ashlr__diff_semantic

Server: ashlr-diff-semantic — servers/diff-semantic-server.ts

Applies heuristic AST analysis on top of git diff output to detect structural changes that raw line diffs obscure. A 200-line rename-refactor across 20 files can render as one line: "renamed X -> Y (N occurrences across K files)".

Semantic analysis passes

Applied in order to each file's hunks, first match wins:

1. Rename detection — if symbol X appears in deletions and Y appears at the same position in additions across 3+ files, emit "renamed X -> Y (N occurrences across K files)"
2. Signature change — function/method declaration line changed but body lines are identical
3. Formatting-only — diff reduces to whitespace changes only
4. Other — falls through to compact summary (same output as ashlr__diff summary mode)

Input schema

Output format

Semantic diff summary:
  renamed recordSaving -> recordSavingCore (47 occurrences across 8 files)
  servers/efficiency-server.ts: signature change in snipCompact()
  package.json: formatting-only change

When to use vs ashlr__diff

Use ashlr__diff_semantic when you're reviewing a refactor, rename, or reorganization. Use ashlr__diff for feature diffs where you want to see what actually changed in the code logic.

Related tools

• ashlr__diff — line-level diff without semantic analysis