Ghost Tree

How the hierarchy is built

The tree is built by range containment, not by composed names.

Containment rule: node A is the parent of B if A.start <= B.start and A.end > B.start. That is, B "is born" inside A's range, even if its body extends further.

Example combining symbols and anchors

// @ghost #payments start description: payments module v2 | status: in-progress

class PaymentService {

  // @ghost description: handle timeouts | status: todo
  charge() {}

  refund() {}
}

// @ghost end

payments              (in-progress): payments module v2
└── PaymentService
    ├── charge        (todo): handle timeouts
    └── refund

VS Code view

The "GhostMap" side panel shows the tree with icons per node type:

• Function / Method / Constructor: method icon (blue).
• Class / Interface / Struct / Enum: class icon (purple).
• Anchor: bookmark icon (green).
• Context node (visible only because a child matches an active filter or search): dimmed icon with a (context) label.

Clicking a node navigates directly to the matching line and briefly highlights the range.

Commands and toolbar

Button / Command	Label	Notes
Refresh the tree	Refresh	Re-runs the pipeline for the active document (subject to Loading Policy).
Filter	Filter	Opens the type or status filter menu.
Reset filters	Reset	Clears the active type, status, and search.
Search	Search	Opens the free search input (name or description).

All commands appear in the VS Code command palette grouped under the GhostMap category (for example, "GhostMap: Refresh", "GhostMap: Filter").

Filters and search

• Type filter: function / class / anchor / All.
• Status filter: a dynamic list of the statuses present in the project, with counts (todo (5), in-progress (2), etc.). The last status filter used is remembered across sessions.
• Free search: filters by name or by description content (case-insensitive).
• Bubble visibility: if a child matches the filter or search, its parent(s) stay visible (marked as "context") even if they do not match on their own. The location of the result is never lost inside the tree.

Next step

Continue with Diagnostics to see the warnings GhostMap can show and how to fix them.