Dextree

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Two-pass indexing ​

Dextree uses a two-pass indexing model over a single DuckDB graph. Pass 1 makes the graph instantly usable; pass 2 upgrades it to semantic precision in the background.

The two passes ​

Pass 1 — Tree-sitter (instant) ​

When you run Dextree: Index Workspace, Pass 1 parses every file structurally using Tree-sitter WASM grammars. It extracts:

  • Every symbol (functions, classes, methods, types, variables)
  • Every import / export relationship
  • File-to-file structural call hints (lexically resolvable calls)

Pass 1 is deterministic, language-independent at the framework level, and runs in <1 second for most projects. The graph is immediately usable for navigation, file listing, and structural exports.

Pass 1 is what the blast radius feature falls back to when LSP is unavailable.

Pass 2 — LSP enrichment (lazy) ​

Pass 2 runs in the background after Pass 1 finishes. It uses the LSP services VS Code has already initialized to:

  • Resolve every call's actual target (handles inheritance, overloads, generics)
  • Add type-accurate edges (typed extends, implements, returns)
  • Annotate framework hooks (React component boundaries, Vue refs, etc.)
  • Cross-reference test discovery (vscode.tests)

The graph is upgraded in place — surface queries that used Pass 1 edges automatically pick up the more accurate Pass 2 edges as they land. No re-render, no cache invalidation.

Pass-1 usefulness is sacred

Every Dextree slice spec includes an explicit "Pass 1 usefulness preserved" check. If LSP is unavailable, slow, or returns nothing, the graph still tells you something useful. This is a hard architectural rule, not an aspiration.

Why two passes instead of one ​

A naive "wait for LSP and index everything at once" approach would:

  • Block the user for 30-60s on a medium repo
  • Fail completely when LSP isn't available (think: VS Code without the TypeScript extension installed)
  • Re-index on every file change instead of incrementally upgrading

By making Pass 1 the source of truth and Pass 2 an enrichment layer, Dextree stays useful even when the editor's smartest tooling is mid-startup or unavailable.

Sequence ​

Further reading ​