How do I install the Better Repo Search skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add matissesprojects/better-repo-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 Better Repo Search safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Better Repo 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 Better Repo Search free to use?

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

Who published Better Repo Search?

MatissesProjects (@matissesprojects) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Better Repo Search by matissesprojects

Name: Better Repo Search
Author: MatissesProjects

Better Repo Search

Deep semantic code search and architectural analysis tool. Uses Tree-sitter and local LLMs (Ollama) to perform symbol-aware searches, dependency mapping, and multi-step investigation. Use this for complex queries like 'find all call sites of X', 'explain the logic flow between A and B', or when a precise search is needed that ignores comments/strings.

File contents

Deep Semantic Code Search (Better-Repo-Search)

This skill provides a high-powered, local-first alternative to standard regex searching. It utilizes Tree-sitter for structural code understanding and Local LLMs (via Ollama) to autonomously investigate your repository.

When to Use This Skill

Semantic Analysis: When you need to find actual function calls or class definitions while ignoring comments, strings, or similarly named variables.
Complex Inquiries: "How does the authentication flow work?", "Where is the player's health actually modified?", "Explain the dependency graph of the UI module."
Privacy-First: This tool runs entirely on your local machine using Ollama.
Architectural Mapping: Use it to understand the relationship between different files and modules.
Test Coverage Analysis: Identify untested functions or classes in your codebase automatically.

Usage Instructions

To trigger this skill, use your shell execution tool to run the search_tool.py script.

Note: You must have Ollama installed and running locally. The default model is gemma4:e4b.

Recommended Interpreter: Always use the tool's own virtual environment to ensure all dependencies (like Tree-sitter) are available:

<PATH_TO_SKILL_DIR>\venv\Scripts\python.exe <PATH_TO_SKILL_DIR>\search_tool.py "<USER_PROMPT>"

(On Linux/macOS, use <PATH_TO_SKILL_DIR>/venv/bin/python <PATH_TO_SKILL_DIR>/search_tool.py "<USER_PROMPT>")

Arguments:

<USER_PROMPT>: The natural language instruction describing what you want to find or analyze.
--repo: (Optional) The absolute path to the local repository OR a GitHub URL (HTTPS or SSH). If a URL is provided, the tool will clone it to a temporary directory for analysis and automatically clean it up afterward. Defaults to . (current directory).
-v or --verbose: (Optional) Use this to see the tool's internal "thinking" and step-by-step tool execution. Highly recommended for complex debugging.
--model: (Optional) Specify a different Ollama model (e.g., deepseek-r1:8b).
--host: (Optional) The Ollama host URL (e.g., http://192.168.1.10:11434). Defaults to the OLLAMA_HOST environment variable.
--test-coverage: (Optional) Automatically run a test coverage analysis and provide the findings as initial context to the model.
--attempts: (Optional) Number of interactive turns allowed: low (15), medium (25), high (35), or a custom integer.

Trigger Examples

"Clone https://github.com/user/repo and explain how the routing is implemented."
"Perform a deep search to find every place where the CalculateDamage method is invoked in the C# files."
"Explain the dependency relationship between player.py and the rest of the test_repo folder."
"Analyze how the state is managed in the Game class across all files."
"Use your semantic search to find the definition of User and all its references."
"What is the test coverage like for the core logic? Use --test-coverage."

---name: better-repo-searchdescription: Deep semantic code search and architectural analysis tool. Uses Tree-sitter and local LLMs (Ollama) to perform symbol-aware searches, dependency mapping, and multi-step investigation. Use this for complex queries like 'find all call sites of X', 'explain the logic flow between A and B', or when a precise search is needed that ignores comments/strings.---# Deep Semantic Code Search (Better-Repo-Search)This skill provides a high-powered, local-first alternative to standard regex searching. It utilizes **Tree-sitter** for structural code understanding and **Local LLMs (via Ollama)** to autonomously investigate your repository.### When to Use This Skill- **Semantic Analysis**: When you need to find *actual* function calls or class definitions while ignoring comments, strings, or similarly named variables.- **Complex Inquiries**: "How does the authentication flow work?", "Where is the player's health actually modified?", "Explain the dependency graph of the UI module."- **Privacy-First**: This tool runs entirely on your local machine using Ollama.- **Architectural Mapping**: Use it to understand the relationship between different files and modules.- **Test Coverage Analysis**: Identify untested functions or classes in your codebase automatically.### Usage InstructionsTo trigger this skill, use your shell execution tool to run the `search_tool.py` script. **Note**: You must have [Ollama](https://ollama.com/) installed and running locally. The default model is `gemma4:e4b`.**Recommended Interpreter**: Always use the tool's own virtual environment to ensure all dependencies (like Tree-sitter) are available:```powershell<PATH_TO_SKILL_DIR>\venv\Scripts\python.exe <PATH_TO_SKILL_DIR>\search_tool.py "<USER_PROMPT>"```(On Linux/macOS, use `<PATH_TO_SKILL_DIR>/venv/bin/python <PATH_TO_SKILL_DIR>/search_tool.py "<USER_PROMPT>"`)#### Arguments:- `<USER_PROMPT>`: The natural language instruction describing what you want to find or analyze.- `--repo`: (Optional) The absolute path to the local repository OR a **GitHub URL** (HTTPS or SSH). If a URL is provided, the tool will clone it to a temporary directory for analysis and automatically clean it up afterward. Defaults to `.` (current directory).- `-v` or `--verbose`: (Optional) Use this to see the tool's internal "thinking" and step-by-step tool execution. Highly recommended for complex debugging.- `--model`: (Optional) Specify a different Ollama model (e.g., `deepseek-r1:8b`).- `--host`: (Optional) The Ollama host URL (e.g., `http://192.168.1.10:11434`). Defaults to the `OLLAMA_HOST` environment variable.- `--test-coverage`: (Optional) Automatically run a test coverage analysis and provide the findings as initial context to the model.- `--attempts`: (Optional) Number of interactive turns allowed: `low` (15), `medium` (25), `high` (35), or a custom integer.### Trigger Examples- "Clone `https://github.com/user/repo` and explain how the routing is implemented."- "Perform a deep search to find every place where the `CalculateDamage` method is invoked in the C# files."- "Explain the dependency relationship between `player.py` and the rest of the `test_repo` folder."- "Analyze how the state is managed in the `Game` class across all files."- "Use your semantic search to find the definition of `User` and all its references."- "What is the test coverage like for the core logic? Use --test-coverage."

Frequently asked questions