explore-codebase

Start with list_graph_stats for overall metrics, then get_architecture_overview_tool for the high-level community structure. Drill into modules with list_communities_tool and get_community, and use semantic search to locate specific functions or classes.

Use query_graph_tool with patterns like callers_of, callees_of, or imports_of to trace relationships between code entities. You can also run children_of on a file to list all its functions and classes before tracing.

A code knowledge graph models files, functions, classes, and their relationships as queryable nodes and edges. It enables semantic search, architecture overviews, and execution flow analysis without reading every source file manually.

Always start with get_minimal_context before other graph tools and use detail_level="minimal" on all calls, escalating to standard only when needed. The target is completing a review or debug task in five or fewer tool calls and under 800 output tokens.

Graph exploration requires the codebase to be indexed into the knowledge graph first, so it does not work on unindexed repositories. For single small files or quick one-line lookups, direct file reading may be faster.