smart-explore

smart-explore is a cursor rule for Cursor from GktuOktay/ai-skills. It costs 0 tokens per session (1,060 once invoked), scanned A, original, MIT.

A guide for exploring unfamiliar or large codebases by finding definitions, references, entry points, and the structure behind the code.

In plain words
What is it for?
It helps locate functions and classes, search by file type, exclude irrelevant folders, and use syntax-aware tools such as language servers.
Why use it?
It reduces the time spent browsing files blindly when you need to understand where a feature or piece of logic lives.

Cursor rule for Cursor

Written for Cursor: a Cursor rule (.mdc).

Good fit It helps locate functions and classes, search by file type, exclude irrelevant folders, and use syntax-aware tools such as language servers.

Compare 6 cursor rules from other repositories ↓
Install with agentmods
npx agentmods add rules/gktuoktay/ai-skills/smart-explore
Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/GktuOktay/ai-skills

Made for: Cursor.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for smart-explore

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/gktuoktay/ai-skills/smart-explore/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/rules/gktuoktay/ai-skills/smart-explore)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/rules/gktuoktay/ai-skills/smart-explore"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/gktuoktay/ai-skills/smart-explore/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

agentmods 80×15 button for smart-explore

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/rules/gktuoktay/ai-skills/smart-explore"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/gktuoktay/ai-skills/smart-explore.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 0 Nothing until a file matches its globs; then the whole rule loads.
When invoked 1,060 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.00000 $0.01060
Opus 5 $0.00000 $0.00530
Sonnet 5 $0.00000 $0.00212
Haiku 4.5 $0.00000 $0.00106

Measured 8d ago against content hash 5100d6dfeec4, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-11, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

smart-explore scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 8d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

agents/cursor/rules/smart-explore.mdc · 73 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 73 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Intelligent Codebase Exploration and Navigation

Navigating a large, unfamiliar codebase can be overwhelming. Relying solely on manual file browsing is inefficient. This guide covers strategies for rapidly understanding code architecture and finding specific logic.

1. Grep/Ripgrep Patterns for Finding Code

Ripgrep (rg) is the fastest tool for text-based searching.

  • Find Function Definitions: To find where a function is defined, search for keywords like def, class, or function.
    • rg "function processOrder" or rg "const processOrder ="
  • Find Class Definitions:
    • rg "class PaymentGateway"
  • Filter by File Type:
    • rg "TODO" -t py (Only search Python files)
  • Exclude Directories:
    • rg "password" --glob "!tests/*" --glob "!node_modules/*"
  • Case Insensitive:
    • rg -i "user_id"

2. AST-Based Exploration

While rg is fast, it lacks context. AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) tools understand code structure.

  • LSP (Language Server Protocol): Use IDE features (Go to Definition, Find All References). These are vastly superior to text search.
  • Tree-sitter: Used in modern editors (Neovim, Zed) for precise syntax highlighting and structural navigation.
  • AST Grep (sg): Allows searching code by structure rather than exact text matches (e.g., finding all try/catch blocks that silently ignore errors).

3. Finding Entry Points and Hot Paths

When starting in a new repository, find where execution begins.

  • Web Apps: Look for index.js, main.ts, App.tsx, wsgi.py, or main.go.
  • Routing: Search for router definitions (e.g., rg "react-router", rg "@app.route", rg "router.get"). This maps URLs to specific controllers.
  • Package Manifests: Check package.json, Cargo.toml, or Makefile for start commands (e.g., npm run start). The script defined there points to the entry point.

4. Tracing Function Call Chains

To understand a feature, trace its execution path.

  1. Identify the Trigger: Find the UI button click, API endpoint, or cron job schedule.
  2. Follow the Data: Look at the arguments passed to the controller.
  3. Drill Down: Use "Go to Definition" to jump through the service layer, repositories, and finally to the database queries.
  4. Take Notes: Maintain a scratchpad documenting the call stack (e.g., Route -> UserController -> AuthService -> DB).

Read the full file on GitHub · 73 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 8d ago First seen · 73 lines · 1,060 tokens per session scan A 5100d6dfeec4

Subscribe to this mod's changes

smart-explore is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository GktuOktay/ai-skills (2 stars, last pushed 8d ago), licensed MIT. It costs nothing until one of its globs matches a file; then it loads 1,060 tokens. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-09-03.