DeepWiki vs Context7 vs GitHub MCP:
- DeepWiki: Architecture, internals, design decisions — "How does X work under the hood?"
- Context7: API docs, code examples, usage patterns — "How do I use X?"
- GitHub MCP: Source code, PRs, issues, commits — "What does the code say?"
Investigation Workflow
For understanding an unfamiliar repo, follow this order:
1. Browse Structure First
See what documentation topics are available:
mcporter call 'deepwiki.read_wiki_structure(repoName: "facebook/react")' --output json
Returns a table of contents for the repo's wiki. Use this to understand what's documented before asking questions.
2. Ask Targeted Questions
Best for specific questions. Returns AI-powered, context-grounded answers:
mcporter call 'deepwiki.ask_question(repoName: "facebook/react", question: "How does the fiber reconciler work?")' --output json
3. Read Full Wiki (Use Sparingly)
Gets the complete documentation for a repo. Warning: Can return 10K+ tokens. Only use when you need a comprehensive dump:
mcporter call 'deepwiki.read_wiki_contents(repoName: "facebook/react")' --output json
Prefer ask_question for targeted queries — it's faster and returns only relevant content.
Multi-Repo Comparison
Compare approaches across repos (max 10):
mcporter call 'deepwiki.ask_question(repoName: ["vercel/next.js", "remix-run/remix"], question: "How do these frameworks handle server-side rendering differently?")' --output json
Common Patterns
# Understand a library's architecture
mcporter call 'deepwiki.ask_question(repoName: "steipete/mcporter", question: "How does the config discovery and merging work?")' --output json
# Investigate design decisions
mcporter call 'deepwiki.ask_question(repoName: "anthropics/claude-code", question: "How does the permission system work?")' --output json
# Compare competing libraries
mcporter call 'deepwiki.ask_question(repoName: ["expressjs/express", "fastify/fastify"], question: "How do these handle middleware differently?")' --output json
# Explore what docs exist before deep diving
mcporter call 'deepwiki.read_wiki_structure(repoName: "langchain-ai/langchain")' --output json
Converted and distributed by TomeVault — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.