| name | codebase-exploration |
| description | Explore and understand codebases using SocratiCode semantic search, dependency graphs, and context artifacts. Use when exploring code, understanding architecture, finding functions/types, analysing dependencies, searching database schemas or API specs, or when socraticode/codebase_search tools are available. Activates when the user asks about code structure, wants to find where a feature lives, or needs to understand how code is organised. |
SocratiCode Codebase Exploration
Use SocratiCode MCP tools to explore codebases efficiently. The core principle:
search before reading — the index gives you a map of the codebase in milliseconds;
raw file reading is expensive and context-consuming.
Workflow
1. Start most explorations with codebase_search
Hybrid semantic + keyword search (vector + BM25, RRF-fused) runs in a single call.
- Broad queries for orientation: "how is authentication handled", "database connection setup", "error handling patterns"
- Precise queries for symbol lookup: exact function names, constants, type names
- Prefer search results to infer which files to read — do not speculatively open files
- Use
fileFilter to narrow to a specific file path, languageFilter for a specific language
- Adjust
minScore (default 0.10) for precision vs recall — lower for more results, higher for stricter matching
When to use grep instead: If you already know the exact identifier, error string, or regex pattern, grep/ripgrep is faster and more precise — no semantic gap to bridge. Use codebase_search when exploring, asking conceptual questions, or when you don't know which files to look in.
2. Follow the graph before following imports
Use codebase_graph_query to see what a file imports and what depends on it before diving into its contents. This prevents unnecessary reading of transitive dependencies.
codebase_graph_query — imports and dependents for any file (pass relative path)codebase_graph_stats — architecture overview: total files, edges, most connected files, orphans, language breakdowncodebase_graph_circular — find circular dependencies (these cause subtle runtime bugs; check proactively when debugging unexpected behaviour)codebase_graph_visualize — Mermaid diagram colour-coded by language, circular deps highlighted in red. Pass mode: "interactive" to open a self-contained HTML explorer (file + symbol views, blast-radius overlay, search, PNG export — works offline) instead.
The graph is auto-built after indexing. Use codebase_graph_status to check if the graph is ready. In SOCRATICODE_WATCHER=manual or off, graph queries do not create a missing graph; run codebase_graph_build explicitly when requested.
3. Read files only after narrowing via search
Once search results clearly point to 1-3 files, read only the relevant sections. Never read a file just to find out if it's relevant — search first.
A single codebase_search call returns ranked, deduplicated snippets from across the entire codebase in milliseconds. This gives you a broad map at negligible token cost — far cheaper than opening files speculatively.
4. Leverage context artifacts for non-code knowledge
Projects can define a .socraticodecontextartifacts.json config to expose database schemas, API specs, infrastructure configs, architecture docs, and other project knowledge that lives outside source code.
codebase_context — list available artifacts (names, descriptions, paths, index status)codebase_context_search — semantic search across all artifacts (or filter with artifactName)- Artifacts are auto-indexed on first search and auto-detect staleness
Run codebase_context early to see what's available. Use codebase_context_search before asking about database structure, API contracts, or infrastructure.
5. Check status if something seems wrong
codebase_status — check index status, progress, watcher state, graph status- If search returns no results, the project may not be indexed yet
- If the watcher is inactive, results may be stale — run
codebase_update; start the watcher only when status does not say it is disabled
- In snapshot mode (
SOCRATICODE_WATCHER=off plus SOCRATICODE_AUTO_RESUME=off), stale results are expected until an explicit update. Do not enable or start the watcher.
6. Get an overview of all tools
codebase_about — quick reference of all SocratiCode tools and a typical workflow
Goal → Tool Quick Reference
| Goal | Tool |
|---|
| Understand what a codebase does / where a feature lives | codebase_search (broad query) |
| Find a specific function, constant, or type | codebase_search (exact name) or grep |
| Find exact error messages, log strings, or regex patterns | grep / ripgrep |
| See what a file imports or what depends on it | codebase_graph_query |
| Get architecture overview (files, edges, most connected) | codebase_graph_stats |
| Spot circular dependencies | codebase_graph_circular |
| Visualise module structure (text / Mermaid) | codebase_graph_visualize |
| User asks for a visual / interactive / shareable graph | codebase_graph_visualize mode="interactive" |
| Check graph build status | codebase_graph_status |
| Verify index is up to date | codebase_status |
| Discover available schemas, specs, configs | codebase_context |
| Find database tables, API endpoints, infra configs | codebase_context_search |
| Quick overview of all tools | codebase_about |
For full parameter details on every tool, see references/tool-reference.md.
