GritQL, a Rust CLI for rewriting source code
Hi everyone! I’m excited to open source GritQL, a Rust CLI for searching and transforming source code. GritQL comes from my experiences with conducting large scale refactors and migrations. Usually, I would start exploring a codebase with grep. This is easy to start with, but most migrations end up accumulating additional requirements like ensuring the right packages are imported and excluding cases which don’t have a viable migration path. Eventually, to build a complex migration, I usually ended up having to write a full codemod program with a tool like jscodeshift. This comes with its own…
In plain words
GritQL is a Rust command-line tool for searching and transforming source code at scale. It addresses the limitations of both simple grep searches and complex codemod frameworks by providing a middle ground for large-scale refactors and code migrations. The tool allows developers to write sophisticated search and transformation rules without needing to build full codemod programs or work directly with abstract syntax trees, making it suitable for teams conducting substantial codebase changes.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi everyone! I’m excited to open source GritQL, a Rust CLI for searching and transforming source code. GritQL comes from my experiences with conducting large scale refactors and migrations. Usually, I would start exploring a codebase with grep. This is easy to start with, but most migrations end up accumulating additional requirements like ensuring the right packages are imported and excluding cases which don’t have a viable migration path. Eventually, to build a complex migration, I usually ended up having to write a full codemod program with a tool like jscodeshift. This comes with its own problems: - Most of the exploratory work has to be abandoned as you figure out how to represent your original regex search as an AST. - Reading/writing a codemod requires mentally translating from AST names back to what source code actually looks like. - Performance is often an afterthought, so iterating on a large codemod can be painfully slow. - Codemod frameworks are language-specific, so if you’re hopping between multiple languages—or trying to migrate a shared API—you have to learn different tools. GritQL is an attempt to develop a powerful middle ground: - Exploratory analysis is easy: just put a code snippet in backticks and use $metavariables for placeholders. - Incrementally add complexity by introducing side conditions with where clauses. - Reuse named patterns to avoid rebuilding queries, and use shared patterns from our standard library for common tasks like ensuring modules are imported. - Iterate on large codebases quickly: we use Rust for maximum performance GritQL has already been used on thousands of repositories for complex migrations[1] but we're excited to collaborate more with the open source community. [1] Ex. https://github.com/openai/openai-python/discussions/742
More dev tools this month
the category →
Open-source GTM skills for technical founders
Dev tools · 29d ago · gtmcofounder.com
OpenTrailPaper is open-source bike computer firmware for the LilyGO T5S3 4.7" E-Paper PRO. It supports offline maps, GPX routes, FIT recording and Bluetooth sensors.
Dev tools · 2d ago · opentrailpaper.com
Launched alongside, March 2024
the whole month →
- 3Y
Life & fun · 2024 · github.com
Microlaunch▲1,116Launch and get feedback on both the idea and product
Dev tools · 2024 · microlaunch.net
