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🧭 Go To Definition

Stop searching for step implementations manually. Gherkin PowerTools allows you to instantly jump from any .feature file step directly to its underlying Python execution code.

⚡ How to Trigger

  • Mouse: Cmd + Click (macOS) or Ctrl + Click (Windows/Linux) on any step.
  • Keyboard: Place your cursor on a step and press F12.
  • Context Menu: Right-click on a step → "Go to Definition".

🧠 How It Works (The Symbol Cache)

When you open a workspace containing Gherkin files, the extension intelligently builds an ultra-fast In-Memory Symbol Cache by scanning your .py files in the background.

When you request a definition (e.g., clicking on Given I login as "admin"):

  1. Extraction: The extension extracts the semantic step text (I login as "admin").
  2. Evaluation: It strips dynamic Gherkin data variables and normalizes the string.
  3. Lookup: It queries the Symbol Cache in RAM (averaging 0-2ms latency).
  4. Navigation: It locates the matching Python decorator and instantly opens the file directly at that exact line.

[!NOTE] Dynamic Updates The cache is fully reactive. It automatically updates in the background whenever you create, modify, or delete Python files, ensuring your definitions are always perfectly in sync.

🐍 Supported Python Decorators

The definition provider is natively compatible with standard behave and pytest-bdd Python decorators. It supports complex regex matching, f-strings, and raw strings.

# Standard Exact Match
@given('I login')
def step_login(context): ...

# Regex with Named Groups
@when(r'I click the button "(?P<button_name>[^"]*)"')
def step_click(context, button_name): ...

# Formatted F-Strings & Bracket Variables
@then(f'I should see the {dashboard}')
def step_see(context, dashboard): ...

# Unicode/Byte prefixes and @step alias
@step(u'I perform an action')
def step_action(context): ...

[!WARNING] Workspace Requirements

  • Python step implementation files must be located inside a directory named steps/ (at any nesting depth).
  • Python functions must be decorated with @given, @when, @then, or @step.

Go To Definition Demonstration