Feature Audit Tool

How to use the BoxLang Feature Audit Tool — analyze BoxLang feature usage across your workspace for migration planning and code modernization.

The Feature Audit Tool is a webview-based analysis tool that scans your entire workspace and catalogs all BoxLang language features in use. It helps you understand your codebase at a glance — ideal for migration planning, code modernization, and team onboarding.

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Opening the Tool

From the Command Palette:

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P).

2. Type BoxLang: Open Feature Audit Tool.

3. Press Enter.

From the Explorer:

1. Right-click any folder in the Explorer sidebar.

2. Select BoxLang: Open Feature Audit Tool.

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What It Analyzes

The Feature Audit scans all BoxLang and CFML files in your workspace and reports on:

Category	Examples
Language constructs	Classes, interfaces, components, functions, properties
Built-in Functions (BIFs)	queryExecute, arrayMap, fileRead, structKeyExists
Tags / Components	<bx:query>, <bx:loop>, <bx:output>, <bx:include>
Scopes	variables, application, session, request, server
Control flow	if/else, for, while, switch, try/catch
Imports	Java imports, BoxLang imports
Annotations	@BoxBIF, @BoxComponent, property annotations
CFML-specific	<cfquery>, <cfoutput>, <cfloop>, <cfinclude>

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Use Cases

Migration Planning

Before migrating from Adobe ColdFusion or Lucee to BoxLang, use the Feature Audit to:

• Identify CFML-specific tags and functions that need conversion

• Find deprecated language features

• Estimate migration effort based on feature usage counts

Code Modernization

After migration or during refactoring:

• Identify legacy patterns (e.g., <cfquery> instead of queryExecute())

• Find areas where modern BoxLang features could replace older approaches

• Track modernization progress over time

Team Onboarding

For new team members:

• Get a quick overview of the codebase's technical profile

• Understand which language features are most heavily used

• Identify areas to focus learning efforts

Compliance & Standards

For enforcing coding standards:

• Detect use of discouraged features

• Verify that deprecated APIs are no longer in use

• Audit codebase for security-sensitive patterns

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Interpreting Results

The audit results are displayed in an interactive webview panel. Results are grouped by feature category with counts for each item found.

Run the audit periodically during migration or refactoring projects to track progress. Compare results before and after to measure impact.

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Related Pages

Commands ReferenceSettings Reference