GrepAI Trace Callees

This skill covers using grepai trace callees to find all functions called by a specific function.

When to Use This Skill

• Understanding function dependencies
• Mapping function behavior
• Finding deeply nested dependencies
• Code comprehension and documentation

What is Trace Callees?

grepai trace callees answers: "What does this function call?"

func ProcessOrder(order) {
    validateOrder(order)
    calculateTotal(order)
    sendConfirmation(order.email)
}
        │
        ↓
┌───────┴───────────────────┐
│  What does ProcessOrder   │
│  call?                    │
├───────────────────────────┤
│ • validateOrder           │
│ • calculateTotal          │
│ • sendConfirmation        │
└───────────────────────────┘

Basic Usage

grepai trace callees "FunctionName"

Example

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder"

Output:

🔍 Callees of "ProcessOrder"

Found 4 callees:

1. validateOrder
   File: services/order.go:45
   Context: validateOrder(order)

2. calculateTotal
   File: services/order.go:48
   Context: total := calculateTotal(order.Items)

3. applyDiscount
   File: services/order.go:51
   Context: total = applyDiscount(total, order.Coupon)

4. sendConfirmation
   File: services/order.go:55
   Context: sendConfirmation(order.Email, total)

JSON Output

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --json

Output:

{
  "query": "ProcessOrder",
  "mode": "callees",
  "count": 4,
  "results": [
    {
      "file": "services/order.go",
      "line": 45,
      "callee": "validateOrder",
      "context": "validateOrder(order)"
    },
    {
      "file": "services/order.go",
      "line": 48,
      "callee": "calculateTotal",
      "context": "total := calculateTotal(order.Items)"
    },
    {
      "file": "services/order.go",
      "line": 51,
      "callee": "applyDiscount",
      "context": "total = applyDiscount(total, order.Coupon)"
    },
    {
      "file": "services/order.go",
      "line": 55,
      "callee": "sendConfirmation",
      "context": "sendConfirmation(order.Email, total)"
    }
  ]
}

Compact JSON (AI Optimized)

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --json --compact

Output:

{
  "q": "ProcessOrder",
  "m": "callees",
  "c": 4,
  "r": [
    {"f": "services/order.go", "l": 45, "fn": "validateOrder"},
    {"f": "services/order.go", "l": 48, "fn": "calculateTotal"},
    {"f": "services/order.go", "l": 51, "fn": "applyDiscount"},
    {"f": "services/order.go", "l": 55, "fn": "sendConfirmation"}
  ]
}

TOON Output (v0.26.0+)

TOON format offers ~50% fewer tokens than JSON:

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --toon

Note: --json and --toon are mutually exclusive.

Extraction Modes

Fast Mode (Default)

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --mode fast

Precise Mode

grepai trace callees "ProcessOrder" --mode precise

Mode	Speed	Accuracy	Dependencies
fast	⚡⚡⚡	Good	None
precise	⚡⚡	Excellent	tree-sitter

Use Cases

Understanding Function Behavior

# What does this complex function do?
grepai trace callees "handleRequest"

# Map the data flow
grepai trace callees "processPayment"

Finding Dependencies

# What external services does this call?
grepai trace callees "syncData"

# What database operations happen?
grepai trace callees "saveUser"

Code Review

# What side effects does this function have?
grepai trace callees "updateProfile"

# Is this function doing too much?
grepai trace callees "doEverything"  # Lots of callees = code smell

Documentation

# Generate dependency list for docs
grepai trace callees "initialize" --json | jq '.results[].callee'

Callers vs Callees

Command	Question	Use Case
trace callers	Who calls me?	Impact analysis
trace callees	What do I call?	Behavior analysis

# Combined analysis
grepai trace callers "processOrder"   # Who uses this?
grepai trace callees "processOrder"   # What does it do?

Filtering Results

By File Type

# Get callees and filter to only .go files
grepai trace callees "main" --json | jq '.results[] | select(.file | endswith(".go"))'

Exclude Test Functions

grepai trace callees "Login" --json | jq '.results[] | select(.callee | startswith("Test") | not)'

Count by Category

# Count how many database vs. API calls
grepai trace callees "processOrder" --json | jq '.results[].callee' | grep -c "db"

What Callees Includes

The trace finds:

• Direct function calls
• Method calls
• Built-in function calls (depending on mode)

Example

func ProcessOrder(order Order) error {
    // Direct call
    validateOrder(order)

    // Method call
    order.Validate()

    // Package function
    utils.Log("processing")

    // Built-in (may or may not be captured)
    fmt.Println("done")

    return nil
}

Callees found:

• validateOrder
• Validate (method)
• Log (from utils)
• Println (depending on mode)

Limitations

What Callees Might Miss

• Dynamic/runtime calls
• Callbacks and closures
• Interface method calls (may show interface, not implementation)
• Reflection-based calls

Example of Undetected Call

func process(fn func()) {
    fn()  // Callee is unknown at static analysis time
}

Combining with Trace Graph

For recursive dependency analysis, use trace graph:

# Direct callees only
grepai trace callees "main"

# Full dependency tree (recursive)
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 3

Scripting Examples

List All Callees

grepai trace callees "main" --json | jq -r '.results[].callee' | sort -u

Check for Specific Callee

# Does processOrder call sendEmail?
grepai trace callees "processOrder" --json | jq -e '.results[] | select(.callee == "sendEmail")' && echo "Yes" || echo "No"

Generate Dependency Report

#!/bin/bash
echo "# Function Dependencies Report"
echo ""
for fn in main initialize processOrder; do
    
how to use grepai-trace-callees
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How to use grepai-trace-callees on Cursor
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1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add grepai-trace-callees
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/yoanbernabeu/grepai-skills --skill grepai-trace-calleescopy
The skills CLI fetches grepai-trace-callees from GitHub repository yoanbernabeu/grepai-skills and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
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◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
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4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/grepai-trace-callees
Reload or restart Cursor to activate grepai-trace-callees. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /grepai-trace-callees) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
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