tree-sitter: extract string features at file scope
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- Dominant language
- Python
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Description
String literals are only extracted at `function` scope (in functions and `PSEUDO MAIN`).
Because no `string` features are emitted at the `file` scope:
- Rules written with `scope: file` that look for string matches (`string: "..."` or `substring: "..."`) fail to match when analyzing script files.
- Running `show-features.py` at `file` scope lists top-level module imports but omits string constants defined in the file.
### Proposed Solution
1. **Extract Strings at File Scope**:
Add `extract_file_strings` to `FILE_HANDLERS` in `capa/features/extractors/ts/file.py`.
2. **Use Tree-Sitter AST String Literals & `FileOffsetRangeAddress`**:
Extract string literals across the script module root node using Tree-Sitter AST string nodes:
```python
def extract_file_strings(engine: TreeSitterExtractorEngine) -> Iterator[Tuple[Feature, Address]]:
for node in engine.get_string_literals(engine.tree.root_node):
yield String(engine.language_toolkit.parse_string(engine.get_str(node))), engine.get_address(node)
```
* Using Tree-Sitter AST nodes leverages exact character start/end byte offsets (`FileOffsetRangeAddress(start, end)`).
* This maintains address type consistency (`FileOffsetRangeAddress`) across the script analysis engine and ensures `scope: file` string rules match natively without breaking any output formats (`-v`, `-vv`, JSON).
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start in capa/features/extractors/ts/file.py, reviewing FILE_HANDLERS and the existing function-scope string extraction. Check how TreeSitterExtractorEngine exposes the script module root and addresses, then verify that file-scope string and substring rules match and that show-features.py lists top-level string constants without changing -v, -vv, or JSON output.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- reverse-engineering
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 76/100