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Impact Analysis

2026-03-27

See what your change affects before you ship it. 8v refs shows every caller, every import, and every file that depends on a symbol or file.

Find references to a function

8v refs authenticate

References to `authenticate`

src/handlers/auth.rs:42 (definition)
  pub fn authenticate(req: &Request) -> Result<User, AuthError>

Called by:
  src/routes/api.rs:28        let user = authenticate(&req)?;
  src/routes/api.rs:55        let user = authenticate(&req)?;
  src/middleware/guard.rs:19   match authenticate(&req) {

Referenced in:
  src/tests/auth_test.rs:12   use crate::handlers::auth::authenticate;
  src/tests/auth_test.rs:18   let result = authenticate(&mock_req);

5 references (4 files)

Find references to a file

See everything that depends on a file:

8v refs src/models/user.rs

References to src/models/user.rs

Imported by:
  src/handlers/auth.rs:3      use crate::models::user::User;
  src/handlers/profile.rs:2   use crate::models::user::{User, UserProfile};
  src/db/queries.rs:5         use crate::models::user::User;
  src/routes/api.rs:4         use crate::models::user::UserRole;

Referenced in tests:
  src/tests/auth_test.rs:2    use crate::models::user::User;
  src/tests/profile_test.rs:1 use crate::models::user::*;

6 references (5 files)

Use cases

Before refactoring — Know exactly what breaks when you rename a function or change a signature. If authenticate has 5 callers, you know the scope of the change.

During code review — Understand the blast radius of a pull request. A change to user.rs that's imported by 6 files is higher risk than a change to a test helper.

Deleting code safely — If 8v refs old_function returns zero references, you know it's safe to delete.

Understanding unfamiliar code — When you land in a new codebase, refs shows you how pieces connect. Start with a function you recognize and trace outward.

How it works

8v refs uses the code index built by 8v init (or 8v search index). It cross-references symbol definitions with their usages across your entire project. The index updates incrementally as files change.

If you get stale results, rebuild the index:

8v search index

With AI

The built-in AI agent uses refs automatically when you ask about code impact:

> What would break if I changed the User struct?

Checking references...

The `User` struct is used in 12 places across 6 files:
- 3 handlers (auth, profile, admin)
- 2 database queries
- 1 API serialization layer

Changing fields would require updates to all of these. The highest risk
is `src/db/queries.rs` which destructures the struct directly.

Next

Referenced by