compiledb

Common errors

• FileNotFoundError

  cause `compiledb` cannot locate source files or other build artifacts referenced in the `make` output, often due to an incorrect working directory or issues during path resolution.
  fix Ensure that `compiledb` is run from the correct build directory. If `make` commands change directories, consider using `compiledb --build-dir <path>` or `compiledb --parse` with a log that has absolute paths.

• Failed to parse build command [Details: (<class 'bashlex.errors.ParsingError'>) unexpected token ...]

  cause `compiledb` uses the `bashlex` library to parse shell commands from `make` output. This error indicates that `bashlex` encountered unexpected syntax, often from highly complex, non-standard, or malformed shell commands within your `Makefile`.
  fix Examine the `make` output around the indicated line number for unusual shell constructs. Try to simplify the `Makefile` command that causes the error or, if possible, use `make -Bnwk` to generate a log and manually clean up problematic lines before using `compiledb --parse`.

• Different results betweent "compiledb make" and "make | compiledb"

  cause The behavior of piping `make` output to `compiledb` might differ from `compiledb` directly wrapping `make`. This is often due to differences in how shell redirects and environment variables are handled, or `make` changing its behavior when its output is not a TTY.
  fix Prefer using `compiledb make` as it's the intended wrapper behavior. If direct parsing is necessary, ensure `make -Bnwk` is used to produce a verbose, non-building log, and be aware that some build systems might behave differently when their output is redirected.

Warnings

• gotcha When dealing with recursive `make` patterns or complex AOSP verbose logs, `compile_commands.json` can sometimes be empty even after a successful build process.
  Fix: Try generating a verbose build log using `make -Bnwk > build.log` and then parsing it explicitly with `compiledb --parse build.log`. Simplify the `Makefile` structure if possible.
• gotcha Parsing errors can occur with complex `make` output, especially when commands involve quoted macros, non-standard directory changes within `make`, or unconventional shell syntax.
  Fix: Inspect the `make` output for problematic lines. Consider simplifying the shell commands within your `Makefile` or pre-processing the build log to remove lines that cause `bashlex` parsing issues. For Windows, ensure paths are handled correctly.
• gotcha On Windows, backslashes in include paths within the `make` output may not be processed correctly by `compiledb`, leading to invalid paths in `compile_commands.json`.
  Fix: Manually adjust include paths in your `Makefile` to use forward slashes where possible, or post-process the generated `compile_commands.json` to normalize path separators.
• gotcha For VS Code users, `compiledb` might not group `-D` (defines) and `-I` (include paths) options consistently. VS Code's C/C++ extension prefers these options to be grouped, which can affect IntelliSense accuracy.
  Fix: Currently, there is no direct configuration within `compiledb` to enforce this grouping. You might need to use a post-processing script on `compile_commands.json` to reorder or merge these arguments for optimal VS Code integration.

Install

• pip install compiledb Install latest version

Quickstart

The primary usage of compiledb is as a wrapper around your `make` command. It executes your build while intercepting and parsing the compilation commands to produce the `compile_commands.json` file. You can also generate the database from an existing build log.

# Assuming you have a Makefile in the current directory
# This command will execute 'make' and generate 'compile_commands.json'
compiledb make

# To skip the actual build and only generate the database from make's dry run:
# compiledb -n make

# To parse an existing build log file:
# make -Bnwk > build.log
# compiledb --parse build.log