mkid

Build an ID database for the current directory

$ mkid

$ mkid [path/to/directory1] [path/to/directory2]

$ mkid -o [path/to/database.id]

$ mkid -i "[C C++ asm]"

$ mkid -p [path/to/excluded_directory]

$ mkid -s

mkid [-o outfile] [-i langs] [-x langs] [-p names] [-s] [-v] [file...]

mkid builds an identifier database for source code files, enabling fast searches with lid, gid, and other GNU idutils tools. It scans source files, extracts identifiers (function names, variables, macros), and stores them in a compact database.
The tool recursively processes directories, recognizing multiple programming languages including C, C++, assembly, Perl, and plain text. The database format optimizes lookup speed for subsequent searches.

-o, --output _outfile_

Specify output database file; default is ID in current directory

Alias for --output

Include only specified languages; default is C, C++, asm

Exclude specified languages from indexing

Use custom filename-to-language mapping

Set default language for unrecognized files

Skip named files and directories during scanning

Read file list from specified file (NUL-terminated)

Display per-file processing statistics

Display summary statistics after completion

The --include and --exclude options are mutually exclusive. Large codebases may require significant time and memory for initial database creation. The database must be rebuilt when source files change to reflect current identifiers.

mkid is part of GNU idutils, originally written by Greg McGary. The package provides tools for building and querying identifier databases, designed for large-scale software development. It has been part of the GNU project since the early 1990s.

lid(1), gid(1), fid(1), fnid(1)