type index, the command reports the missing layer instead of guessing which definition wins.

To print filesystem classpath entries, use elide classpath. The code index identifies definitions and code references; it does not print the transitive dependency path that introduced an artifact.

Inspect types and members

elide index get maven:com.google.guava:guava:33.4.8-jre
elide index get maven:com.google.guava:guava:33.4.8-jre/com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList
elide index get 'maven:com.google.guava:guava:33.4.8-jre/com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList#of()'

The artifact query lists indexed types. A type query prints its kind, visibility, supertypes, and archive entry; a member query prints the matching member’s kind, visibility, static/instance status, and JVM descriptor.

Use binary type names (package.Outer$Inner for a nested class). Method keys omit the return type; constructors use <init>(...). Quote addresses with parentheses, #, or $ to keep the shell from interpreting them.

Follow outbound references

elide index references maven:com.google.guava:guava:33.4.8-jre/com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList
elide index references local:index-demo/demo.Main

references prints type and member lines for the types and members referenced by that compiled class. It takes a type address, not a member address. In a local address, the project name is name from elide.pkl (or project when unnamed).

Find local uses

elide index used-by com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList
elide index used-by 'com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList#of'
elide index used-by 'com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList#of()'

used-by searches the compiled main-source reference index and prints matching package-relative source files, such as demo/Main.java. A bare method name matches its overloads; a parameter list selects a signature. Results are sorted and deduplicated. No matches produce no output and exit successfully.

The query covers local Java and Kotlin classes, not every dependency’s callers. References erased during compilation, unused imports, comments, and reflective uses named only by strings can be absent. Rebuild the index after changing sources; a query does not compile them or refresh local references.

Layers and refresh behavior

elide index build defaults to dependency layers l0,l1. --layers selects layers to add; l0 is always included, and layers already built are retained. Include l1,l2 together for member queries. The local reference index is refreshed by build independently of the selected dependency layers.

Queries read existing index data. They may resolve project dependencies, but do not build missing index layers. get, references, and resolve exit 1 for an unknown address or name. A missing required layer exits 2 and prints a build command. Use --offline to prevent remote dependency downloads; required artifacts must already be available locally.

Dependency index data lives under .dev/dependencies/index/, keyed by artifact content and index format version. Local reference data lives under the project’s build directory. Ordinary compilation does not request all index layers; build them explicitly, or let a consumer such as OpenRewrite request what it needs.

Scope and build-tool integration

The dependency index covers resolved Maven JARs without classifiers. npm, PyPI, arbitrary filesystem JAR paths, and workspace sibling outputs are not dependency-index inputs. resolve searches indexed Maven artifacts on the main compile classpath; it does not resolve local classes or JDK classes. Local addresses currently support references, while used-by searches the local index by type/member name.

The commands use an elide.pkl project definition. Using Elide’s compiler through the Maven plugin, Gradle plugin, or Bazel rules does not populate this index from those tools’ dependency graphs. Define the matching sources and dependencies in an Elide project to use these queries.

See Dependencies for dependency declarations, and OpenRewrite for applying recipes with the index.