# Codebase Exploration

> Use when exploring, understanding, or answering questions about a Repowise-indexed codebase, including architecture, where code is implemented, how a module works, or which files are relevant before reading source.

- Skill: `repowise-dev/codebase-exploration` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add repowise-dev/codebase-exploration`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/repowise-dev/codebase-exploration/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: repowise-dev (https://skillmd.com/u/repowise-dev)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/repowise-dev/codebase-exploration

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# Codebase Exploration with Repowise

This project has a Repowise intelligence layer. Before grepping and reading raw
source to understand the codebase, reach for the Repowise MCP tools — they
return documentation, ownership, history, decisions, and graph structure that
plain file reads don't, usually in one round-trip instead of many.

## Which tool for which question

| You want… | Call |
|---|---|
| First orientation in an unfamiliar repo | `get_overview()` — architecture summary, key modules, entry points, git health, knowledge map. Skip it once you have the map. |
| A direct answer to "how/where/why does X work" | `get_answer(question="…")` — synthesised answer with citations + a `retrieval_quality` signal. Collapses the search → read → reason loop. |
| Find a symbol, file, or fuzzy concept | `search_codebase(query="…")` — hybrid search. `mode="auto"` routes an identifier to indexed symbol hits (`symbol_id`/line bounds → pipe into `get_symbol`), a path to file pages (→ `get_context`), and prose to semantic wiki search (each hit reports `search_method`: `embedding` vs `bm25`). Force a branch with `mode=symbol\|path\|concept\|hybrid`; narrow symbols with `symbol_kind`. |
| A triage card for specific files/symbols | `get_context(targets=[…])` — title, summary, signatures, hotspot bit, top callers, decision titles, symbol_ids. Batch many targets in one call. |
| The actual source of one symbol | `get_symbol("path/to/file.py::Name")` — exact bytes with line bounds. Cheaper than Read + offset math. Use a `symbol_id` from `get_context`. |

## Recommended flow

1. New area you don't know → `get_overview()` once.
2. A specific question → `get_answer(question=…)` first.
   - High confidence → answer it, cite the paths.
   - `medium`/`low` confidence → follow `best_guesses[0].file` or
     `fallback_targets[0]` into `get_context`, then `get_symbol` for bytes.
3. A named symbol or a path → `search_codebase(query="Name")` /
   `search_codebase(query="path/to/file.py")`; symbol hits pipe straight into
   `get_symbol`, file hits into `get_context`.
4. More files around a concept → `search_codebase`, then `get_context` on the
   hits (batched), then `get_symbol` only for the bodies you actually need.

Fall back to raw Read/Grep only when the indexed context doesn't cover the
specific detail the user asked about.

## Trust signals — verify when

- `_meta.stale_warning` is present (the index has diverged from HEAD), or
- `retrieval_quality` is `partial`/`weak`, or
- a result's `search_method` is `bm25`.

Otherwise the response is current — act on it.

## Error handling

- "No repositories found. Run 'repowise init' first." → suggest `/prompts:repowise-init`.
  Add `--no-editor-setup` if this repo is a scratch clone, a fixture, or a
  worktree: `init` otherwise repoints the user's single global `repowise` MCP
  entry at it.
- MCP tools unavailable → prefer the matching CLI slash commands when the
  plugin is installed (`/prompts:repowise-ask`, `/prompts:repowise-context`, `/prompts:repowise-symbol`,
  `/prompts:repowise-search`) rather than grepping blind.
- `get_answer`/`search_codebase` come back empty → the repo may have a
  template-rendered wiki. Fall back to `get_context` with explicit paths, and note
  that model-written pages (`repowise generate`, or `/prompts:repowise-init` with an LLM
  provider) unlock richer docs + semantic search.
- Tools fail to connect at all → the `repowise` binary may not be installed;
  suggest `/prompts:repowise-init`.