Devel:...Inrefs(3pm)

💖 Devel:...Inrefs — the Devel::MAT::Tool::Inrefs page, but make it make sense 💖

okay bestie, this is a page from the User Contributed Perl Documentation collection, and it's genuinely so useful, I'm obsessed 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

Devel::MAT::Tool::Inrefs — annotate which SVs are referred to by others 👑

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So this Devel::MAT tool goes around annotating every single SV with back-references — like, from all the other SVs that refer to it. It literally follows the outrefs method of every heap SV, and then it annotates the referred-to SVs with back-references pointing right back at the SVs that refer to them. it's giving reverse uno card, no cap 💅

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🦋 SV METHODS 🦋

This tool adds the following SV methods, and honestly? iconic behaviour.

inrefs

@refs = $sv->inrefs;

Returns a list of Reference objects, one for each of the SVs that refer to this one. It's built by doing the inverse mapping along the SV graph from outrefs. ✨

inrefs_strong / inrefs_weak / inrefs_direct / inrefs_indirect / inrefs_inferred

@refs = $sv->inrefs_strong;

@refs = $sv->inrefs_weak;

@refs = $sv->inrefs_direct;

@refs = $sv->inrefs_indirect;

@refs = $sv->inrefs_inferred;

These return lists of Reference objects filtered by type — analogous to the various outrefs_* methods. so basically, pick your flavour 🍓

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⭐ COMANDS ⭐

(yes bestie, COMANDS, that's literally how it's spelled on the page, we don't fix, we appreciate 🙈)

inrefs

pmat> inrefs defstash
s  the hash  GLOB(%*) at 0x556e47243e40

Shows the incoming references that refer to a given SV. main character energy fr fr.

Takes the following named options:

• --weak — include weak direct references in the output. (by default only strong direct ones get included, just so you know 👀)
• --all — include both weak and indirect references in the output. the whole buffet, periodt.

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💜 AUTHOR 💜

Paul Evans <leonerd@leonerd.org.uk> — thank you king, we appreciate you 🫶

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one tiny heads-up bestie: nothing here is dangerous, it's just a tool that annotates things, so vibe check passed ✅

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and that's the whole page!! written against perl v5.42.3, dated 2026-08-21, source straight from the Devel:...Inrefs(3pm) manual. slay, go read your heap 🌈🎀