# Writing Clang Tools

Clang provides infrastructure to write tools that need syntactic and semantic information about a program. This document will give a short introduction of the different ways to write clang tools, and their pros and cons.

## LibClang

LibClang is a stable high level C interface to clang. When in doubt LibClang is probably the interface you want to use. Consider the other interfaces only when you have a good reason not to use LibClang.

Canonical examples of when to use LibClang:

- Xcode
- Clang Python Bindings

Use LibClang when you...

- want to interface with clang from other languages than C++
- need a stable interface that takes care to be backwards compatible
- want powerful high-level abstractions, like iterating through an AST with a cursor, and don't want to learn all the nitty gritty details of Clang's AST.

Do not use LibClang when you...

- want full control over the Clang AST

## Clang Plugins

Clang Plugins allow you to run additional actions on the AST as part of a compilation. Plugins are dynamic libraries that are loaded at runtime by the compiler, and they're easy to integrate into your build environment.

Canonical examples of when to use Clang Plugins:

- special lint-style warnings or errors for your project
- creating additional build artifacts from a single compile step

Use Clang Plugins when you...

- need your tool to rerun if any of the dependencies change
- want your tool to make or break a build
- need full control over the Clang AST

Do not use Clang Plugins when you...

- want to run tools outside of your build environment
- want full control on how Clang is set up, including mapping of in-memory virtual files
- need to run over a specific subset of files in your project which is not necessarily related to any changes which would trigger rebuilds

## LibTooling

LibTooling is a C++ interface aimed at writing standalone tools, as well as integrating into services that run clang tools.

Canonical examples of when to use LibTooling:

- a simple syntax checker
- refactoring tools

Use LibTooling when you...

- want to run tools over a single file, or a specific subset of files, independently of the build system
- want full control over the Clang AST
- want to share code with Clang Plugins

Do not use LibTooling when you...

- want to run as part of the build triggered by dependency changes
- want a stable interface so you don't need to change your code when the AST API changes
- want high level abstractions like cursors and code completion out of the box
- do not want to write your tools in C++