developer-detective

name	developer-detective
description	⚡ PRIMARY TOOL for: 'how does X work', 'find implementation of', 'trace data flow', 'where is X defined', 'audit integrations', 'find all usages'. Uses claudemem v0.3.0 AST with callers/callees analysis. GREP/FIND/GLOB ARE FORBIDDEN.
allowed-tools	Bash, Task, Read, AskUserQuestion

⛔⛔⛔ CRITICAL: AST STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS ONLY ⛔⛔⛔

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║                                                                              ║
║   🧠 THIS SKILL USES claudemem v0.3.0 AST ANALYSIS EXCLUSIVELY               ║
║                                                                              ║
║   ❌ GREP IS FORBIDDEN                                                       ║
║   ❌ FIND IS FORBIDDEN                                                       ║
║   ❌ GLOB IS FORBIDDEN                                                       ║
║                                                                              ║
║   ✅ claudemem --nologo callers <name> --raw FOR USAGE ANALYSIS             ║
║   ✅ claudemem --nologo callees <name> --raw FOR DEPENDENCY TRACING         ║
║   ✅ claudemem --nologo context <name> --raw FOR FULL UNDERSTANDING         ║
║                                                                              ║
║   ⭐ v0.3.0: callers/callees show exact data flow and dependencies          ║
║                                                                              ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Developer Detective Skill

Version: 3.3.0 Role: Software Developer Purpose: Implementation investigation using AST callers/callees and impact analysis

Role Context

You are investigating this codebase as a Software Developer. Your focus is on:

• Implementation details - How code actually works
• Data flow - How data moves through the system (via callees)
• Usage patterns - How code is used (via callers)
• Dependencies - What a function needs to work
• Impact analysis - What breaks if you change something

Why callers/callees is Perfect for Development

The callers and callees commands show you:

• callers = Every place that calls this code (impact of changes)
• callees = Every function this code calls (its dependencies)
• Exact file:line = Precise locations for reading/editing
• Call kinds = call, import, extends, implements

Developer-Focused Commands (v0.3.0)

Find Implementation

# Find where a function is defined
claudemem --nologo symbol processPayment --raw

# Get full context with callers and callees
claudemem --nologo context processPayment --raw

Trace Data Flow

# What does this function call? (data flows OUT)
claudemem --nologo callees processPayment --raw

# Follow the chain
claudemem --nologo callees validateCard --raw
claudemem --nologo callees chargeStripe --raw

Find All Usages

# Who calls this function? (usage patterns)
claudemem --nologo callers processPayment --raw

# This shows EVERY place that uses this code

Impact Analysis (v0.4.0+ Required)

# Before modifying ANY code, check full impact
claudemem --nologo impact functionToChange --raw

# Output shows ALL transitive callers:
# direct_callers:
#   - LoginController.authenticate:34
#   - SessionMiddleware.validate:12
# transitive_callers (depth 2):
#   - AppRouter.handleRequest:45
#   - TestSuite.runAuth:89

Why impact matters:

• callers shows only direct callers (1 level)
• impact shows ALL transitive callers (full tree)
• Critical for refactoring decisions

Handling Empty Results:

IMPACT=$(claudemem --nologo impact functionToChange --raw)
if echo "$IMPACT" | grep -q "No callers"; then
  echo "No callers found. This is either:"
  echo "  1. An entry point (API handler, main function) - expected"
  echo "  2. Dead code - verify with: claudemem dead-code"
  echo "  3. Dynamically called - check for import(), reflection"
fi

Impact Analysis (BEFORE Modifying)

# Quick check - direct callers only (v0.3.0)
claudemem --nologo callers functionToChange --raw

# Deep check - ALL transitive callers (v0.4.0+ Required)
IMPACT=$(claudemem --nologo impact functionToChange --raw)

# Handle results
if [ -z "$IMPACT" ] || echo "$IMPACT" | grep -q "No callers"; then
  echo "No static callers found - verify dynamic usage patterns"
else
  echo "$IMPACT"
  echo ""
  echo "This tells you:"
  echo "- Direct callers (immediate impact)"
  echo "- Transitive callers (ripple effects)"
  echo "- Grouped by file (for systematic updates)"
fi

Understanding Complex Code

# Get full picture: definition + callers + callees
claudemem --nologo context complexFunction --raw

PHASE 0: MANDATORY SETUP

Step 1: Verify claudemem v0.3.0

which claudemem && claudemem --version
# Must be 0.3.0+

Step 2: If Not Installed → STOP

Use AskUserQuestion (see ultrathink-detective for template)

Step 3: Check Index Status

# Check claudemem installation and index
claudemem --version && ls -la .claudemem/index.db 2>/dev/null

Step 3.5: Check Index Freshness

Before proceeding with investigation, verify the index is current:

# First check if index exists
if [ ! -d ".claudemem" ] || [ ! -f ".claudemem/index.db" ]; then
  # Use AskUserQuestion to prompt for index creation
  # Options: [1] Create index now (Recommended), [2] Cancel investigation
  exit 1
fi

# Count files modified since last index
STALE_COUNT=$(find . -type f \( -name "*.ts" -o -name "*.tsx" -o -name "*.js" -o -name "*.jsx" -o -name "*.py" -o -name "*.go" -o -name "*.rs" \) \
  -newer .claudemem/index.db 2>/dev/null | grep -v "node_modules" | grep -v ".git" | grep -v "dist" | grep -v "build" | wc -l)
STALE_COUNT=$((STALE_COUNT + 0))  # Normalize to integer

if [ "$STALE_COUNT" -gt 0 ]; then
  # Get index time with explicit platform detection
  if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
    INDEX_TIME=$(stat -f "%Sm" -t "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M" .claudemem/index.db 2>/dev/null)
  else
    INDEX_TIME=$(stat -c "%y" .claudemem/index.db 2>/dev/null | cut -d'.' -f1)
  fi
  INDEX_TIME=${INDEX_TIME:-"unknown time"}

  # Get sample of stale files
  STALE_SAMPLE=$(find . - f \( -name  -o -name  \) \
    -newer .claudemem/index.db 2>/dev/null | grep -v  | grep -v  |  -5)

  

Step 4: Index if Needed

claudemem index

---

Workflow: Implementation Investigation (v0.3.0)

Phase 1: Map the Area

# Get overview of the feature area
claudemem --nologo map "payment processing" --raw

Phase 2: Find the Entry Point

# Locate the main function (highest PageRank in area)
claudemem --nologo symbol PaymentService --raw

Phase 3: Trace the Flow

# What does PaymentService call?
claudemem --nologo callees PaymentService --raw

# For each major callee, trace further
claudemem --nologo callees validatePayment --raw
claudemem --nologo callees processCharge --raw
claudemem --nologo callees saveTransaction --raw

Phase 4: Understand Usage

# Who uses PaymentService?
claudemem --nologo callers PaymentService --raw

# This shows the entry points

Phase 5: Read Specific Code

# Now read ONLY the relevant file:line ranges from results
# DON'T read whole files

Output Format: Implementation Report

1. Symbol Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              IMPLEMENTATION ANALYSIS                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Symbol: processPayment                                  │
│  Location: src/services/payment.ts:45-89                │
│  Kind: function                                          │
│  PageRank: 0.034                                         │
│  Search Method: claudemem v0.3.0 (AST analysis)         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

2. Data Flow (Callees)

processPayment
  ├── validateCard (src/validators/card.ts:12)
  ├── getCustomer (src/services/customer.ts:34)
  ├── chargeStripe (src/integrations/stripe.ts:56)
  │     └── stripe.charges.create (external)
  └── saveTransaction (src/repositories/transaction.ts:78)
        └── database.insert (src/db/index.ts:23)

3. Usage (Callers)

processPayment is called by:
  ├── CheckoutController.submit (src/controllers/checkout.ts:45)
  ├── SubscriptionService.renew (src/services/subscription.ts:89)
  └── RetryQueue.processPayment (src/workers/retry.ts:23)

4. Impact Analysis

⚠️ IMPACT: Changing processPayment will affect:
  - 3 direct callers (shown above)
  - Checkout flow (user-facing)
  - Subscription renewals (automated)
  - Payment retry logic (background)

Scenarios

Scenario: "How does X work?"

# Step 1: Find X
claudemem --nologo symbol X --raw

# Step 2: See what X does
claudemem --nologo callees X --raw

# Step 3: See how X is used
claudemem --nologo callers X --raw

# Step 4: Read the specific code
# Use Read tool on exact file:line from results

Scenario: Refactoring

# Step 1: Find ALL usages (callers)
claudemem --nologo callers oldFunction --raw

# Step 2: Document each caller location
# Step 3: Update each caller systematically

Scenario: Adding to Existing Code

# Step 1: Find where to add
claudemem --nologo symbol targetModule --raw

# Step 2: Understand dependencies
claudemem --nologo callees targetModule --raw

# Step 3: Check existing patterns
claudemem --nologo callers targetModule --raw

Result Validation Pattern

After EVERY claudemem command, validate results:

Symbol/Callers Validation

When tracing implementation:

# Find symbol
SYMBOL=$(claudemem --nologo symbol PaymentService --raw)
EXIT_CODE=$?

if [ "$EXIT_CODE" -ne 0 ] || [ -z "$SYMBOL" ] || echo "$SYMBOL" | grep -qi "not found\|error"; then
  # Symbol doesn't exist, typo, or index issue
  # Diagnose index health
  DIAGNOSIS=$(claudemem --version && ls -la .claudemem/index.db 2>&1)
  # Use AskUserQuestion with suggestions:
  # [1] Reindex, [2] Try different name, [3] Cancel
fi

# Check callers
CALLERS=$(claudemem --nologo callers PaymentService --raw)
# 0 callers is valid (entry point or unused)
# But error message is not
if echo "$CALLERS" | grep -qi "error\|failed"; then
  # Use AskUserQuestion
fi

Empty/Irrelevant Results

RESULTS=$(claudemem --nologo callees FunctionName --raw)

# Validate relevance
# Extract keywords from the user's investigation query
# Example: QUERY="how does auth work" → KEYWORDS="auth work authentication"
# The orchestrating agent must populate KEYWORDS before this check
MATCH_COUNT=0
for kw in $KEYWORDS; do
  if echo "$RESULTS" | grep -qi "$kw"; then
    MATCH_COUNT=$((MATCH_COUNT + 1))
  fi
done

if [ "$MATCH_COUNT" -eq 0 ]; then
  # Results don't match expected dependencies
  # Use AskUserQuestion: Reindex, Different query, or Cancel
fi

---

FALLBACK PROTOCOL

CRITICAL: Never use grep/find/Glob without explicit user approval.

If claudemem fails or returns irrelevant results:

1. STOP - Do not silently switch tools
2. DIAGNOSE - Run claudemem status
3. REPORT - Tell user what happened
4. ASK - Use AskUserQuestion for next steps

// Fallback options (in order of preference)
AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "claudemem [command] failed or returned no relevant results. How should I proceed?",
    header: "Investigation Issue",
    multiSelect: false,
    options: [
      { label: "Reindex codebase", description: "Run claudemem index (~1-2 min)" },
      { label: "Try different query", description: "Rephrase the search" },
      { label: "Use grep (not recommended)", description: "Traditional search - loses call graph analysis" },
      { label: "Cancel", description: "Stop investigation" }
    ]
  }]
})

See ultrathink-detective skill for complete Fallback Protocol documentation.

---

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why Wrong	Correct Approach
grep -r "function"	No call relationships	claudemem --nologo callees func --raw
Modify without callers	Breaking changes	ALWAYS check callers first
Read whole files	Token waste	Read specific file:line from results
Guess dependencies	Miss connections	Use callees for exact deps

Notes

• callers is essential before any modification - Know your impact
• callees traces data flow - Follow the execution path
• context gives complete picture - Symbol + callers + callees
• Always read specific file:line ranges, not whole files
• Works best with TypeScript, Go, Python, Rust codebases

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Maintained by: MadAppGang Plugin: code-analysis v2.7.0 Last Updated: December 2025 (v3.3.0 - Cross-platform compatibility, inline templates, improved validation)