Ingest a codebase

Ingesting a codebase points Altretta at a repository and turns its source into a structural symbol graph inside your signed vault.

Unlike importing notes, ingesting code doesn't just store files — Altretta parses each source file into an abstract syntax tree, extracts the symbols it defines (functions, types, classes, and more), and resolves the references between them across the whole project.

Ingest a repository

Point Altretta at the repo

Give Altretta the path to the repository you want to map. The project-map onboarding flow walks you through it the first time so you can bootstrap a new project in a couple of clicks.

Altretta parses the source

Each supported file is parsed into an AST, and its symbols and cross-file relationships are written into the same signed graph as your notes.

Git provenance is recorded

The git provenance of the ingest — which commit the structure was built from — is recorded in the signed DAG, so every ingest is anchored to a verifiable point in your project's history.

Explore the result

Open the symbol browser to navigate the codebase structurally, or ask your AI about it. See The symbol graph.

Supported languages

Altretta extracts an AST symbol graph across roughly 20 languages:


Rust	TypeScript	JavaScript	Python
Swift	Kotlin	Java	Go
C++	C#	C	Objective-C
Ruby	PHP	Scala	Dart
Lua	SQL	Bash	R

Files in languages outside this set are still ingested as text and remain searchable and citable — they just don't contribute a parsed symbol graph.

Re-ingesting as code changes

Ingesting again after your code changes updates the graph rather than wiping it. Because your vault is a signed DAG, nothing is physically deleted: a symbol that no longer exists is superseded, not erased, so the history and provenance of your codebase's structure are preserved.

Each ingest records the commit it was built from. That means the signed history isn't just "when did I import" — it's "which version of the code produced this structure," which you can prove later. See Signed history.

Code Cartography

The overview of how Altretta reads a repository as a structural graph.

The symbol graph

Browse the top symbols and navigate by real cross-file relationships.

Code Q&A

Ask your AI about what you just ingested, grounded in real source.

Provenance

How the git provenance of each ingest is anchored in the signed DAG.

Import notes

The counterpart flow for bringing notes and documents into your vault.

Glossary

AST, symbol graph, DAG, and provenance, defined.