syncable-dev Overview
Temporal analysis for "what changed in this repo between two points in time?" Works on both git commits and uncommitted working-tree saves.
Required parameters — read before calling
get_evolution always requires repo_id and from. There is no days parameter.
| Parameter | Required | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
repo_id |
yes | string | "memdb" |
from |
yes | string | "90d ago", "2026-04-01T00:00:00Z", "yesterday" |
to |
no | string | defaults to now; set to incident time when investigating |
mode |
no | string | "recent" (default), "compound", "summary", "overview" |
target |
no | string | symbol name or file path substring to scope results |
branch |
no | string | branch filter |
Parameter types: MCP parameters are strictly typed. Numbers (
limit,cursor, etc.) must be JSON numbers — not strings. Uselimit: 100, neverlimit: "100".
Time-window parameters — do not confuse these tools
| Tool | Time param | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
get_evolution |
from (required) |
"90d ago" |
optional to; never pass days |
get_changes_since |
since (required) |
"2026-04-13T10:43:00Z" |
optional until |
replay_history |
days (optional) |
90 |
re-walks git history — different tool entirely |
Common failure: MCP error -32602: missing field 'from' — you omitted from or passed days instead.
// CORRECT — 90-day overview
{ "repo_id": "memdb", "from": "90d ago", "mode": "overview" }
// WRONG — days is not a get_evolution parameter
{ "repo_id": "memdb", "days": 90, "mode": "overview" }
Query modes — only these four exist
| Mode | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
recent |
Per-episode list with nodes/edges added/removed; paginate with limit + cursor |
Incident timelines, walking commit-by-commit |
compound |
Totals plus top_changed_files and top_touched_symbols |
"What changed?" when you need hotspots |
summary |
Totals plus first_episode / last_episode metadata |
Cheapest window check |
overview |
Alias for summary |
Same as summary |
Modes impact, novel, and directional are not implemented — calling them returns unknown mode.
recent mode filters (ignored by compound / summary)
| Param | Purpose |
|---|---|
file_path |
substring match against episode touched_files |
kind |
"git_commit" or "working_tree" |
limit |
page size (default 100 episodes) |
cursor |
pagination offset; follow next_cursor in response |
Full parameter spec for every Memtrace tool: references/mcp-parameters.md (bundled at the memtrace-skills plugin root).
Steps
1. Get repo_id
list_indexed_repositories()
2. Choose the time window
from— start (required). Relative strings work:"7d ago","24 hours ago".to— end (optional, defaults to now). Set to the incident timestamp when investigating regressions.
If resuming a session and you have a stored timestamp from last time, prefer get_changes_since(since=...) — see memtrace-session-continuity.
3. Choose the mode
User wants...
├── per-commit / per-save changelog → recent
├── top changed files + symbols → compound
├── quick totals only → summary or overview
└── one symbol's full history → get_timeline (not get_evolution)
4. Execute
// General "what changed lately?"
{ "repo_id": "memdb", "from": "30d ago", "mode": "compound" }
// Changes in one file last week
{ "repo_id": "memdb", "from": "7d ago", "mode": "recent", "file_path": "auth.ts", "limit": 50 }
// Incident: 24h before failure until failure time
{ "repo_id": "memdb", "from": "2026-04-16T13:00:00Z", "to": "2026-04-17T13:00:00Z", "mode": "recent" }
5. Interpret results
recent mode — each entry in episodes[]:
episode— metadata (source_type,reference_time,touched_files, …)nodes_added,nodes_removed,edges_added,edges_removed
compound mode:
totals— aggregate countstop_changed_files— files with most activitytop_touched_symbols— symbols with most activity
summary / overview mode:
totals— episode and node/edge countsfirst_episode,last_episode— window boundaries
6. Drill deeper
| Need | Tool |
|---|---|
| Full history of one symbol | get_timeline(repo_id, scope_path, file_path) |
| Blast radius of a suspect symbol | get_impact(repo_id, target) |
| What a diff would affect | detect_changes(repo_id, diff=...) |
| Behavioral coupling | get_cochange_context(repo_id, target=<symbol>) |
| Sub-commit tried-and-reverted history | get_episode_replay |
Output
Sample compound payload (per-mode field lists: step 5 above):
{
"totals": { "episodes": 42, "nodes_added": 310, "nodes_removed": 95,
"edges_added": 541, "edges_removed": 120 },
"top_changed_files": [ /* files ranked by activity */ ],
"top_touched_symbols": [ /* symbols ranked by activity */ ]
}
recent returns episodes[] + totals + page.next_cursor; summary/overview return totals + first_episode/last_episode.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Reality |
|---|---|
Passing days: 90 |
Use from: "90d ago" — days is only on replay_history |
Omitting from |
Required — call fails with -32602 before any query runs |
Using mode: "novel" / "impact" / "directional" |
Not implemented — use compound + get_impact + get_cochange_context instead |
Expecting by_module[] or significance scores |
Not in current response shape — use top_changed_files from compound |
Using overview when you need file/symbol detail |
overview/summary are totals only — switch to compound or recent |
Using get_evolution for one symbol's history |
Use get_timeline |
| Guessing timestamps when resuming work | Use get_changes_since(since=<stored time>) — see memtrace-session-continuity |
Applying file_path filter in compound mode |
Filters are ignored in roll-up modes — use recent with file_path instead |