SwiftFindRefs

Purpose

Use swiftfindrefs to locate every Swift source file that references a given symbol by querying Xcode’s IndexStore (DerivedData). This skill exists to prevent incomplete refactors caused by text search or heuristics.

Rules

Always run swiftfindrefs before editing any files.
Only edit files returned by swiftfindrefs.
Do not substitute grep, rg, IDE search, or filesystem heuristics for reference discovery.
Do not expand the file set manually.
If IndexStore/DerivedData resolution fails, stop and report the error. Do not guess.

Preconditions

macOS with Xcode installed
Project has been built at least once (DerivedData exists)
swiftfindrefs available in PATH

Installation

brew tap michaelversus/SwiftFindRefs https://github.com/michaelversus/SwiftFindRefs.git
brew install swiftfindrefs

Canonical command

Prefer providing --projectName and --symbolType when possible.

swiftfindrefs \
  --projectName <XcodeProjectName> \
  --symbolName <SymbolName> \
  --symbolType <class|struct|enum|protocol|function|variable>

Optional flags:

--dataStorePath <path>: explicit DataStore (or IndexStoreDB) path; skips discovery
-v, --verbose: enables verbose output for diagnostic purposes (flag, no value required)

Output contract

One absolute file path per line
Deduplicated
Script-friendly (safe to pipe line-by-line)
Ordering is not semantically meaningful

Standard workflows

Workflow A: Find all references

Run swiftfindrefs for the symbol.
Treat the output as the complete reference set.
If more detail is needed, open only the returned files.

Workflow B: Fix missing imports after moving a symbol

Use swiftfindrefs to restrict scope, then add imports only where needed.

swiftfindrefs -p <Project> -n <Symbol> -t <Type> | while read file; do
  if ! grep -q "^import <ModuleName>$" "$file"; then
    echo "$file"
  fi
done

Then for each printed file:

Insert import <ModuleName> in the imports block at the top.
Preserve existing import ordering/grouping.
Never add duplicate imports.
Do not reformat unrelated code.

Workflow C: Audit usage before deleting or renaming a symbol

Run swiftfindrefs for the symbol.
If output is empty, treat the symbol as unused (still validate via build/tests if needed).
If non-empty, review the listed files before changing public API.

References

CLI details: references/cli.md
Playbooks: references/workflows.md
Troubleshooting: references/troubleshooting.md

swiftfindrefs