OctoCode (Semantic Code Research)

Use OctoCode to search across GitHub repositories for real implementations, patterns, and to conduct code/security reviews. Unlike Context7 (documentation lookup), OctoCode finds actual production code.

Tools

Tool	Purpose
octocode_githubSearchCode	Search code across repositories by content or path
octocode_githubSearchRepositories	Discover repositories by topics, keywords, stars
octocode_githubViewRepoStructure	Explore repository directory structure
octocode_githubGetFileContent	Read files with pattern matching and line ranges
octocode_githubSearchPullRequests	Search PRs with discussions, diffs, and metadata
octocode_packageSearch	Search npm and PyPI packages

When to Use OctoCode vs Context7

Need	Tool	Why
Library API documentation	Context7	Curated, version-specific docs
Find real implementations	OctoCode	Searches actual codebases
How does React do X?	OctoCode	Search React's source code
Axum middleware examples	OctoCode	Find production patterns
PR review with evidence	OctoCode	/review_pull_request command
Security vulnerability patterns	OctoCode	/review_security command

Common Workflows

1. Research Implementation Patterns

# Find OAuth implementations in Rust
octocode_githubSearchCode({
  query: "oauth axum",
  language: "rust",
  stars: ">100"
})

# Then explore the top result
octocode_githubViewRepoStructure({
  owner: "found-org",
  repo: "found-repo",
  path: "src/auth"
})

# Read the specific implementation
octocode_githubGetFileContent({
  owner: "found-org",
  repo: "found-repo",
  path: "src/auth/oauth.rs"
})

2. PR Review (Cleo)

For code quality reviews, use OctoCode to find canonical implementations for comparison:

# Find how top projects handle the same pattern
octocode_githubSearchCode({
  query: "error handling middleware",
  language: "typescript",
  stars: ">1000"
})

3. Security Analysis (Cipher)

For security reviews, search for vulnerability patterns and fixes:

# Find how security issues were fixed
octocode_githubSearchPullRequests({
  query: "CVE fix authentication",
  state: "merged",
  repo: "relevant/repo"
})

4. Research for Task Generation (Morgan)

Before generating implementation tasks, research existing patterns:

# How do multi-agent platforms handle task decomposition?
octocode_githubSearchCode({
  query: "task decomposition agent",
  language: "rust OR python",
  stars: ">500"
})

OctoCode Commands (Prompts)

OctoCode provides specialized prompt commands for complex research:

Command	Purpose	Use Case
/research	Deep code discovery and pattern analysis	Finding implementations before coding
/plan	Research-backed implementation planning	Planning complex features
/review_pull_request	Defects-first PR analysis	Quality reviews with evidence
/review_security	Security audit with validation	Security analysis with citations

Using /research

/research How does React's useState hook work internally?
/research Compare state management: Redux vs Zustand vs Jotai
/research Find authentication patterns in axum Rust projects

Using /review_pull_request

/review_pull_request prUrl: https://github.com/5dlabs/cto/pull/123

This provides:

• Defects & Bugs: Logic errors, edge cases, race conditions
• Security Issues: Injection vulnerabilities, auth bypasses
• Performance: N+1 queries, memory leaks
• Code Quality: Complexity, maintainability

Using /review_security

/review_security repoUrl: https://github.com/5dlabs/cto

This provides:

• Authentication & Authorization: Auth flows, session management
• Input Validation: Injection points, sanitization
• Secrets Management: Hardcoded credentials, API keys
• Dependencies: Known vulnerabilities, supply chain risks

Best Practices

1. Use both tools together - Context7 for docs, OctoCode for implementations
2. Be specific with searches - "axum middleware error handling" not "error handling"
3. Filter by stars - stars:>100 for quality code
4. Cite your sources - Include GitHub links in research findings
5. Check recent PRs - For understanding how issues were solved

Integration with Deep Research

OctoCode complements Firecrawl for comprehensive research:

Research Type	Primary Tool	Secondary Tool
Competitive analysis	Firecrawl Agent	OctoCode (open source competitors)
Implementation patterns	OctoCode	Context7 (docs for libraries used)
Best practices	Firecrawl	OctoCode (real code examples)
Bug investigation	OctoCode	GitHub MCP (internal PRs)

Example: Research-Backed Task Generation

When Morgan processes a PRD mentioning "implement OAuth like Auth0":

1. Use OctoCode to search for OAuth implementations:
   octocode_githubSearchCode({ query: "oauth2 refresh token rotation rust" })

2. Analyze how top projects structure auth:
   octocode_githubViewRepoStructure({ owner: "top-project", repo: "auth" })

3. Extract patterns from implementations:
   octocode_githubGetFileContent({ 
     owner: "top-project", 
     repo: "auth", 
     path: "src/oauth.rs",
     matchString: "refresh_token"
   })

4. Embed findings in task details for implementation agents