GitNexus/CLAUDE.md

GitNexus — Code Intelligence

This project is indexed by GitNexus as GitNexus (1650 symbols, 4291 relationships, 125 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 analyze in terminal first.

Always Do

• 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"}).

When Debugging

1. gitnexus_query({query: "<error or symptom>"}) — find execution flows related to the issue
2. gitnexus_context({name: "<suspect function>"}) — see all callers, callees, and process participation
3. READ gitnexus://repo/GitNexus/process/{processName} — trace the full execution flow step by step
4. For regressions: gitnexus_detect_changes({scope: "compare", base_ref: "main"}) — see what your branch changed

When Refactoring

• 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 with dry_run: false.
• Extracting/Splitting: MUST run gitnexus_context({name: "target"}) to see all incoming/outgoing refs, then gitnexus_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 Do

• NEVER edit a function, class, or method without first running gitnexus_impact on it.
• NEVER ignore HIGH or CRITICAL risk warnings from impact analysis.
• NEVER rename symbols with find-and-replace — use gitnexus_rename which understands the call graph.
• NEVER commit changes without running gitnexus_detect_changes() to check affected scope.

Tools Quick Reference

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 ..."})

Impact Risk Levels

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

Resources

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

Self-Check Before Finishing

Before completing any code modification task, verify:

1. gitnexus_impact was run for all modified symbols
2. No HIGH/CRITICAL risk warnings were ignored
3. gitnexus_detect_changes() confirms changes match expected scope
4. All d=1 (WILL BREAK) dependents were updated

CLI

• Re-index: npx gitnexus analyze
• Check freshness: npx gitnexus status
• Generate docs: npx gitnexus wiki