code-explorer

Code Explorer CLI Skill

Use Code Explorer first for repository understanding, then read exact files to verify details. This skill is especially important for Code Buddy (/home/patrice/code-buddy) because Patrice wants Claude, Codex, and Code Buddy to share the same graph-backed map of the code.

Binary

From this repository (/home/patrice/DEV/code-explorer-rs), prefer:

cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- <command>

After a release build, use:

./target/release/code-explorer <command>

Use code-explorer <command> only when the binary is known to be on PATH.

Default Workflow

1. Identify the target repository path.
   • Current Code Explorer repo: /home/patrice/DEV/code-explorer-rs
   • Canonical Linux Code Buddy repo: /home/patrice/code-buddy
   • Older DEV copy: /home/patrice/DEV/code-buddy
2. Check or create the index:
   • From Code Explorer, run cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- analyze <target-repo> --skip-git --incremental.
   • After a release build, run (cd <target-repo> && /home/patrice/DEV/code-explorer-rs/target/release/code-explorer status).
   • Use --force when validating resolver changes or when stale graph output is suspected.
3. Start with graph queries:
   • cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- query "authentication flow" --repo <target-repo> --limit 10
   • cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- context <symbol> --repo <target-repo>
   • cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- impact <symbol> --repo <target-repo> --direction both
   • cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- trace-files <symbol> --path <target-repo> --depth 3 --json
4. Read precise files returned by Code Explorer before editing or making claims.
5. If graph output conflicts with source code, trust source code and note the graph issue.

TypeScript / JavaScript Graph Checks

For TS/JS resolver work, always run an ambiguity reproducer before broad validation:

GN="cargo run -p code-explorer-cli --"
rm -rf /tmp/ambi && mkdir -p /tmp/ambi
printf 'export function foo() { return 1; }\n' > /tmp/ambi/a.ts
printf 'export function foo() { return 2; }\n' > /tmp/ambi/c.ts
printf 'import { foo } from "./a.js";\nexport function load() { return foo(); }\n' > /tmp/ambi/b.ts
$GN analyze /tmp/ambi --skip-git --force
grep CALLS /tmp/ambi/.codeexplorer/csv/CodeRelation.csv | grep foo

Expected result: load -> a.ts:foo with reason named-import or another import-scoped reason, not global.

Also test the dynamic form:

export async function load() {
  const { foo } = await import("./a.js");
  return foo();
}

Code Buddy Validation

When a change is meant to help Code Buddy:

cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- analyze /home/patrice/code-buddy/src --skip-git --force
cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- query "autonomous code runner" --repo /home/patrice/code-buddy/src --limit 10
cargo run -p code-explorer-cli -- context runTurnLoop --repo /home/patrice/code-buddy/src

Track CALLS confidence by inspecting .codeexplorer/csv/CodeRelation.csv under the indexed repo. A useful resolver improvement should reduce low-confidence global CALLS edges and increase named-import / import-scoped edges.

MCP Setup

For Claude Code or a project-local consumer, install the MCP server from the target project directory:

cd <target-repo>
/home/patrice/DEV/code-explorer-rs/target/release/code-explorer mcp-install --scope project

If no release binary exists, build it first:

cd /home/patrice/DEV/code-explorer-rs
cargo build --release -p code-explorer-cli

Guardrails

• Do not use Code Explorer output as the sole authority for code edits; verify exact source.
• Do not run destructive git commands in indexed repositories.
• Use --skip-git for synthetic fixtures and partial source directories.
• For resolver work, avoid changing validated C#/ASP.NET/EDMX behavior unless the task explicitly targets it.