Sizes codegraph_explore to the answer, not the file count: shows the mechanism + the exact methods you named in full (even buried in a large file) while collapsing redundant interchangeable implementations to signatures. Adds uniqueness-aware spare, per-symbol focused rendering of family files, all-tier test-file exclusion, and named-method cluster survival in non-sibling god-files. Validated A/B (Opus 4.8, 7-repo sweep): avg 25%% cheaper / 57%% fewer tokens / 23%% faster / 62%% fewer tool calls. Django 9->23%% cheaper (0 reads), OkHttp 4->11%% cheaper; gains across small/medium/large, inert repos unchanged. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
640 lines
34 KiB
Markdown
640 lines
34 KiB
Markdown
<div align="center">
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# CodeGraph
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### Supercharge Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, Hermes Agent, Gemini, Antigravity, and Kiro with Semantic Code Intelligence
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**~25% cheaper · ~62% fewer tool calls · 100% local**
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### [Documentation & Website →](https://colbymchenry.github.io/codegraph/)
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[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@colbymchenry/codegraph)
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[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
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[](https://nodejs.org/)
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[](#supported-platforms)
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[](#supported-platforms)
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[](#supported-platforms)
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[](#supported-agents)
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[](#supported-agents)
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[](#supported-agents)
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[](#supported-agents)
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[](#supported-agents)
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[](#supported-agents)
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[](#supported-agents)
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[](#supported-agents)
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</div>
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## Get Started
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**No Node.js required** — one command grabs the right build for your OS:
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```bash
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# macOS / Linux
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curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/colbymchenry/codegraph/main/install.sh | sh
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# Windows (PowerShell)
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irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/colbymchenry/codegraph/main/install.ps1 | iex
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```
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Already have Node? Use npm instead (works on any version):
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```bash
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npx @colbymchenry/codegraph # zero-install, or:
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npm i -g @colbymchenry/codegraph
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```
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<sub>CodeGraph bundles its own runtime — nothing to compile, no native build, works the same everywhere. The interactive installer auto-configures your agent(s) — Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, opencode, Hermes Agent, Gemini CLI, Antigravity IDE, Kiro.</sub>
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### Initialize Projects
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```bash
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cd your-project
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codegraph init -i
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```
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<sub>`codegraph init` just creates the local `.codegraph/` index directory; adding `-i` (`--index`) also builds the initial graph in the same step. Without `-i`, run `codegraph index` afterwards to populate it.</sub>
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<div align="center">
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</div>
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### Uninstall
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Changed your mind? One command removes CodeGraph from every agent it configured:
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```bash
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codegraph uninstall
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```
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<sub>Reverses the installer — strips CodeGraph's MCP server config, instructions, and permissions from each configured agent. Your project indexes (`.codegraph/`) are left untouched; remove those per-project with `codegraph uninit`. Use `--target` to remove from specific agents, or `--yes` to run non-interactively.</sub>
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---
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## Why CodeGraph?
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When Claude Code explores a codebase, it spawns **Explore agents** that scan files with grep, glob, and Read — consuming tokens on every tool call.
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**CodeGraph gives those agents a pre-indexed knowledge graph** — symbol relationships, call graphs, and code structure. Agents query the graph instantly instead of scanning files.
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### Benchmark Results
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Tested across **7 real-world open-source codebases** spanning 7 languages, comparing an agent (Claude Code, headless) answering one architecture question **with** and **without** CodeGraph. Each cell is the savings at the **median of 4 runs per arm**. _Re-validated on Opus 4.8 (2026-05-29), on the build with per-symbol adaptive `codegraph_explore` sizing._
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> **Average: 25% cheaper · 57% fewer tokens · 23% faster · 62% fewer tool calls**
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| Codebase | Language | Cost | Tokens | Time | Tool calls |
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|----------|----------|------|--------|------|------------|
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| **VS Code** | TypeScript · ~10k files | 33% cheaper | 70% fewer | 27% faster | 80% fewer |
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| **Excalidraw** | TypeScript · ~640 | 27% cheaper | 61% fewer | 26% faster | 70% fewer |
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| **Django** | Python · ~3k | 23% cheaper | 70% fewer | 28% faster | 77% fewer |
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| **Tokio** | Rust · ~790 | 35% cheaper | 70% fewer | 37% faster | 79% fewer |
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| **OkHttp** | Java · ~645 | 11% cheaper | 48% fewer | 26% faster | 70% fewer |
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| **Gin** | Go · ~110 | 15% cheaper | 35% fewer | 9% faster | 47% fewer |
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| **Alamofire** | Swift · ~110 | 28% cheaper | 46% fewer | 7% faster | 13% fewer |
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CodeGraph cuts **cost, tokens, tool calls, and time on every repo** — across small, medium, and large codebases — and answers most of them with **zero file reads**, while the no-CodeGraph agent spends its budget on grep/find/Read discovery. `codegraph_explore` shows the answer in full — the mechanism plus the exact methods you asked about, even when they're buried in a multi-thousand-line file — while collapsing redundant interchangeable implementations to signatures, so the response is sized to the *answer* rather than the file count. The cost margin is narrowest on the smallest repos, where a modern model's native search is already cheap, but it stays solidly positive across the board.
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Per-repo breakdown — WITH vs WITHOUT (median of 4)</strong></summary>
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**VS Code** · ~10k files
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| Metric | WITH cg | WITHOUT cg | Δ |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Time | 1m 37s | 2m 13s | 27% faster |
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| File Reads | 0 | 9 | −9 |
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| Grep/Bash | 0 | 11 | −11 |
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| Tool calls | 4 | 21 | 80% fewer |
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| Total tokens | 545k | 1.79M | 70% fewer |
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| Cost | $0.55 | $0.83 | 33% cheaper |
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**Excalidraw** · ~640 files
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| Metric | WITH cg | WITHOUT cg | Δ |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Time | 1m 34s | 2m 6s | 26% faster |
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| File Reads | 0 | 7 | −7 |
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| Grep/Bash | 0 | 8 | −8 |
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| Tool calls | 5 | 15 | 70% fewer |
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| Total tokens | 651k | 1.69M | 61% fewer |
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| Cost | $0.57 | $0.78 | 27% cheaper |
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**Django** · ~3k files
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| Metric | WITH cg | WITHOUT cg | Δ |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Time | 1m 25s | 1m 58s | 28% faster |
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| File Reads | 0 | 9 | −9 |
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| Grep/Bash | 0 | 5 | −5 |
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| Tool calls | 3 | 13 | 77% fewer |
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| Total tokens | 419k | 1.41M | 70% fewer |
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| Cost | $0.48 | $0.62 | 23% cheaper |
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**Tokio** · ~790 files
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| Metric | WITH cg | WITHOUT cg | Δ |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Time | 1m 28s | 2m 20s | 37% faster |
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| File Reads | 0 | 8 | −8 |
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| Grep/Bash | 0 | 6 | −6 |
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| Tool calls | 3 | 14 | 79% fewer |
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| Total tokens | 522k | 1.73M | 70% fewer |
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| Cost | $0.53 | $0.82 | 35% cheaper |
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**OkHttp** · ~645 files
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| Metric | WITH cg | WITHOUT cg | Δ |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Time | 1m 6s | 1m 29s | 26% faster |
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| File Reads | 1 | 4 | −3 |
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| Grep/Bash | 0 | 6 | −6 |
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| Tool calls | 3 | 10 | 70% fewer |
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| Total tokens | 572k | 1.10M | 48% fewer |
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| Cost | $0.48 | $0.55 | 11% cheaper |
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**Gin** · ~110 files
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| Metric | WITH cg | WITHOUT cg | Δ |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Time | 1m 28s | 1m 37s | 9% faster |
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| File Reads | 0 | 6 | −6 |
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| Grep/Bash | 0 | 2 | −2 |
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| Tool calls | 5 | 9 | 47% fewer |
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| Total tokens | 552k | 847k | 35% fewer |
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| Cost | $0.48 | $0.57 | 15% cheaper |
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**Alamofire** · ~110 files
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| Metric | WITH cg | WITHOUT cg | Δ |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Time | 2m 11s | 2m 21s | 7% faster |
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| File Reads | 3 | 9 | −6 |
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| Grep/Bash | 2 | 4 | −2 |
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| Tool calls | 11 | 12 | 13% fewer |
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| Total tokens | 1.13M | 2.10M | 46% fewer |
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| Cost | $0.69 | $0.95 | 28% cheaper |
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</details>
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Full benchmark details</strong></summary>
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**Methodology.** Each arm is `claude -p` (Claude Opus 4.8) run headlessly against the repo with `--strict-mcp-config`: **WITH** = CodeGraph's MCP server enabled, **WITHOUT** = an empty MCP config. Built-in Read/Grep/Bash stay available to both. Same question per repo, **4 runs per arm, median reported**. Cost = the run's `total_cost_usd`; Tokens = total tokens processed (input incl. cached + output); Time = wall-clock; Tool calls = every tool invocation, including those inside any sub-agents the model spawns. Repos cloned at `--depth 1` and indexed by the same CodeGraph build that served them. Re-validated 2026-05-29 on the build with per-symbol adaptive `codegraph_explore` sizing. These numbers are lower than the prior Opus 4.7 validation — not a CodeGraph regression but a stronger native baseline: Opus 4.8 greps/reads efficiently on the main thread instead of fanning out into large Explore-subagent sweeps, so the no-CodeGraph arm is leaner than it used to be. Per-repo numbers move run-to-run with how hard the without-arm thrashes (the median-of-4 smooths it, but tails remain — e.g. Django's without-arm hit $2.71/14m one batch).
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**Queries:**
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| Codebase | Query |
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|----------|-------|
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| VS Code | "How does the extension host communicate with the main process?" |
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| Excalidraw | "How does Excalidraw render and update canvas elements?" |
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| Django | "How does Django's ORM build and execute a query from a QuerySet?" |
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| Tokio | "How does tokio schedule and run async tasks on its runtime?" |
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| OkHttp | "How does OkHttp process a request through its interceptor chain?" |
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| Gin | "How does gin route requests through its middleware chain?" |
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| Alamofire | "How does Alamofire build, send, and validate a request?" |
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**Why CodeGraph wins:** with the index available, the agent answers directly — `codegraph_context` to map the area, then one `codegraph_explore` for the relevant source — and stops, usually with zero file reads. Without it, the agent spends most of its budget on discovery (find/ls/grep) before reading the right code. CodeGraph only helps when queried *directly*, so its instructions steer agents to answer directly rather than delegate exploration to file-reading sub-agents — otherwise a sub-agent reads files regardless and CodeGraph becomes overhead.
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</details>
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---
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## Key Features
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| | |
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|---|---|
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| **Smart Context Building** | One tool call returns entry points, related symbols, and code snippets — no expensive exploration agents |
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| **Full-Text Search** | Find code by name instantly across your entire codebase, powered by FTS5 |
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| **Impact Analysis** | Trace callers, callees, and the full impact radius of any symbol before making changes |
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| **Always Fresh** | File watcher uses native OS events (FSEvents/inotify/ReadDirectoryChangesW) with debounced auto-sync — the graph stays current as you code, zero config |
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| **20+ Languages** | TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust, Java, C#, PHP, Ruby, C, C++, Objective-C, Swift, Kotlin, Dart, Lua, Luau, Svelte, Liquid, Pascal/Delphi |
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| **Framework-aware Routes** | Recognizes web-framework routing files and links URL patterns to their handlers across 14 frameworks |
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| **Mixed iOS / React Native / Expo** | Closes cross-language flows that static parsing misses: Swift ↔ ObjC bridging, React Native legacy bridge + TurboModules + Fabric view components, native → JS event emitters, Expo Modules |
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| **100% Local** | No data leaves your machine. No API keys. No external services. SQLite database only |
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<details>
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<summary><strong>How auto-syncing works — and why you don't need to run <code>codegraph sync</code> manually</strong></summary>
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When your agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, opencode) launches `codegraph serve --mcp`, three layers keep the index in step with your code — and make sure the agent never gets a silent wrong answer in the brief window between an edit and the next sync:
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1. **File watcher with debounced auto-sync.** A native FSEvents / inotify / ReadDirectoryChangesW watcher captures every source-file create / modify / delete and triggers a re-index after a debounce window (default `2000ms`, tunable via `CODEGRAPH_WATCH_DEBOUNCE_MS`, clamped to `[100ms, 60s]`). Bursts of edits collapse into a single sync.
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2. **Per-file staleness banner.** During the brief debounce window, MCP tool responses that would reference a still-pending file prepend a `⚠️` banner naming it and telling the agent to `Read` it directly. Pending files NOT referenced by the response surface as a small footer instead. Either way, the agent gets an explicit signal — validated with Claude Code, where the agent literally says "Reading the file directly for the live content" before opening it.
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3. **Connect-time catch-up.** When the MCP server (re)connects, codegraph runs a fast `(size, mtime)` + content-hash reconciliation against the working tree before answering the first query — so edits made while no MCP server was running (a `git pull` from the terminal, edits from another editor, a previous agent session that exited) get absorbed on the next session's first tool call.
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```
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agent writes src/Widget.ts
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→ watcher fires (<100ms)
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→ debounce (default 2s)
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→ sync; Widget.ts is in the index
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→ next agent query sees it
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```
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**Verify any time** with `codegraph_status` (via MCP) or `codegraph status` (CLI). If anything is pending, you'll see a `### Pending sync:` section naming the files and their edit age.
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The handful of cases where manual `codegraph sync` makes sense: the watcher is disabled (sandboxed environments, or `CODEGRAPH_NO_DAEMON=1`), or you're scripting against the index outside an agent session and want a pre-flight sync at the start of your script.
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→ Full deep-dive in [Guides → Indexing a Project](https://colbymchenry.github.io/codegraph/guides/indexing/#stay-fresh-automatically).
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</details>
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---
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## Framework-aware Routes
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CodeGraph detects web-framework routing files and emits `route` nodes linked by `references` edges to their handler classes or functions. Querying callers of a view/controller now surfaces the URL pattern that binds it.
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| Framework | Shapes recognized |
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|---|---|
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| **Django** | `path()`, `re_path()`, `url()`, `include()` in `urls.py` (CBV `.as_view()`, dotted paths) |
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| **Flask** | `@app.route('/path', methods=[...])`, blueprint routes |
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| **FastAPI** | `@app.get(...)`, `@router.post(...)`, all standard methods |
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| **Express** | `app.get(...)`, `router.post(...)` with middleware chains |
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| **NestJS** | `@Controller` + `@Get/@Post/...`, GraphQL `@Resolver` + `@Query/@Mutation`, `@MessagePattern`/`@EventPattern`, `@SubscribeMessage` |
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| **Laravel** | `Route::get()`, `Route::resource()`, `Controller@action`, tuple syntax |
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| **Drupal** | `*.routing.yml` routes (`_controller`, `_form`, entity handlers); `hook_*` implementations in `.module`/`.theme`/`.install`/`.inc` |
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| **Rails** | `get '/x', to: 'users#index'`, hash-rocket `=>` syntax |
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| **Spring** | `@GetMapping`, `@PostMapping`, `@RequestMapping` on methods |
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| **Gin / chi / gorilla / mux** | `r.GET(...)`, `router.HandleFunc(...)` |
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| **Axum / actix / Rocket** | `.route("/x", get(handler))` |
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| **ASP.NET** | `[HttpGet("/x")]` attributes on action methods |
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| **Vapor** | `app.get("x", use: handler)` |
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| **React Router** / **SvelteKit** | Route component nodes |
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---
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## Mixed iOS / React Native / Expo bridging
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Real iOS and React Native codebases live across multiple languages — a Swift caller invokes an Objective-C selector that's been auto-bridged, a JS file calls into a native module via the React Native bridge, a JSX component delegates to a native view manager. Static tree-sitter extraction stops at each language boundary. CodeGraph bridges them so `trace`, `callers`, `callees`, and `impact` connect end-to-end across the gap.
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| Boundary | JS / Swift side | Native side | How |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| **Swift → ObjC** | Swift `obj.foo(bar:)` | ObjC selector `-fooWithBar:` | `@objc` auto-bridging rules (including init/property/protocol forms) + Cocoa preposition prefixes (`With`/`For`/`By`/`In`/`On`/`At`/…) |
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| **ObjC → Swift** | ObjC `[obj fooWithBar:]` | Swift `@objc func foo(bar:)` | Reverse-bridge name candidates; verifies `@objc` exposure from source |
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| **React Native legacy bridge** | JS `NativeModules.X.fn(...)` | ObjC `RCT_EXPORT_METHOD` / `RCT_REMAP_METHOD` · Java/Kotlin `@ReactMethod` | Parses macro/annotation declarations to build a JS-name → native-method map |
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| **React Native TurboModules** | JS `import M from './NativeM'; M.fn(...)` | Native impl matching the Codegen spec | Treats the `Native<X>.ts` spec interface as ground truth |
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| **RN native → JS events** | JS `new NativeEventEmitter(...).addListener('e', cb)` | ObjC `[self sendEventWithName:@"e" body:...]` · Swift `sendEvent(withName: "e", ...)` · Java/Kotlin `.emit("e", ...)` | Synthesized cross-language event channel keyed by literal event name |
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| **Expo Modules** | JS `requireNativeModule('X').fn(...)` | Swift / Kotlin `Module { Name("X"); AsyncFunction("fn") { ... } }` | Parses the Expo DSL literals; synthetic method nodes resolve via existing name-match |
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| **Fabric view components** | JSX `<MyView prop={v}/>` | TS Codegen spec + native impl class | Spec → `component` node; convention-based name+suffix lookup (`View`/`ComponentView`/`Manager`/`ViewManager`) bridges to native |
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| **Legacy Paper view managers** | JSX `<MyView prop={v}/>` | ObjC `RCT_EXPORT_VIEW_PROPERTY` · Java/Kotlin `@ReactProp` | Same as Fabric — Paper-era declarations also produce `component` + `property` nodes |
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**Validated on real codebases** (small + medium + large for each bridge):
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| Bridge | Small | Medium | Large |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Swift ↔ ObjC | [Charts](https://github.com/danielgindi/Charts) | [realm-swift](https://github.com/realm/realm-swift) | [Wikipedia-iOS](https://github.com/wikimedia/wikipedia-ios) |
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| RN legacy bridge | [AsyncStorage](https://github.com/react-native-async-storage/async-storage) | [react-native-svg](https://github.com/software-mansion/react-native-svg) | [react-native-firebase](https://github.com/invertase/react-native-firebase) |
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| RN native → JS events | [RNGeolocation](https://github.com/Agontuk/react-native-geolocation-service) | — | react-native-firebase |
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| Expo Modules | expo-haptics | expo-camera | expo SDK sweep (7 packages) |
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| Fabric / Paper views | [react-native-segmented-control](https://github.com/react-native-segmented-control/segmented-control) | [react-native-screens](https://github.com/software-mansion/react-native-screens) | [react-native-skia](https://github.com/Shopify/react-native-skia) |
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Each bridge emits edges tagged `provenance:'heuristic'` with `metadata.synthesizedBy:` set to a stable channel name (e.g. `swift-objc-bridge`, `rn-event-channel`, `fabric-native-impl`, `expo-module-extract`), so the agent can tell at a glance how a hop got into the graph.
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---
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|
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## Quick Start
|
||
|
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### 1. Run the Installer
|
||
|
||
```bash
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npx @colbymchenry/codegraph
|
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```
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|
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The installer will:
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- Ask which agent(s) to configure — auto-detects installed ones from: **Claude Code**, **Cursor**, **Codex CLI**, **opencode**, **Hermes Agent**, **Gemini CLI**, **Antigravity IDE**, **Kiro**
|
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- Prompt to install `codegraph` on your PATH (so agents can launch the MCP server)
|
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- Ask whether configs apply to all your projects or just this one
|
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- Write each chosen agent's MCP server config (the codegraph usage guide is delivered by the MCP server itself, so no instructions file is added to `CLAUDE.md` / `AGENTS.md` / etc.)
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- Set up auto-allow permissions when Claude Code is one of the targets
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- Initialize your current project (local installs only)
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|
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**Non-interactive (scripting / CI):**
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|
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```bash
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codegraph install --yes # auto-detect agents, install global
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codegraph install --target=cursor,claude --yes # explicit target list
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codegraph install --target=auto --location=local # detected agents, project-local
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codegraph install --print-config codex # print snippet, no file writes
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```
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|
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| Flag | Values | Default |
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|---|---|---|
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| `--target` | `auto`, `all`, `none`, or csv (`claude,cursor,...`) | prompt |
|
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| `--location` | `global`, `local` | prompt |
|
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| `--yes` | (boolean) | prompt every step |
|
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| `--no-permissions` | (boolean) skip Claude auto-allow list | permissions on |
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| `--print-config <id>` | dump snippet for one agent and exit | — |
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||
|
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### 2. Restart Your Agent
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||
|
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Restart your agent (Claude Code / Cursor / Codex CLI / opencode / Hermes Agent / Gemini CLI / Antigravity IDE / Kiro) for the MCP server to load.
|
||
|
||
### 3. Initialize Projects
|
||
|
||
```bash
|
||
cd your-project
|
||
codegraph init -i
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
Builds the per-project knowledge graph index. A single global `codegraph install` works in every project you open — no need to re-run the installer per project.
|
||
|
||
That's it — your agent will use CodeGraph tools automatically when a `.codegraph/` directory exists.
|
||
|
||
<details>
|
||
<summary><strong>Manual Setup (Alternative)</strong></summary>
|
||
|
||
**Install globally:**
|
||
```bash
|
||
npm install -g @colbymchenry/codegraph
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Add to `~/.claude.json`:**
|
||
```json
|
||
{
|
||
"mcpServers": {
|
||
"codegraph": {
|
||
"type": "stdio",
|
||
"command": "codegraph",
|
||
"args": ["serve", "--mcp"]
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Add to `~/.claude/settings.json` (optional, for auto-allow):**
|
||
```json
|
||
{
|
||
"permissions": {
|
||
"allow": [
|
||
"mcp__codegraph__codegraph_search",
|
||
"mcp__codegraph__codegraph_context",
|
||
"mcp__codegraph__codegraph_callers",
|
||
"mcp__codegraph__codegraph_callees",
|
||
"mcp__codegraph__codegraph_impact",
|
||
"mcp__codegraph__codegraph_node",
|
||
"mcp__codegraph__codegraph_status",
|
||
"mcp__codegraph__codegraph_files"
|
||
]
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
</details>
|
||
|
||
<details>
|
||
<summary><strong>Agent Tool Guidance</strong></summary>
|
||
|
||
CodeGraph's MCP server delivers its usage guidance to your agent **automatically**, in the MCP `initialize` response — there's no instructions file to manage and nothing is added to your `CLAUDE.md` / `AGENTS.md` / `GEMINI.md`. In short, it tells the agent to:
|
||
|
||
- **Answer structural questions directly with CodeGraph** — it *is* the pre-built index, so a grep/read loop just repeats work it already did. Treat the returned source as already read.
|
||
- **Pick the tool by intent:** `codegraph_context` to map an area, `codegraph_trace` for "how does X reach Y", `codegraph_explore` to survey several symbols, `codegraph_search` to find a symbol, `codegraph_callers`/`codegraph_callees` to walk call flow, `codegraph_impact` before editing, `codegraph_node` for one symbol's source.
|
||
- **Trust the results — don't re-verify with grep**, and check the staleness banner after edits.
|
||
- If `.codegraph/` doesn't exist yet, offer to run `codegraph init -i`.
|
||
|
||
The exact text is `src/mcp/server-instructions.ts` — the single source of truth.
|
||
|
||
</details>
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## How It Works
|
||
|
||
```
|
||
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
|
||
│ Claude Code │
|
||
│ │
|
||
│ "How does a request reach the database?" │
|
||
│ calls CodeGraph tools directly — no Explore sub-agent │
|
||
│ │ │
|
||
└─────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┘
|
||
│
|
||
▼
|
||
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
|
||
│ CodeGraph MCP Server │
|
||
│ │
|
||
│ context · trace · explore · callers · callees · impact │
|
||
│ │ │
|
||
│ ▼ │
|
||
│ SQLite knowledge graph │
|
||
│ symbols · edges · files · FTS5 full-text search │
|
||
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
1. **Extraction** — [tree-sitter](https://tree-sitter.github.io/) parses source code into ASTs. Language-specific queries extract nodes (functions, classes, methods) and edges (calls, imports, extends, implements).
|
||
|
||
2. **Storage** — Everything goes into a local SQLite database (`.codegraph/codegraph.db`) with FTS5 full-text search.
|
||
|
||
3. **Resolution** — After extraction, references are resolved: function calls → definitions, imports → source files, class inheritance, and framework-specific patterns.
|
||
|
||
4. **Auto-Sync** — The MCP server watches your project using native OS file events. Changes are debounced (2-second quiet window), filtered to source files only, and incrementally synced. The graph stays fresh as you code — no configuration needed.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## CLI Reference
|
||
|
||
```bash
|
||
codegraph # Run interactive installer
|
||
codegraph install # Run installer (explicit)
|
||
codegraph uninstall # Remove CodeGraph from your agents (inverse of install)
|
||
codegraph init [path] # Initialize in a project (--index to also index)
|
||
codegraph uninit [path] # Remove CodeGraph from a project (--force to skip prompt)
|
||
codegraph index [path] # Full index (--force to re-index, --quiet for less output)
|
||
codegraph sync [path] # Incremental update
|
||
codegraph status [path] # Show statistics
|
||
codegraph query <search> # Search symbols (--kind, --limit, --json)
|
||
codegraph files [path] # Show file structure (--format, --filter, --max-depth, --json)
|
||
codegraph context <task> # Build context for AI (--format, --max-nodes)
|
||
codegraph callers <symbol> # Find what calls a function/method (--limit, --json)
|
||
codegraph callees <symbol> # Find what a function/method calls (--limit, --json)
|
||
codegraph impact <symbol> # Analyze what code is affected by changing a symbol (--depth, --json)
|
||
codegraph affected [files...] # Find test files affected by changes (see below)
|
||
codegraph serve --mcp # Start MCP server
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
### `codegraph affected`
|
||
|
||
Traces import dependencies transitively to find which test files are affected by changed source files.
|
||
|
||
```bash
|
||
codegraph affected src/utils.ts src/api.ts # Pass files as arguments
|
||
git diff --name-only | codegraph affected --stdin # Pipe from git diff
|
||
codegraph affected src/auth.ts --filter "e2e/*" # Custom test file pattern
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
| Option | Description | Default |
|
||
|--------|-------------|---------|
|
||
| `--stdin` | Read file list from stdin | `false` |
|
||
| `-d, --depth <n>` | Max dependency traversal depth | `5` |
|
||
| `-f, --filter <glob>` | Custom glob to identify test files | auto-detect |
|
||
| `-j, --json` | Output as JSON | `false` |
|
||
| `-q, --quiet` | Output file paths only | `false` |
|
||
|
||
**CI/hook example:**
|
||
|
||
```bash
|
||
#!/usr/bin/env bash
|
||
AFFECTED=$(git diff --name-only HEAD | codegraph affected --stdin --quiet)
|
||
if [ -n "$AFFECTED" ]; then
|
||
npx vitest run $AFFECTED
|
||
fi
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## MCP Tools
|
||
|
||
When running as an MCP server, CodeGraph exposes these tools to Claude Code:
|
||
|
||
| Tool | Purpose |
|
||
|------|---------|
|
||
| `codegraph_search` | Find symbols by name across the codebase |
|
||
| `codegraph_context` | Build relevant code context for a task |
|
||
| `codegraph_trace` | Trace the call path between two symbols ("how does X reach Y") in one call — each hop with its body inline, following dynamic-dispatch hops (callbacks, React re-render, interface→impl) that grep can't |
|
||
| `codegraph_callers` | Find what calls a function |
|
||
| `codegraph_callees` | Find what a function calls |
|
||
| `codegraph_impact` | Analyze what code is affected by changing a symbol |
|
||
| `codegraph_node` | Get details about a specific symbol (optionally with source code) |
|
||
| `codegraph_explore` | Return source for several related symbols grouped by file, plus a relationship map, in one call |
|
||
| `codegraph_files` | Get indexed file structure (faster than filesystem scanning) |
|
||
| `codegraph_status` | Check index health and statistics |
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Library Usage
|
||
|
||
```typescript
|
||
import CodeGraph from '@colbymchenry/codegraph';
|
||
|
||
const cg = await CodeGraph.init('/path/to/project');
|
||
// Or: const cg = await CodeGraph.open('/path/to/project');
|
||
|
||
await cg.indexAll({
|
||
onProgress: (p) => console.log(`${p.phase}: ${p.current}/${p.total}`)
|
||
});
|
||
|
||
const results = cg.searchNodes('UserService');
|
||
const callers = cg.getCallers(results[0].node.id);
|
||
const context = await cg.buildContext('fix login bug', { maxNodes: 20, includeCode: true, format: 'markdown' });
|
||
const impact = cg.getImpactRadius(results[0].node.id, 2);
|
||
|
||
cg.watch(); // auto-sync on file changes
|
||
cg.unwatch(); // stop watching
|
||
cg.close();
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Configuration
|
||
|
||
There isn't any — CodeGraph is zero-config, with **no config file** to write or
|
||
keep in sync. Language support is automatic from the file extension; there's
|
||
nothing to wire up per language.
|
||
|
||
What it skips out of the box:
|
||
|
||
- **Dependency, build, and cache directories** — `node_modules`, `vendor`,
|
||
`dist`, `build`, `target`, `.venv`, `Pods`, `.next`, and the like across every
|
||
[supported stack](#supported-languages) — so the graph is your code, not
|
||
third-party noise. This holds even with no `.gitignore`.
|
||
- **Anything in your `.gitignore`** — honored in git repos via git, and in
|
||
non-git projects by reading `.gitignore` directly (root and nested).
|
||
- **Files larger than 1 MB** — generated bundles, minified JS, vendored blobs.
|
||
|
||
To keep something else out, add it to `.gitignore`. To pull a default-excluded
|
||
directory back **in** (say you really do want a vendored dependency indexed),
|
||
add a negation — `!vendor/`. The defaults apply uniformly, so committing a
|
||
dependency or build directory doesn't force it into the graph; the `.gitignore`
|
||
negation is the explicit opt-in.
|
||
|
||
## Supported Platforms
|
||
|
||
Every release ships a self-contained build (bundled Node runtime — nothing to
|
||
compile) for all three desktop OSes, on both Intel/AMD (x64) and ARM (arm64):
|
||
|
||
| Platform | Architectures | Install |
|
||
|----------|---------------|---------|
|
||
| Windows | x64, arm64 | PowerShell installer or npm |
|
||
| macOS | x64, arm64 | shell installer or npm |
|
||
| Linux | x64, arm64 | shell installer or npm |
|
||
|
||
See [Get Started](#get-started) for the one-line install commands.
|
||
|
||
## Supported Agents
|
||
|
||
The interactive installer auto-detects and configures each of these — wiring up
|
||
the MCP server (which delivers its own usage guidance, so no instructions file
|
||
is written):
|
||
|
||
- **Claude Code**
|
||
- **Cursor**
|
||
- **Codex CLI**
|
||
- **opencode**
|
||
- **Hermes Agent**
|
||
- **Gemini CLI**
|
||
- **Antigravity IDE**
|
||
- **Kiro**
|
||
|
||
## Supported Languages
|
||
|
||
| Language | Extension | Status |
|
||
|----------|-----------|--------|
|
||
| TypeScript | `.ts`, `.tsx` | Full support |
|
||
| JavaScript | `.js`, `.jsx`, `.mjs` | Full support |
|
||
| Python | `.py` | Full support |
|
||
| Go | `.go` | Full support |
|
||
| Rust | `.rs` | Full support |
|
||
| Java | `.java` | Full support |
|
||
| C# | `.cs` | Full support |
|
||
| PHP | `.php` | Full support |
|
||
| Ruby | `.rb` | Full support |
|
||
| C | `.c`, `.h` | Full support |
|
||
| C++ | `.cpp`, `.hpp`, `.cc` | Full support |
|
||
| Objective-C | `.m`, `.mm`, `.h` | Partial support (classes, protocols, methods, `@property`, `#import`, message sends; `.mm` ObjC++ may parse incompletely) |
|
||
| Swift | `.swift` | Full support |
|
||
| Kotlin | `.kt`, `.kts` | Full support |
|
||
| Scala | `.scala`, `.sc` | Full support (classes, traits, methods, type aliases, Scala 3 enums) |
|
||
| Dart | `.dart` | Full support |
|
||
| Svelte | `.svelte` | Full support (script extraction, Svelte 5 runes, SvelteKit routes) |
|
||
| Vue | `.vue` | Full support (script + script-setup extraction, Nuxt page/API/middleware routes) |
|
||
| Liquid | `.liquid` | Full support |
|
||
| Pascal / Delphi | `.pas`, `.dpr`, `.dpk`, `.lpr` | Full support (classes, records, interfaces, enums, DFM/FMX form files) |
|
||
| Lua | `.lua` | Full support (functions, methods with receivers, local variables, `require` imports, call edges) |
|
||
| Luau | `.luau` | Full support (everything in Lua, plus `type`/`export type` aliases, typed signatures, and Roblox instance-path `require`) |
|
||
|
||
## Troubleshooting
|
||
|
||
**"CodeGraph not initialized"** — Run `codegraph init` in your project directory first.
|
||
|
||
**Indexing is slow** — Check that `node_modules` and other large directories are excluded. Use `--quiet` to reduce output overhead.
|
||
|
||
**MCP hits `database is locked`** — current builds shouldn't: CodeGraph bundles its own Node runtime and uses Node's built-in `node:sqlite` in WAL mode, where concurrent reads never block on a writer. If you still see it:
|
||
|
||
- **You're on an old (pre-0.9) install.** Reinstall to get the bundled runtime — `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/colbymchenry/codegraph/main/install.sh | sh` (macOS/Linux), `irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/colbymchenry/codegraph/main/install.ps1 | iex` (Windows), or `npm i -g @colbymchenry/codegraph@latest`.
|
||
- **`codegraph status` shows `Journal:` other than `wal`** — WAL couldn't be enabled on this filesystem (common on network shares and WSL2 `/mnt`), so reads can block on writes. Move the project (with its `.codegraph/` folder) onto a local disk.
|
||
|
||
**MCP server not connecting** — Ensure the project is initialized/indexed, verify the path in your MCP config, and check that `codegraph serve --mcp` works from the command line.
|
||
|
||
**Missing symbols** — The MCP server auto-syncs on save (wait a couple seconds). Run `codegraph sync` manually if needed. Check that the file's language is supported and isn't inside a `.gitignore`d or default-excluded directory (e.g. `node_modules`, `dist`).
|
||
|
||
## Star History
|
||
|
||
<a href="https://www.star-history.com/?repos=colbymchenry%2Fcodegraph&type=date&legend=top-left">
|
||
<picture>
|
||
<source media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" srcset="https://api.star-history.com/chart?repos=colbymchenry/codegraph&type=date&theme=dark&legend=top-left" />
|
||
<source media="(prefers-color-scheme: light)" srcset="https://api.star-history.com/chart?repos=colbymchenry/codegraph&type=date&legend=top-left" />
|
||
<img alt="Star History Chart" src="https://api.star-history.com/chart?repos=colbymchenry/codegraph&type=date&legend=top-left" />
|
||
</picture>
|
||
</a>
|
||
|
||
## License
|
||
|
||
MIT
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
<div align="center">
|
||
|
||
**Made for AI coding agents — Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, opencode, Hermes Agent, Gemini CLI, Antigravity IDE, and Kiro**
|
||
|
||
[Report Bug](https://github.com/colbymchenry/codegraph/issues) · [Request Feature](https://github.com/colbymchenry/codegraph/issues)
|
||
|
||
</div>
|