How do I jump to a tag definition using the tag stack?

Explanation

The <C-]> command jumps to the definition of the keyword under the cursor using tag files. This is a core code navigation feature when working with ctags.

How it works

• <C-]> looks up the word under the cursor in the tags file
• If found, it jumps to the file and line of the definition
• The previous position is pushed onto the tag stack

Example

result = calculate_total(items)

With the cursor on calculate_total, pressing <C-]> jumps to where calculate_total is defined.

Tips

• <C-t> pops the tag stack and returns to the previous position
• :tag function_name jumps to a tag by name
• Generate tags with ctags -R . in your project root
• :tselect shows all matching tags if there are multiple