find_references

Enumerate every use site of a symbol as path:line, including inline expressions, assignments, and type references, not just calls.

This is the broader sibling of get_callers. get_callers answers "what would break if I change this function's behaviour"; find_references answers "everywhere this name is mentioned", which is what you want before a rename.

Input schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "symbol": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Symbol to enumerate references of (bare name or full signature)"
    },
    "path": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Optional repo-relative file-path hint to disambiguate overloaded names"
    }
  },
  "required": ["symbol"],
  "additionalProperties": false
}

Ambiguity is reported, not guessed

A bare name defined in more than one place returns the candidates rather than picking one, so a rename never silently targets the wrong symbol. Disambiguate with the path hint, or pass a full signature such as method:Widget.area instead of area.

For the same reason, a bare call to a name defined in several files may be left unindexed rather than attributed to a guess. An empty result for an ambiguous name is a refusal to mis-target, not a claim that no uses exist.

Output

Use sites as path:line, one per line. When a language has no occurrence lines yet, the tool falls back to the definitions of calling symbols so the answer degrades rather than disappearing, and says so.

When to use

• Before a rename, where missing a type annotation or a re-export is what breaks the build.
• Auditing a symbol's reach across languages, since the occurrence store is language-agnostic.

Notes

• Available over both stdio and SSE.
• Requires Phase B for full fidelity. Check get_index_status if results look thin: a language reporting unavailable has no analyzer installed, so its use sites were never recorded.
• The CLI equivalent is travsr references <symbol>.