> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://boxlang.ortusbooks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://boxlang.ortusbooks.com/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxast.md).

# BoxAST

Generates the Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) for BoxLang source code or a file.

The AST represents the syntactic structure of the code and can be used for code analysis, transformation, or generation.

**Usage Examples:**

```
 // Parse source code and return as struct (default)
 ast = boxAST( source = "x = 1 + 2" );
 println( ast.ASTType ); // Outputs: BoxAssignment

 // Parse source code and return as JSON
 json = boxAST( source = "function add(a, b) { return a + b; }", returnType = "json" );
 println( json ); // Outputs: JSON representation of the AST

 // Parse source code and return as text
 text = boxAST( source = "if (x > 5) { println('yes'); }", returnType = "text" );
 println( text ); // Outputs: Human-readable text representation

 // Parse a file
 ast = boxAST( filepath = "src/MyClass.bx" );

 // Use as a member function on a string
 source = "a = [1, 2, 3]";
 ast = source.toAST(); // Returns AST as struct
 ast = source.toAST( returnType = "json" ); // Returns AST as JSON string

 // Parse CFML/ColdFusion syntax
 ast = boxAST( source = "cfset x = 1", sourceType = "cfscript" );

 // Parse template syntax
 ast = boxAST( source = "#now()#", sourceType = "template" );
 
```

The returned AST structure contains nodes with the following key properties:

* **ASTType** - The type of AST node (e.g., BoxAssignment, BoxFunctionDeclaration, BoxClass)
* **ASTPackage** - The package name of the AST node class
* Additional properties specific to each node type (e.g., name, value, children, etc.)

## Method Signature

```
BoxAST(source=[string], filepath=[string], returnType=[string], sourceType=[string])
```

### Arguments

| Argument     | Type     | Required | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | Default  |
| ------------ | -------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------- |
| `source`     | `string` | `false`  | <p>The BoxLang source code to parse. Either source or filepath must be provided.<br>When used as a member function, this is automatically set to the string value.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |          |
| `filepath`   | `string` | `false`  | <p>The path to a BoxLang file to parse. Either source or filepath must be provided.<br>Can be relative (to the current working directory) or absolute.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |          |
| `returnType` | `string` | `false`  | <p>The format of the returned AST. Valid values are "struct" (default), "json", or "text".<br></p><ul><li><br></li><li><strong>struct</strong> - Returns a nested structure (Map) representing the AST hierarchy</li><li><br></li><li><strong>json</strong> - Returns a JSON string representation of the AST</li><li><br></li><li><strong>text</strong> - Returns a human-readable text representation of the AST</li><li><br></li></ul>                                                                    | `struct` |
| `sourceType` | `string` | `false`  | <p>The type of source code being parsed. Valid values are "script" (default), "template", "cfscript", or "cftemplate".<br></p><ul><li><br></li><li><strong>script</strong> - BoxLang script syntax (BOXSCRIPT)</li><li><br></li><li><strong>template</strong> - BoxLang template syntax (BOXTEMPLATE)</li><li><br></li><li><strong>cfscript</strong> - ColdFusion script syntax (CFSCRIPT)</li><li><br></li><li><strong>cftemplate</strong> - ColdFusion template syntax (CFTEMPLATE)</li><li><br></li></ul> | `script` |

## Examples

### Get the AST for BoxLang source code

```java
ast = boxAST( "x = 1 + 2" );
writeOutput( ast.containsKey( "type" ) );

```

Result: true

## Related

* [ApplicationRestart](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/applicationrestart.md)
* [ApplicationStartTime](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/applicationstarttime.md)
* [ApplicationStop](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/applicationstop.md)
* [BoxAnnounce](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxannounce.md)
* [BoxAnnounceAsync](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxannounceasync.md)
* [BoxModuleReload](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxmodulereload.md)
* [BoxRegisterInterceptionPoints](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxregisterinterceptionpoints.md)
* [BoxRegisterInterceptor](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxregisterinterceptor.md)
* [BoxRegisterRequestInterceptor](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxregisterrequestinterceptor.md)
* [BoxUnregisterInterceptor](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxunregisterinterceptor.md)
* [BoxUnregisterRequestInterceptor](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/boxunregisterrequestinterceptor.md)
* [CallStackGet](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/callstackget.md)
* [CreateGUID](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/createguid.md)
* [CreateObject](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/createobject.md)
* [CreateUUID](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/createuuid.md)
* [DE](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/de.md)
* [DebugBoxContexts](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/debugboxcontexts.md)
* [Dump](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/dump.md)
* [Duplicate](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/duplicate.md)
* [echo](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/echo.md)
* [EncodeForHTML](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/encodeforhtml.md)
* [GetApplicationMetadata](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getapplicationmetadata.md)
* [GetBaseTagData](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getbasetagdata.md)
* [GetBaseTagList](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getbasetaglist.md)
* [GetBaseTemplatePath](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getbasetemplatepath.md)
* [GetBoxContext](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getboxcontext.md)
* [GetBoxRuntime](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getboxruntime.md)
* [GetBoxVersionInfo](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getboxversioninfo.md)
* [GetClassMetadata](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getclassmetadata.md)
* [GetComponentList](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getcomponentlist.md)
* [GetContextRoot](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getcontextroot.md)
* [GetCurrentTemplatePath](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getcurrenttemplatepath.md)
* [GetFileFromPath](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getfilefrompath.md)
* [GetFunctionCalledName](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getfunctioncalledname.md)
* [GetFunctionList](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getfunctionlist.md)
* [GetModuleInfo](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getmoduleinfo.md)
* [GetModuleList](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getmodulelist.md)
* [GetModuleTree](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getmoduletree.md)
* [GetRequestClassLoader](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getrequestclassloader.md)
* [GetSemver](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getsemver.md)
* [GetSystemSetting](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/getsystemsetting.md)
* [GetTempDirectory](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/gettempdirectory.md)
* [GetTickCount](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/gettickcount.md)
* [htmlEditFormat](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/htmleditformat.md)
* [IIF](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/iif.md)
* [Invoke](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/invoke.md)
* [IsInstanceOf](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/isinstanceof.md)
* [JavaCast](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/javacast.md)
* [ObjectDeserialize](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/objectdeserialize.md)
* [ObjectSerialize](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/objectserialize.md)
* [PagePoolClear](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/pagepoolclear.md)
* [Print](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/print.md)
* [Println](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/println.md)
* [RunThreadInContext](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/runthreadincontext.md)
* [SessionInvalidate](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/sessioninvalidate.md)
* [SessionRotate](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/sessionrotate.md)
* [SessionStartTime](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/sessionstarttime.md)
* [Sleep](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/sleep.md)
* [SystemCacheClear](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/systemcacheclear.md)
* [SystemExecute](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/systemexecute.md)
* [SystemOutput](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/systemoutput.md)
* [Throw](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/throw.md)
* [Trace](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/trace.md)
* [URLDecode](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/urldecode.md)
* [URLEncodedFormat](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/urlencodedformat.md)
* [writeDump](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/writedump.md)
* [WriteLog](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/writelog.md)
* [WriteOutput](/boxlang-language/reference/built-in-functions/system/writeoutput.md)


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