Graph Augmented Context

Graph-Augmented Context (GAC) — Knowledge Graph Repository Mapping

When to activate

• Analyzing large or legacy codebases with complex file structures and deep directory hierarchies.
• Mapping code dependencies, class hierarchies, import structures, or shared utilities.
• Troubleshooting circular dependency warnings or tracking down side effects of a proposed signature change.
• Onboarding to an unfamiliar codebase and building a mental model of how components interlock.

When NOT to use

• Small, single-file projects or simple scripts with zero external or cross-file dependencies.
• Static content repositories (e.g. pure markdown documentation directories).
• Non-code directories containing only assets or media.

Instructions

Graph-Augmented Context maps the repository as a structured directed graph using a local SQLite database (.claude/gac.db). This allows Claude to execute semantic code path tracing, complex relation filtering, and downstream impact analysis.

       ┌───────────────┐
       │   File Node   │
       └───────┬───────┘
               │ DEFINES
               ▼
       ┌───────────────┐  INHERITS  ┌───────────────┐
       │  Class Node   ├───────────►│ Parent Class  │
       └───────┬───────┘            └───────────────┘
               │ DEFINES
               ▼
       ┌───────────────┐    CALLS   ┌───────────────┐
       │ Function Node ├───────────►│ Other Function│
       └───────────────┘            └───────────────┘

1. SQLite Database Schema

Construct a local graph database at .claude/gac.db with the following structure:

-- Schema for .claude/gac.db

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS nodes (
  id TEXT PRIMARY KEY,          -- Fully qualified identifier (e.g., 'src/utils/auth.ts:generateToken')
  name TEXT NOT NULL,           -- Base name of the symbol (e.g., 'generateToken')
  type TEXT NOT NULL,           -- 'FILE', 'CLASS', 'INTERFACE', 'FUNCTION', 'VARIABLE'
  filepath TEXT NOT NULL,       -- Relative file path (e.g., 'src/utils/auth.ts')
  line_number INTEGER,          -- Declaration line number (1-indexed)
  docstring TEXT                -- Extracted docstring, description, or parameter signature
);

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS edges (
  source TEXT,                  -- Node ID (origin of relationship)
  target TEXT,                  -- Node ID (destination of relationship)
  relationship_type TEXT,       -- 'IMPORTS', 'DEFINES', 'INHERITS', 'CALLS', 'IMPLEMENTS'
  PRIMARY KEY (source, target, relationship_type),
  FOREIGN KEY (source) REFERENCES nodes(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
  FOREIGN KEY (target) REFERENCES nodes(id) ON DELETE CASCADE
);

CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_nodes_type ON nodes(type);
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_nodes_filepath ON nodes(filepath);
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_edges_relationship ON edges(relationship_type);

2. Node & Edge Extraction Workflow

For the codebase languages, scan files and insert entities using parser tools or helper shell scripts:

• Files: Create a node for every code file.
• Imports: Parse import declarations to create IMPORTS edges between files.
• Definitions: Identify classes, interfaces, and functions, inserting them as nodes and linking them to their host file using DEFINES edges.
• Calls: Parse function call sites to link the caller function to the callee function using CALLS edges.
• Inheritance: Link classes inheriting from parents or implementing interfaces via INHERITS or IMPLEMENTS edges.

3. Traversal Patterns (Context Enrichment Queries)

Run these queries to gather context before editing:

A. Downstream Impact ("Blast Radius")

Determine what will break if a function's signature is changed:

SELECT n.filepath, n.name, n.type, n.line_number 
FROM nodes n
JOIN edges e ON n.id = e.source
WHERE e.target = 'src/services/db.ts:queryUser'
  AND e.relationship_type = 'CALLS';

B. Complete Component Call-Graph

Trace execution pathways for debugging:

WITH RECURSIVE call_path(source, target, depth) AS (
  SELECT source, target, 1 FROM edges WHERE source = 'src/routes/users.ts:getUserHandler' AND relationship_type = 'CALLS'
  UNION ALL
  SELECT e.source, e.target, cp.depth + 1
  FROM edges e
  JOIN call_path cp ON e.source = cp.target
  WHERE e.relationship_type = 'CALLS' AND cp.depth < 5
)
SELECT cp.depth, n_src.name AS caller, n_tgt.name AS callee, n_tgt.filepath
FROM call_path cp
JOIN nodes n_src ON cp.source = n_src.id
JOIN nodes n_tgt ON cp.target = n_tgt.id
ORDER BY cp.depth;

C. Find Orphan/Dead Code

Locate nodes defined but never imported or called:

SELECT id, name, filepath 
FROM nodes 
WHERE type IN ('FUNCTION', 'CLASS')
  AND id NOT IN (SELECT DISTINCT target FROM edges WHERE relationship_type IN ('CALLS', 'IMPORTS', 'INHERITS', 'IMPLEMENTS'));

Example

Analyzing a React project's authentication flow using GAC:

# 1. Run the local parser and query the graph
sqlite3 .claude/gac.db "SELECT source, target, relationship_type FROM edges WHERE source LIKE '%useAuth%';"

Results Output:

src/hooks/useAuth.ts | src/contexts/AuthContext.ts | IMPORTS
src/hooks/useAuth.ts:useAuth | src/contexts/AuthContext.ts:AuthContext | CALLS
src/components/Navbar.tsx | src/hooks/useAuth.ts | IMPORTS
src/components/Navbar.tsx:Navbar | src/hooks/useAuth.ts:useAuth | CALLS
src/pages/Dashboard.tsx | src/hooks/useAuth.ts | IMPORTS
src/pages/Dashboard.tsx:Dashboard | src/hooks/useAuth.ts:useAuth | CALLS

Claude Action: Through these outputs, Claude realizes that modifying useAuth affects Navbar and Dashboard. It loads only those two file contexts for verification, saving thousands of input tokens while avoiding breaks in downstream files.