How to ask what the code means

This guide shows how to follow a name through a Golo file: what it is, where it is declared, and what is wrong with it. It assumes Turbo Golo is installed and the language server is running — the status bar says LSP: ready when it is.

For moving around a file — searching, jumping to a line, switching windows — see How to move around a file instead.

Put the cursor on a name

Any character of it will do. Every question below asks about the position of the cursor, not about a selection, so there is nothing to highlight first.

Ask

To find	Do	Shortcut	With `golo lsp`
What it is	Code ▸ Describe symbol	`F1`	answered
Where it is declared	Code ▸ Go to definition	`F12`	answered
Where its type is declared	Code ▸ Go to type definition		nothing found
What implements it	Code ▸ Find implementations…		answered — its declaration
Everywhere it is used	Code ▸ Find references…	`Shift-F12`	answered, within the file

One of these five reports nothing with golo lsp. The server is the interpreter itself in language-server mode, and it does not advertise typeDefinition, so Go to type definition answers nothing found however good the code is. The other four work, within the file: Find references lists the declaration and every call, and Find implementations answers with the declaration — Golo has no interfaces, so a function is its own implementation. Both symbol searches below work too. See colouring and completion for why the one gap is written down rather than hidden behind a greyed-out menu item.

What the two that work know is the file in front, at top level:

Describe symbol on a function you declared shows its signature and the # comments written immediately above it; on a builtin such as println or a symbol pulled in by import from an embedded module — gololang.Errors, gololang.Types — it shows the interpreter's own documentation.
Go to definition takes you to a top-level function or union declared in the same file. A function imported from a module of your own on disk is not resolved.

One answer takes you straight there. Should a question ever come back with several, they open a list showing each file, its line, and the text of that line; move with the arrow keys, Enter to go, Esc to stay where you are.

When nothing comes back

Three different things look alike, and the status bar tells them apart:

It says	Meaning
`No … found`, in the question's own words	The server answered, and there are none — which, for type definitions, is what this server always says
`LSP: starting…`	The server has not finished starting. Wait a moment and ask again.
`LSP: off` on the status bar	No server is running. See How to enable completion.
`LSP: no golo — see https://codeberg.org/TypeUnsafe/golo-script/releases`	There is no `golo` on `PATH` or in `/usr/local/bin`. See How to install GoloScript.

Find something by name instead

Code ▸ Symbol in file… lists what the file in front declares, indented, with each symbol's kind — the top-level functions and unions, each union's variants nested under it. An outline you can walk; choosing one goes to it.
Code ▸ Symbol in project… (Ctrl-T) asks for a name and searches every .golo file under the project root, open or not — top-level functions, unions and module names. An empty name lists them all.

See what is wrong

Code ▸ Problems… lists every problem the server has reported, for every file it has loaded — usually more than the one you are editing. Choosing one goes to the line.

golo lsp reports two kinds of problem, on open and again on every edit: syntax errors from its lexer and parser, and lints for the two mistakes it sees most — : and . confused in a method call, and C-style // or /* */ comments, where Golo uses # and ----. A syntax error is placed on the line the message names, or on line 1 when it names none, and the whole line is marked rather than a column.

Lines with a problem carry a mark in the gutter, beside the line number:

Mark	Meaning
`×`	An error
`!`	A warning
`i`	Information
`·`	A hint

A line with more than one problem shows the worst of them.

The marks need the line numbers. They sit in the column that separates the numbers from the text, so hiding the gutter with Options ▸ Line numbers hides them too.

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# How to ask what the code means

This guide shows how to follow a name through a Golo file: what it is, where it is declared, and what is wrong with it. It assumes Turbo Golo is installed and the language server is running — the status bar says `LSP: ready` when it is.

For moving around a file — searching, jumping to a line, switching windows — see [How to move around a file](navigate-code.md) instead.

## Put the cursor on a name

Any character of it will do. Every question below asks about the **position of the cursor**, not about a selection, so there is nothing to highlight first.

## Ask

| To find | Do | Shortcut | With `golo lsp` |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | **Code ▸ Describe symbol** | `F1` | answered |
| Where it is declared | **Code ▸ Go to definition** | `F12` | answered |
| Where its *type* is declared | **Code ▸ Go to type definition** | | nothing found |
| What implements it | **Code ▸ Find implementations…** | | answered — its declaration |
| Everywhere it is used | **Code ▸ Find references…** | `Shift-F12` | answered, within the file |

**One of these five reports nothing with `golo lsp`.** The server is the interpreter itself in language-server mode, and it does not advertise `typeDefinition`, so **Go to type definition** answers nothing found however good the code is. The other four work, within the file: **Find references** lists the declaration and every call, and **Find implementations** answers with the declaration — Golo has no interfaces, so a function is its own implementation. Both symbol searches below work too. See [colouring and completion](../explanation/colouring-and-completion.md) for why the one gap is written down rather than hidden behind a greyed-out menu item.

What the two that work know is **the file in front**, at top level:

- **Describe symbol** on a function you declared shows its signature and the `#` comments written immediately above it; on a builtin such as `println` or a symbol pulled in by `import` from an embedded module — `gololang.Errors`, `gololang.Types` — it shows the interpreter's own documentation.
- **Go to definition** takes you to a top-level function or union declared in the same file. A function imported from a module of your own on disk is not resolved.

One answer takes you straight there. Should a question ever come back with several, they open a list showing each file, its line, and the text of that line; move with the arrow keys, `Enter` to go, `Esc` to stay where you are.

## When nothing comes back

Three different things look alike, and the status bar tells them apart:

| It says | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `No … found`, in the question's own words | The server answered, and there are none — which, for type definitions, is what this server always says |
| `LSP: starting…` | The server has not finished starting. Wait a moment and ask again. |
| `LSP: off` on the status bar | No server is running. See [How to enable completion](enable-completion.md). |
| `LSP: no golo — see https://codeberg.org/TypeUnsafe/golo-script/releases` | There is no `golo` on `PATH` or in `/usr/local/bin`. See [How to install GoloScript](install-goloscript.md). |

## Find something by name instead

- **Code ▸ Symbol in file…** lists what the file in front declares, indented, with each symbol's kind — the top-level functions and unions, each union's variants nested under it. An outline you can walk; choosing one goes to it.
- **Code ▸ Symbol in project…** (`Ctrl-T`) asks for a name and searches every `.golo` file under the project root, open or not — top-level functions, unions and module names. An empty name lists them all.

## See what is wrong

**Code ▸ Problems…** lists every problem the server has reported, for **every file it has loaded** — usually more than the one you are editing. Choosing one goes to the line.

`golo lsp` reports two kinds of problem, on open and again on every edit: syntax errors from its lexer and parser, and lints for the two mistakes it sees most — `:` and `.` confused in a method call, and C-style `//` or `/* */` comments, where Golo uses `#` and `----`. A syntax error is placed on the line the message names, or on line 1 when it names none, and the whole line is marked rather than a column.

Lines with a problem carry a mark in the gutter, beside the line number:

| Mark | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `×` | An error |
| `!` | A warning |
| `i` | Information |
| `·` | A hint |

A line with more than one problem shows the worst of them.

**The marks need the line numbers.** They sit in the column that separates the numbers from the text, so hiding the gutter with **Options ▸ Line numbers** hides them too.

## See also

- Every item and its key: [Menus](../reference/menus.md)
- Getting a server running: [How to enable completion](enable-completion.md)
- What the editor asks, and why: [Colouring and completion](../explanation/colouring-and-completion.md)
- What `golo lsp` answers, exactly: [Golo tools](../reference/golo-tools.md)