npm package: @sshadows/tree-sitter-al
Description: AL for Business Central
Author: Torben Leth
Latest version: 2.5.0

# tree-sitter-al

A [tree-sitter](https://tree-sitter.github.io/tree-sitter/) parser for the AL programming language used in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

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## Parser Status

Validated against **15,358 production AL files** from the Business Central codebase:

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| **Success rate** | **100%** (15,358 / 15,358 files) |
| Tests | 1,404 |
| parser.c size | ~11 MB |
| grammar.js | ~3,100 lines |
| Named keywords | 82 (queryable via highlights/tags) |
| Scanner tokens | 8 (stateful, depth-tracking) |
| Query files | 5 (highlights, locals, tags, indents, folds) |

## Installation

### Rust

```bash
cargo add tree-sitter-al
```

```rust
use tree_sitter::Parser;

let mut parser = Parser::new();
let language = tree_sitter_al::LANGUAGE;
parser.set_language(&language.into()).expect("Error loading AL grammar");
let tree = parser.parse("codeunit 50100 MyCodeunit { }", None).unwrap();
println!("{}", tree.root_node().to_sexp());
```

Query constants are also available:
```rust
use tree_sitter_al::{HIGHLIGHTS_QUERY, TAGS_QUERY, LOCALS_QUERY, FOLDS_QUERY, INDENTS_QUERY};
```

### Python (tree-sitter 0.24+)

```bash
pip install tree-sitter-al
```

```python
import tree_sitter
import tree_sitter_al

lang = tree_sitter.Language(tree_sitter_al.language())
parser = tree_sitter.Parser(lang)
tree = parser.parse(b'codeunit 50100 MyCodeunit { }')
print(tree.root_node.sexp())
```

### Node.js

```bash
npm install tree-sitter-al
```

### Pre-built binaries

Download from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/SShadowS/tree-sitter-al/releases):

| File | Platform | Use case |
|------|----------|----------|
| `tree-sitter-al.wasm` | All | web-tree-sitter |
| `tree-sitter-al.so` | Linux x86_64 | ast-grep, native bindings |
| `tree-sitter-al.dll` | Windows x86_64 | ast-grep, native bindings |
| `tree-sitter-al.dylib` | macOS ARM64 | ast-grep, native bindings |

## V2 Architecture

The grammar was rewritten from scratch in March 2026, achieving a **10x reduction in parser size** while improving correctness.

### Before / After

| Metric | V1 | V2 |
|--------|-----|-----|
| parser.c | 106 MB (can't push to GitHub) | **10.6 MB** |
| Errors | 14 | **0** |
| Success rate | 99.91% | **100%** |
| Symbols | 2,249 | **~740** |
| States | 29,126 | **~5,300** |
| grammar.js | 8,500 lines | **~3,100 lines** |
| Tests | 1,225 | **1,404** |
| Keywords | invisible in queries | **82 named nodes** |
| Query files | 3 (partial) | **5 (comprehensive)** |

### Key design decisions

- **Stateful external scanner** — 8 scanner tokens handle property disambiguation, depth tracking (`#if`/`#endif` nesting), named `begin`/`end` keywords at depth 0, and split-construct detection via lookahead.
- **Parse structure, don't validate** — Accept any `Name = Value ;` as a property. Semantic validation belongs in linters/LSP servers, not the parser.
- **Generic preprocessor** — One `preproc_conditional` rule + ~15 dedicated rules for genuinely complex split constructs (begin/end, var/begin, brace-close across `#if`/`#else` branches).
- **82 named keyword nodes** — All keywords including `begin`/`end` are named nodes, enabling proper syntax highlighting and code navigation queries.

See [docs/v2-blog-post-notes.md](docs/v2-blog-post-notes.md) for the full rewrite narrative.

## Development

### Prerequisites

- Node.js (v16+)
- tree-sitter CLI: `npm install -g tree-sitter-cli`

### Building

```bash
tree-sitter generate    # Generate parser from grammar.js
tree-sitter test        # Run test suite
```

### Validation

```bash
./validate-grammar.sh        # Quick: generation, tests, orphan/duplicate detection
./validate-grammar.sh --full # Full: includes production AL file parsing
```

### Parsing AL files

```bash
tree-sitter parse path/to/file.al
tree-sitter parse path/to/file.al -d    # Debug output
tree-sitter parse path/to/file.al -q    # Quiet (errors only)
```

### Key files

| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `grammar.js` | Main grammar definition |
| `src/scanner.c` | External scanner (8 tokens: property, depth tracking, named begin/end, split detection) |
| `test/corpus/` | Test suite (1,404 tests) |
| `queries/` | Syntax highlighting, code navigation, folding, indentation |

## Contributing

See [CLAUDE.md](CLAUDE.md) for detailed development guidelines including architecture, debugging, and conventions.

---

**Author**: Torben Leth (sshadows@sshadows.dk)
**License**: MIT (see [LICENSE](LICENSE))