Sourcegraph Search

What I do

I help you perform large-scale code analysis and discovery by searching Sourcegraph. I use the src CLI to execute precise queries that can match literal strings, regular expressions, or structural code patterns. I can filter results by repository, file type, language, commit history, and time ranges. I am particularly effective at finding usage examples, security vulnerabilities, deprecated patterns, and architectural inconsistencies across massive codebases.

When to use me

Use this skill when:

• You need to search across a large codebase or multiple repositories for specific patterns, functions, or dependencies.
• You need to find real-world usage examples of a function or API across many repositories.
• You are auditing a codebase for security tokens, keys, or vulnerable dependencies.
• You want to perform "structural search" to match code patterns regardless of whitespace or formatting (e.g., finding all try-catch blocks with empty catches).
• You need to track recent changes or history using type:diff or type:commit (e.g., "what changed in the last week").
• You want to find projects that use specific dependencies (e.g., "who relies on lodash version 4.17.19").
• You need to identify repositories that are contributor-friendly (e.g., contain CONTRIBUTING.md).

Instructions

1. Basic Search

Execute searches using the src search command. Always use the -json flag to ensure the output is machine-readable and easy to parse. Enclose your query in single quotes to prevent shell expansion.

src search -json 'query'

2. Advanced Filtering

Refine your search results using these standard filters within your query string:

• Repository: repo:^github\.com/owner/name$ (supports regex)
• File: file:\.js$ or file:package\.json
• Language: lang:TypeScript
• Content: content:"string to find" (optional, content is searched by default)
• Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT (e.g., error AND NOT file:test)

3. Structural Search

Use patternType:structural to match code structures rather than exact strings. This is powerful for finding code regardless of line breaks or formatting.

• Syntax: Use :[name] as a placeholder (hole) to match any code between delimiters.
• Example: Find console.log with any argument:

src search -json 'console.log(:[args]) patternType:structural'

4. Search Tricks & Best Practices

Use these specific patterns for high-value tasks:

Find Usage of a Method (Structural) Find where a method is called, even with different arguments or formatting.

src search -json 'myMethod(:[args]) patternType:structural'

Find Security Vulnerabilities (Regex) Scan for potential leaked secrets or keys.

src search -json '(key|secret|token)-[\w+]{32,} patternType:regexp'

Find Specific Dependency Versions Check package.json files for a specific vulnerable library version.

src search -json 'file:package.json lodash 4.17.19'

Find Recent Changes (Diffs/Commits) See what changed in a repository recently.

src search -json 'repo:^github\.com/owner/repo$ type:diff after:"1 week ago"'

Find Contributor-Friendly Projects Locate repositories with contribution guidelines.

src search -json 'contributing lang:Markdown'

5. Output Interpretation

The -json output will provide a list of matches. Key fields to observe:

• repository: The repository name.
• file: The path to the matching file.
• lineMatches: Specific lines and line numbers where the match occurred.
• commit: If searching history, the commit hash and author.