code-search

Indexed Code Search

This skill provides fast indexed code search via the search_code MCP tool, which is up to 300x faster than standard grep on large codebases.

When to Use search_code

Prefer the search_code MCP tool over the built-in Grep tool when searching file contents across a directory tree. The search_code tool automatically selects the fastest backend:

• On large repos (15k+ files), it builds and uses a qgrep index. Searches complete in ~10ms instead of ~3-25s
• On small repos (< 5k files), it transparently falls back to ripgrep
• In the gray zone (5k-15k files), it measures ripgrep latency and indexes if beneficial

Available MCP Tools

search_code

Primary search tool. Supports regex patterns, glob filters, case-insensitive search, and context lines.

search_code(pattern="impl Iterator for", path="/path/to/repo")
search_code(pattern="TODO|FIXME", path="/path/to/repo", case_insensitive=True)
search_code(pattern="class.*Handler", path="/path/to/repo", glob="*.py")
search_code(pattern="fn main", path="/path/to/repo", output_mode="files_with_matches")

Parameters:

• pattern (required): Regex pattern to search for
• path (required): Absolute directory path to search in
• glob: Filter files (e.g. "*.py", "*.{ts,tsx}")
• case_insensitive: Case-insensitive search (default: false)
• output_mode: "content" (default), "files_with_matches", or "count"
• context_lines: Lines of context around matches
• max_results: Maximum result lines (default: 200)

build_search_index

Manage the search index lifecycle. Build an index before searching to get maximum speed.

build_search_index(action="build", path="/path/to/repo")
build_search_index(action="status", path="/path/to/repo")
build_search_index(action="rebuild", path="/path/to/repo")
build_search_index(action="delete", path="/path/to/repo")

search_estimate

Analyze a directory and get an indexing recommendation with stats.

search_estimate(path="/path/to/repo")