Last reviewed: 2026-03-24
Project: GitNexus · Environment: dev · Maintainer: repository maintainers (see GitHub)
This file uses a standard agent header (version, scope, model policy, reference docs, changelog), adapted for this TypeScript/JavaScript monorepo.
| Reads | Repository tree as needed for the task: gitnexus/, gitnexus-web/, eval/, plugin packages, .github/, .gitnexus/ when present, and docs. |
| Writes | Only paths required for the requested change; keep diffs minimal. Update lockfiles when dependencies change. |
| Executes | npm, npx, node under gitnexus/ and gitnexus-web/; uv run for Python under eval/ when applicable; shell utilities for documented CI/dev workflows. |
| Off-limits | User secrets (e.g. real .env), production deployment credentials, unrelated repositories, destructive git history operations without explicit human confirmation. |
- Primary: Pin in Cursor (Settings → model). Use a named model (e.g. GPT-5.2, Claude Sonnet 4.x). Avoid relying on Auto when reproducibility or audit trail matters.
- Fallback: As configured in Cursor or your organization (do not encode
latestor wildcards in automation configs). - Notes: The open-source GitNexus CLI indexer does not call an LLM. Optional Nexus AI in the web UI uses end-user provider keys and models.
Long sessions dilute instructions. For multi-step work, state up front:
- Which rules in this file and GUARDRAILS.md apply (and any relevant Signs).
- Current Scope boundaries (Reads / Writes / Off-limits).
- Which validation commands you will run (e.g.
cd gitnexus && npm test,npx tsc --noEmit).
On very long threads, the human may add “Remember: apply all AGENTS.md rules” to re-weight rule tokens against context dilution.
Hooks enforce gates that prompts cannot. In Claude Code, PreToolUse hooks can block tools such as git_commit until checks pass. Adapt to this repo: e.g. cd gitnexus && npm test before commit.
Generic “core standards” playbooks are often long and stack-specific. For this monorepo, commands and gotchas live under Cursor Cloud specific instructions below and in CONTRIBUTING.md. If always-on rules grow, split domain rules into .cursor/rules/*.mdc (globs). Cursor: project-wide rules live in .cursor/index.mdc (YAML frontmatter with alwaysApply: true). Claude Code: optionally load a STANDARDS.md only when needed (e.g. “When writing new code, read STANDARDS.md”) to save context.
- This repository: ARCHITECTURE.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, GUARDRAILS.md.
- Cursor:
.cursor/index.mdc(always-on rules); optional.cursor/rules/*.mdc(glob-scoped). Legacy.cursorrulesis deprecated — see.cursor/index.mdc. - Optional local files:
NOTES.md(short vendor-neutral project snapshot). For handoffs, keep notes local (e.g., a scratch file outside the repo) rather than committingHANDOFF.md. - GitNexus: skills under
.claude/skills/gitnexus/; machine-oriented rules in thegitnexus:start…gitnexus:endblock below.
| Date | Version | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-24 | 1.2.0 | Fixed gitnexus:start block duplication (was inlined in Reference Docs bullet). |
| 2026-03-23 | 1.1.0 | Updated agent instructions (sections, references, Cursor layout). |
| 2026-03-22 | 1.0.0 | Added structured agent header and changelog. |
This project is indexed by GitNexus as GitNexus (3298 symbols, 7954 relationships, 185 execution flows). Use the GitNexus MCP tools to understand code, assess impact, and navigate safely.
If any GitNexus tool warns the index is stale, run
npx gitnexus analyzein terminal first.
- MUST run impact analysis before editing any symbol. Before modifying a function, class, or method, run
gitnexus_impact({target: "symbolName", direction: "upstream"})and report the blast radius (direct callers, affected processes, risk level) to the user. - MUST run
gitnexus_detect_changes()before committing to verify your changes only affect expected symbols and execution flows. - MUST warn the user if impact analysis returns HIGH or CRITICAL risk before proceeding with edits.
- When exploring unfamiliar code, use
gitnexus_query({query: "concept"})to find execution flows instead of grepping. It returns process-grouped results ranked by relevance. - When you need full context on a specific symbol — callers, callees, which execution flows it participates in — use
gitnexus_context({name: "symbolName"}).
gitnexus_query({query: "<error or symptom>"})— find execution flows related to the issuegitnexus_context({name: "<suspect function>"})— see all callers, callees, and process participationREAD gitnexus://repo/GitNexus/process/{processName}— trace the full execution flow step by step- For regressions:
gitnexus_detect_changes({scope: "compare", base_ref: "main"})— see what your branch changed
- Renaming: MUST use
gitnexus_rename({symbol_name: "old", new_name: "new", dry_run: true})first. Review the preview — graph edits are safe, text_search edits need manual review. Then run withdry_run: false. - Extracting/Splitting: MUST run
gitnexus_context({name: "target"})to see all incoming/outgoing refs, thengitnexus_impact({target: "target", direction: "upstream"})to find all external callers before moving code. - After any refactor: run
gitnexus_detect_changes({scope: "all"})to verify only expected files changed.
- NEVER edit a function, class, or method without first running
gitnexus_impacton it. - NEVER ignore HIGH or CRITICAL risk warnings from impact analysis.
- NEVER rename symbols with find-and-replace — use
gitnexus_renamewhich understands the call graph. - NEVER commit changes without running
gitnexus_detect_changes()to check affected scope.
| Tool | When to use | Command |
|---|---|---|
query |
Find code by concept | gitnexus_query({query: "auth validation"}) |
context |
360-degree view of one symbol | gitnexus_context({name: "validateUser"}) |
impact |
Blast radius before editing | gitnexus_impact({target: "X", direction: "upstream"}) |
detect_changes |
Pre-commit scope check | gitnexus_detect_changes({scope: "staged"}) |
rename |
Safe multi-file rename | gitnexus_rename({symbol_name: "old", new_name: "new", dry_run: true}) |
cypher |
Custom graph queries | gitnexus_cypher({query: "MATCH ..."}) |
| Depth | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| d=1 | WILL BREAK — direct callers/importers | MUST update these |
| d=2 | LIKELY AFFECTED — indirect deps | Should test |
| d=3 | MAY NEED TESTING — transitive | Test if critical path |
| Resource | Use for |
|---|---|
gitnexus://repo/GitNexus/context |
Codebase overview, check index freshness |
gitnexus://repo/GitNexus/clusters |
All functional areas |
gitnexus://repo/GitNexus/processes |
All execution flows |
gitnexus://repo/GitNexus/process/{name} |
Step-by-step execution trace |
Before completing any code modification task, verify:
gitnexus_impactwas run for all modified symbols- No HIGH/CRITICAL risk warnings were ignored
gitnexus_detect_changes()confirms changes match expected scope- All d=1 (WILL BREAK) dependents were updated
After committing code changes, the GitNexus index becomes stale. Re-run analyze to update it:
npx gitnexus analyzeIf the index previously included embeddings, preserve them by adding --embeddings:
npx gitnexus analyze --embeddingsTo check whether embeddings exist, inspect .gitnexus/meta.json — the stats.embeddings field shows the count (0 means no embeddings). Running analyze without --embeddings will delete any previously generated embeddings.
Claude Code users: A PostToolUse hook handles this automatically after
git commitandgit merge.
| Task | Read this skill file |
|---|---|
| Understand architecture / "How does X work?" | .claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-exploring/SKILL.md |
| Blast radius / "What breaks if I change X?" | .claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-impact-analysis/SKILL.md |
| Trace bugs / "Why is X failing?" | .claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-debugging/SKILL.md |
| Rename / extract / split / refactor | .claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-refactoring/SKILL.md |
| Tools, resources, schema reference | .claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-guide/SKILL.md |
| Index, status, clean, wiki CLI commands | .claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-cli/SKILL.md |
This is a monorepo with two main products and supporting config packages:
| Component | Path | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| GitNexus CLI/Core | gitnexus/ |
Main product — TypeScript CLI, indexing pipeline, MCP server. Published to npm. |
| GitNexus Web UI | gitnexus-web/ |
React/Vite browser app — graph explorer + AI chat. Runs entirely in WASM. |
| Claude Plugin | gitnexus-claude-plugin/ |
Static config for Claude marketplace (no build). |
| Cursor Integration | gitnexus-cursor-integration/ |
Static config for Cursor editor (no build). |
| SWE-bench Eval | eval/ |
Python evaluation harness (optional; needs Docker + LLM API keys). |
- CLI/Core:
cd gitnexus && npm run dev(tsx watch mode) ornpm run build && node dist/cli/index.js <command> - Web UI:
cd gitnexus-web && npm run dev(Vite on port 5173) - Backend mode:
cd <indexed-repo> && node /workspace/gitnexus/dist/cli/index.js serve(HTTP API on port 3741 by default)
CLI / Core (gitnexus/)
- Unit tests:
cd gitnexus && npm test(vitest, ~2000 tests) - Integration tests:
cd gitnexus && npm run test:integration(vitest, ~1850 tests). Two LadybugDB file-locking tests (lbug-core-adapter,search-core) may fail in containerized environments due to/tmplocking limitations — this is a known environment issue, not a code bug. - TypeScript check:
cd gitnexus && npx tsc --noEmit
Web UI (gitnexus-web/)
- Unit tests:
cd gitnexus-web && npm test(vitest, ~200 tests) - E2E tests:
cd gitnexus-web && E2E=1 npx playwright test(Playwright, 5 tests — requiresgitnexus serve+npm run devrunning) - TypeScript check:
cd gitnexus-web && npx tsc -b --noEmit
No separate lint command is configured; TypeScript strict checking serves as the primary static analysis.
npm installingitnexus/triggersprepare(builds viatsc) andpostinstall(patches tree-sitter-swift). Native tree-sitter bindings requirepython3,make, andg++to be present.tree-sitter-kotlinandtree-sitter-swiftare optional dependencies — install warnings for these are expected and non-blocking.- The Web UI uses
vite-plugin-wasmand requiresCross-Origin-Opener-Policy/Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policyheaders forSharedArrayBuffer(handled automatically by Vite dev server). - There is no ESLint/Prettier configuration in this repo.