Adding Support for New Languages ​

This is a contributor guide for extending Probe. If you just need to know what’s supported, see Language Support.

This guide lists the exact files you must modify to add a new language to Probe.

Required File Modifications ​

Adding a new language requires modifying exactly 11 files. Missing any of these will result in incomplete language support.

Step 1: Core Language Implementation (4 files) ​

Step 2: Search & Extract Integration (4 files) ​

Step 3: CLI & User Interface (2 files) ​

Step 4: Documentation (1 file) ​

Step 1: Core Language Implementation ​

File 1: Cargo.toml ​

Add tree-sitter dependency:

toml
tree-sitter-yourlang = "X.Y.Z"

File 2: src/language/yourlang.rs ​

Create language implementation (copy from existing language like rust.rs):

rust
use super::language_trait::LanguageImpl;
use tree_sitter::{Language as TSLanguage, Node};

pub struct YourLangLanguage;

impl LanguageImpl for YourLangLanguage {
    fn get_tree_sitter_language(&self) -> TSLanguage {
        tree_sitter_yourlang::language().into()
    }
    // ... implement other required methods
}

File 3: src/language/mod.rs ​

Add module export:

rust
pub mod yourlang;

File 4: src/language/factory.rs ​

Add import:

rust
use probe_code::language::yourlang::YourLangLanguage;

Add registration:

rust
"yourext" => Some(Box::new(YourLangLanguage::new())),

Step 2: Search & Extract Integration ​

File 5: src/search/file_list_cache.rs ​

Add to get_language_extensions() function:

rust
"yourlang" => vec![".yourext".to_string()],

File 6: src/extract/formatter.rs ​

Add to syntax highlighting mapping:

rust
"yourext" => "yourlang",

File 7: src/search/results_formatter.rs ​

Add to language mapping:

rust
"yourext" => "yourlang",

File 8: src/search/search_output.rs ​

Add to language mapping and comment prefix:

rust
// In syntax highlighting mapping:
"yourext" => "yourlang",

// In comment prefix mapping (choose appropriate section):
// For # comments:
"py" | "rb" | "sh" | "bash" | "pl" | "r" | "yourext" => "#",
// For // comments:
"rs" | "c" | "h" | "cpp" | "yourext" => "//",

Step 3: CLI & User Interface ​

File 9: src/cli.rs ​

Add to language completion lists (2 locations):

rust
"yourlang", "yourext",

File 10: npm/src/mcp/index.ts ​

Add to supported languages description:

rust
'Supported languages: rust, javascript, typescript, python, go, c, cpp, java, ruby, php, swift, csharp, yourlang.',

Step 4: Documentation ​

File 11: site/supported-languages.md ​

Add table entry and language-specific features section.

Testing ​

Create comprehensive tests in your language file:

rust
#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use super::*;
    // Add tests for all LanguageImpl methods
}

LanguageImpl Methods to Implement ​

Copy implementation patterns from similar languages:

  • get_tree_sitter_language() - Return tree-sitter language
  • is_acceptable_parent() - Define extractable code blocks
  • is_test_node() - Detect test code
  • get_symbol_signature() - Extract clean signatures
  • find_parent_function() - Optional method

Use tree-sitter playground to understand AST structure: https://tree-sitter.github.io/tree-sitter/playground

Verification ​

After modifying all 11 files:

  1. cargo test - All tests pass
  2. cargo run -- search "term" file.yourext - Search works
  3. cargo run -- extract file.yourext:N - Extract works
  4. cargo run -- search "test" --allow-tests - Test detection works