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Deep dive into a symbol, feature, or bug. Graph-first, minimal code reads, early stopping when sufficient evidence found.
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Based on SOC occupation classification
Analyze system design — structure, coupling, code smells, and high-risk hotspots. Purely graph-based, no code reads.
Root cause analysis — trace execution path to a failure, narrow candidates, read minimal source only at suspected failure points.
Generate narrative-first, importance-weighted documentation for a repo, system, or subsystem with a selective reference layer. Use --full for deeper module/class/method coverage.
Route to the right Ix skill or command for your task
Change risk analysis — blast radius, affected systems, and what to test. Depth scales with risk level; low-risk targets stop early.
Generate a risk-ordered implementation plan for a set of targets. Assesses blast radius per target, finds data flows between them, and produces a safe change sequence.
| name | ix-investigate |
| description | Deep dive into a symbol, feature, or bug. Graph-first, minimal code reads, early stopping when sufficient evidence found. |
| argument-hint | <symbol, feature description, or "how does X work"> |
Check command -v ix first. If unavailable, use Grep + Read as fallback.
Answer: what is this, how does it connect, and what's the execution path? Stop as soon as those three questions can be answered accurately.
ix locate $ARGUMENTS --format llm
If multiple matches: use --kind, --path, or --pick N to resolve. Do not proceed until the entity is unambiguous.
If ix locate returns nothing: try
ix text $ARGUMENTS --limit 10 --format llm
ix explain <resolved-symbol> --format llm
Extract: role, importance, caller count, callee count, confidence score.
Evaluate: Is the explanation sufficient to answer the question?
Stop if: explain gave clear role, purpose, and connection summary -> skip to Output.
Run only the directions you need, not both by default:
If "who uses this" matters:
ix callers <symbol> --limit 15 --format llm
If "what does this do internally" matters:
ix callees <symbol> --limit 15 --format llm
Stop if: you now know who uses it and what it depends on.
ix trace <symbol> --format llm
One trace only. Pick the most representative direction (--upstream or --downstream) based on the question.
Stop if: execution path is now clear.
Only if the above steps leave a specific implementation question unanswered:
ix read <symbol> --format llm
Use ix read <symbol> — never a native file read. Ix is the memory layer; native reads bypass it and load unnecessary context. If the symbol is a class, read the specific method suspected, not the class.
Disambiguation chain for ambiguous-file responses:
ix read <class> returns ambiguous-file, look up the resolved file path from the prior ix locate result and call ix read <path> at the symbol level instead.uncertain in the Output.If ix read returns nothing and no path was resolved by ix locate, only then fall back to a native read scoped to the exact line range, not the whole file.
Hard limit: One ix read call maximum. If still unclear after reading, surface the ambiguity to the user rather than reading more.
## [Symbol] — Investigation
**What it is:** [kind, file, subsystem — from graph]
**Role:** [orchestrator / boundary / helper / utility / etc.]
**Execution flow:**
[downstream: what it calls -> what those call, 2 levels max]
[upstream: who calls it, top 5]
**Key connections:**
- Depends on: [top 3 callees]
- Used by: [top 3 callers with their subsystem]
**Evidence quality:** [strong / partial / uncertain] — [one-line reason]
**Next step:**
- [most useful follow-up based on findings]
If confidence < 0.7 in ix output, label those claims as [uncertain] and recommend ix map to refresh.