get_inheritance_chain
Resolve C++ inheritance relationships across translation units. Returns direct bases and derived with access/virtual flags; transitive mode walks full ancestor and descendant chains.
Instructions
Return the C++ inheritance chain for a class or struct — libclang-aware hierarchy. Resolves base/derived class relationships across all translation units, which single-file reading cannot do.
Shows direct base classes (what this inherits from) and direct derived classes (what inherits from this), along with access level and virtual flag for each edge.
When transitive=True, walks the full hierarchy up to all ancestors
and down to all descendants (bounded by max_depth). Uses BFS with
cycle detection to handle diamond inheritance.
For class members use get_class_members. For virtual method
override chains use get_method_overrides.
Read-only. No side effects.
Args:
class_name: Class or struct name to get inheritance information for.
E.g. 'UART_DRIVER' or 'comm::MODEM'.
project_root: Project root. Auto-detected if omitted.
transitive: When True, walk the full inheritance tree both up
(ancestors) and down (descendants). Default: False (direct
bases and derived only).
max_depth: Maximum BFS depth for transitive walk (default 10,
clamped to 1–50).
Returns: dict: { name, qualified_name, kind, file, line, bases: [{name, usr, access, is_virtual, file}], derived: [{name, usr, access, is_virtual, file}], all_bases: [...] (when transitive=True, ancestors sorted by depth), all_derived: [...] (when transitive=True, descendants sorted by depth) }
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| max_depth | No | Maximum BFS depth for transitive walk (default 10). | |
| class_name | Yes | Class or struct name to get inheritance information for. E.g. 'UART_DRIVER' or 'comm::MODEM'. | |
| transitive | No | When True, walk the full inheritance tree both up (ancestors) and down (descendants). Default: False (direct bases and derived only). | |
| project_root | No | Project root. Auto-detected if omitted. |