How do I install the Osgrep Semantic Search skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add cercova-studios/osgrep-semantic-search in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Osgrep Semantic Search safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Osgrep Semantic Search?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Osgrep Semantic Search free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Osgrep Semantic Search?

cercova-studios (@cercova-studios) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Osgrep Semantic Search by cercova-studios

Name: Osgrep Semantic Search
Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Author: cercova-studios

Osgrep Semantic Search

Semantic code search via the `osgrep` CLI. Use when the user wants to find code by behavior, concept, or intent ("where do we validate JWTs?", "where is rate limiting handled?") rather than by exact text. Prefer ripgrep for literal matches and ast-grep for structural patterns.

File contents

The MCP-server form of osgrep (osgrep mcp / osgrep serve) is intentionally NOT used by this skill. It spawns multiple worker processes that consume gigabytes of RAM and pin every CPU core, which has caused thermal throttling and OOM pressure in practice. The CLI is the supported interface.

Do NOT use osgrep when:

You already know the exact symbol or file → use Read / rg
You want a structural code pattern → use ast-grep
You only want filename discovery → use rg --files or fd
The repo has no index and indexing would take longer than a manual search

Command	Purpose
`osgrep index`	One-time / refresh index for current repo
`osgrep search <pattern>`	Semantic search — the main verb
`osgrep symbols [pattern]`	List indexed symbols + defining files
`osgrep skeleton <target>`	Show signatures without implementation
`osgrep trace <symbol>`	Call-graph trace for a symbol
`osgrep list`	Show the project's `.osgrep` index contents
`osgrep doctor`	Diagnose install / index health

Always pass --plain for machine-readable output when capturing into agent context.

osgrep list

If empty or stale, build one:

osgrep index

osgrep search "where we validate the auth header" --plain

osgrep search "rate limit token bucket" src/api --plain

If too narrow, drop constraints and rephrase more generally.

osgrep symbols UserService --plain
osgrep skeleton src/auth/login.ts
osgrep trace verifyToken

---name: osgrep-semantic-searchdescription: Semantic code search via the `osgrep` CLI. Use when the user wants to find code by behavior, concept, or intent ("where do we validate JWTs?", "where is rate limiting handled?") rather than by exact text. Prefer ripgrep for literal matches and ast-grep for structural patterns.---<objective>Use the `osgrep` CLI to perform semantic code search against an indexedrepository.The MCP-server form of osgrep (`osgrep mcp` / `osgrep serve`) is intentionallyNOT used by this skill. It spawns multiple worker processes that consumegigabytes of RAM and pin every CPU core, which has caused thermal throttlingand OOM pressure in practice. The CLI is the supported interface.</objective><when_to_use>Use osgrep when:- The user describes behavior or intent, not an exact identifier ("where do we throttle requests", "find the JWT verification path", "what code parses the config file")- A previous ripgrep / ast-grep search came back too noisy or too narrow- You need to discover related code spread across files, modules, or layers- You want to map an unfamiliar subsystem before drilling in with ReadDo NOT use osgrep when:- You already know the exact symbol or file → use `Read` / `rg`- You want a structural code pattern → use `ast-grep`- You only want filename discovery → use `rg --files` or `fd`- The repo has no index and indexing would take longer than a manual search</when_to_use><cli_reference>Top-level commands (verify with `osgrep --help`):| Command | Purpose ||-------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|| `osgrep index` | One-time / refresh index for current repo || `osgrep search <pattern>` | Semantic search — the main verb || `osgrep symbols [pattern]` | List indexed symbols + defining files || `osgrep skeleton <target>` | Show signatures without implementation || `osgrep trace <symbol>` | Call-graph trace for a symbol || `osgrep list` | Show the project's `.osgrep` index contents || `osgrep doctor` | Diagnose install / index health |Always pass `--plain` for machine-readable output when capturing into agentcontext.</cli_reference><workflow><step number="1">Verify an index exists for the repo root: osgrep listIf empty or stale, build one: osgrep index</step><step number="2">Phrase the query as **behavior or concept**, not as a symbol name: osgrep search "where we validate the auth header" --plain</step><step number="3">If too broad, scope by path or add concrete anchors: osgrep search "rate limit token bucket" src/api --plainIf too narrow, drop constraints and rephrase more generally.</step><step number="4">Treat returned hits as anchors. Then drill in with `Read`, `rg`, or`ast-grep` for precise follow-up.</step><step number="5">For symbol-level questions, prefer the targeted subcommands: osgrep symbols UserService --plain osgrep skeleton src/auth/login.ts osgrep trace verifyToken</step></workflow><rules>- NEVER run `osgrep mcp` or `osgrep serve` from this skill. Both start long-lived background processes that consume significant RAM and CPU.- Always pass `--plain` when capturing output for further reasoning.- Re-index after large refactors or when results look stale.- If `osgrep` is not installed in the environment, fall back to ripgrep / ast-grep and tell the user osgrep is unavailable.- Indexing is a write to `.osgrep/` — do not run it inside read-only or ephemeral checkouts.</rules><fallbacks>- Structure / AST queries → `ast-grep`- Literal text / identifier → `ripgrep` (`rg`)- Repo layout discovery → `workflows/repo-discovery.md` in the `code-search` skill (if loaded)</fallbacks><success_criteria>- A usable index exists (or was built) before search.- The search query describes behavior, not just a literal symbol.- No `osgrep mcp` / `osgrep serve` process is started.- Results are used as anchors for follow-up reads.</success_criteria>

Frequently asked questions