code-index

code-index

Fast, precise codebase exploration via universal-ctags. A pure skill plugin that teaches AI coding agents to search symbols, browse outlines, and retrieve exact code ranges — instead of reading whole files. No MCP server, no runtime dependencies beyond the ctags binary.

How it works

1. Index — runs ctags to generate a standard .ctags tags file
2. Search — grep the tags file by symbol name, kind, or file
3. Retrieve — read only the exact lines of a symbol using line ranges from the index
4. Outline — get file or project-level symbol overviews from the index

The agent decides autonomously when to index, re-index, or search — no manual commands needed.

Prerequisites

Install universal-ctags (must say "Universal Ctags" in ctags --version):

# macOS
brew install universal-ctags

# Ubuntu / Debian
apt install universal-ctags

Installation

Claude Code

claude plugin marketplace add https://github.com/kcem/code-index.git
claude plugin install code-index@code-index

GitHub Copilot CLI

copilot plugin install kcem/code-index

pi.dev

pi install git:github.com/kcem/code-index

Or via npm: pi install npm:pi-code-index

Manual (any agent)

Copy skills/code-indexing/SKILL.md into your agent's skills directory. Works with any agent supporting the Agent Skills format.

Supported languages

All 100+ languages supported by universal-ctags — Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, Go, Rust, Java, C/C++, Ruby, PHP, and many more. No configuration needed — languages are detected automatically.

License

MIT

Support

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