explore-code

You have access to symgraph, a semantic code intelligence MCP server that maintains a knowledge graph of the codebase (symbols, calls, contains, imports, implements, extends). Use it to answer: $ARGUMENTS

When to reach for which tool

Pick the narrowest tool that fits — symgraph is faster and more precise than scanning the filesystem.

Question	Tool
"Where is X defined?" / "Find symbols matching name"	symgraph-search, then symgraph-definition
"Show me the source of X"	symgraph-definition
"Who calls X?"	symgraph-callers
"What does X call?"	symgraph-callees
"All usages of X" (calls + non-call references)	symgraph-references
"How does data flow from A to B?"	symgraph-path
"If I change X, what breaks?"	symgraph-impact
"What would changing lines N–M of file.rs affect?"	symgraph-diff-impact
"What symbols live in file.rs?"	symgraph-file
"All implementations of trait/interface T"	symgraph-implementations
"Class/module parent–child relationships"	symgraph-hierarchy
"Find dead code"	symgraph-unused
"Build broad context for a task"	symgraph-context
"Detailed info on one symbol"	symgraph-node

If results look stale after the user mentions recent edits, run symgraph-reindex first. Check symgraph-status if you suspect the index is missing or empty.

Strategy

1. Start narrow. Prefer symgraph-search → symgraph-definition over symgraph-context for specific questions. Reserve symgraph-context for open-ended "help me understand X" tasks.
2. Disambiguate before diving deeper. If symgraph-search returns multiple matches, ask the user (or use surrounding context) to pick the right one before pulling callers/callees.
3. Follow call chains step by step with callers/callees rather than guessing. For "how is A connected to B" use symgraph-path directly.
4. Always show source. When explaining behavior, fetch the actual code with symgraph-definition and quote the relevant lines — don't paraphrase from symbol names alone.
5. Combine with file reads. symgraph returns symbol-scoped excerpts; if you need surrounding file context (constants, imports, comments), follow up with Read.
6. For impact analysis, prefer symgraph-diff-impact when you have a line range, symgraph-impact when you have a symbol name.

Index hygiene

• A project must be indexed before symgraph can answer questions. The plugin's session-start hook attempts a first-time index automatically via bx grahambrooks/symgraph index.
• If symgraph-status reports 0 nodes or symgraph-search returns nothing for symbols you know exist, tell the user to run bx grahambrooks/symgraph index in the project root.
• After large edits, run symgraph-reindex (incremental, fast) — full re-index only if structure changed dramatically.