2023-08-24 14:23:55 +02:00

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# PSI Files
<!-- Copyright 2000-2023 JetBrains s.r.o. and contributors. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license. -->
<link-summary>PSI File represents file content as a hierarchy of elements in a particular programming language.</link-summary>
A PSI (Program Structure Interface) file is the root of a structure representing a file's contents as a hierarchy of elements in a particular programming language.
The [`PsiFile`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiFile.java) class is the common base class for all PSI files, while files in a specific language are usually represented by its subclasses. For example, the [`PsiJavaFile`](%gh-ic%/java/java-psi-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiJavaFile.java) class represents a Java file, and the [`XmlFile`](%gh-ic%/xml/xml-psi-api/src/com/intellij/psi/xml/XmlFile.java) class represents an XML file.
Unlike [](virtual_file.md) and [](documents.md), which have application scope (even if multiple projects are open, each file is represented by the same
[`VirtualFile`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/VirtualFile.java) instance), PSI has [](project.md) scope:
the same file is represented by multiple `PsiFile` instances if the file belongs to multiple projects open at the same time.
## How do I get a PSI file?
| Context | API |
|----------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [Action](basic_action_system.md) | [`AnActionEvent.getData(CommonDataKeys.PSI_FILE)`](%gh-ic%/platform/editor-ui-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/actionSystem/AnActionEvent.java) |
| [Document](documents.md) | [`PsiDocumentManager.getPsiFile()`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiDocumentManager.java) |
| [PSI Element](psi_elements.md) | [`PsiElement.getContainingFile()`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiElement.java) (may return `null` if the PSI element is not contained in a file) |
| [Virtual File](virtual_file.md) | [`PsiManager.findFile()`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiManager.java), [`PsiUtilCore.toPsiFiles()`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/util/PsiUtilCore.java) |
| File Name | [`FilenameIndex.getVirtualFilesByName()`](%gh-ic%/platform/indexing-api/src/com/intellij/psi/search/FilenameIndex.java) and locate via [`PsiManager.findFile()`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiManager.java) or [`PsiUtilCore.toPsiFiles()`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/util/PsiUtilCore.java) |
## What can I do with a PSI file?
Most interesting modification operations are performed on the level of individual PSI elements, not files as a whole.
To iterate over the elements in a file, use
```java
psiFile.accept(new PsiRecursiveElementWalkingVisitor() {
// visitor implementation ...
});
```
See also [](navigating_psi.md).
## Where does a PSI file come from?
As PSI is language-dependent, PSI files are created using the [`Language`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/lang/Language.java) instance:
```java
LanguageParserDefinitions.INSTANCE
.forLanguage(MyLanguage.INSTANCE)
.createFile(fileViewProvider);
```
Like [](documents.md), PSI files are created on-demand when the PSI is accessed for a particular file.
## How long do PSI files persist?
Like [](documents.md), PSI files are weakly referenced from the corresponding `VirtualFile` instances and can be garbage-collected if not referenced by anyone.
## How do I create a PSI file?
[`PsiFileFactory.createFileFromText()`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiFileFactory.java) creates an in-memory PSI file with the specified contents.
To save the PSI file to disk, use its parent directory's [`PsiDirectory.add()`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiDirectory.java).
## How do I get notified when PSI files change?
`PsiManager.addPsiTreeChangeListener()` allows you to receive notifications about all changes to the PSI tree of a project.
Alternatively, register [`PsiTreeChangeListener`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiTreeChangeListener.java) in `com.intellij.psi.treeChangeListener` extension point.
> Please see [`PsiTreeChangeEvent`](%gh-ic%/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/psi/PsiTreeChangeEvent.java) Javadoc for common problems when dealing with PSI events.
>
{style="note"}
## How do I extend PSI?
PSI can be extended to support additional languages through custom language plugins.
For more details on developing custom language plugins, see the [](custom_language_support.md) reference guide.
## What are the rules for working with PSI?
Any changes done to the content of PSI files are reflected in documents, so all [rules for working with documents](documents.md#what-are-the-rules-of-working-with-documents) (read/write actions, commands, read-only status handling) are in effect.