codedb:impact-analysis
Table of Contents
Impact Analysis & Graph
CodeDB provides two powerful tools for understanding how files connect: Impact Analysis for tracing dependency chains, and the interactive Graph for visual exploration.
Impact Analysis
Impact Analysis traces the downstream effects of changing a file. It answers the question: “If I change this file, what else could be affected?”
Running an Analysis
- Open the bottom panel (⌘J)
- Click the Impact tab
- Click Analyze Current File (or open a file first)
- Set the Depth (1–20) to control how many levels of dependencies to trace
- Results show all files that directly or transitively depend on the selected file
Reading the Results
The impact tree shows files organized by depth level:
- Level 1 — files that directly depend on the analyzed file
- Level 2 — files that depend on Level 1 files
- Level N — transitive dependencies at depth N
This helps you assess the blast radius of changes before making them.
Graph Visualization
The Graph tab renders your files and relations as an interactive node-link diagram on a canvas.
Using the Graph
- Open the bottom panel (⌘J)
- Click the Graph tab
- Files appear as nodes, relations as connecting edges
- Drag nodes to rearrange the layout
- Zoom to explore different areas
What the Graph Shows
- Each node represents a file in your database
- Each edge represents a relation between two files
- Node labels show file names
- Edge connections show the direction of the relationship
Tip: The Graph is especially useful for identifying clusters of tightly-coupled files, isolated files with no connections, and circular dependencies.
codedb/impact-analysis.txt · Last modified: (external edit)
