# `ast` command
The `ast` command parses a Ralix source file and prints its Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) in JSON format.
## Usage
```bash
ralix ast [OPTIONS] <SOURCE_FILE>
```
### Arguments
* `<SOURCE_FILE>`: The path to the source file to parse.
### Options
* `-o, --output <FILE>`: The file to write the AST to. If not provided, the AST is printed to the console.
## Description
The `ast` command is a useful tool for developers who want to inspect the structure of their code. It takes a source file, parses it, and then serializes the resulting AST into a pretty-printed JSON string.
## Examples
To print the AST of a file named `main.ralix` to the console:
```bash
ralix ast main.ralix
```
To save the AST to a file named `ast.json`:
```bash
ralix ast -o ast.json main.ralix
```