git-ai MCP Skill

Guide for using git-ai MCP tools to understand and navigate codebases efficiently.

Overview

git-ai provides semantic code understanding through:

• Hyper RAG: Vector + Graph + DSR retrieval
• AST Analysis: Symbol relationships and call graphs
• DSR: Deterministic Semantic Records for change tracking

Workflow

Understanding a codebase involves these steps:

1. Get global view (run repo_map)
2. Check index status (run check_index, rebuild if needed)
3. Locate code (run search_symbols or semantic_search)
4. Analyze relationships (run ast_graph_callers/callees/chain)
5. Trace history (run dsr_symbol_evolution)
6. Read code (run read_file)

Tool Selection

Task	Tool	Key Parameters
Project overview	repo_map	path, max_files: 20
Find by name	search_symbols	path, query, mode: substring
Find by meaning	semantic_search	path, query, topk: 10
Who calls X	ast_graph_callers	path, name
What X calls	ast_graph_callees	path, name
Call chain	ast_graph_chain	path, name, direction, max_depth
Symbol history	dsr_symbol_evolution	path, symbol, limit
Read code	read_file	path, file, start_line, end_line
Index health	check_index	path
Rebuild index	rebuild_index	path

Critical Rules

MUST follow:

1. Always pass path explicitly - Never rely on implicit working directory
2. Check index before search - Run check_index before using search/graph tools
3. Read before modify - Use read_file to understand code before making changes
4. Use DSR for history - Never manually parse git log; use dsr_symbol_evolution

NEVER do:

• Assume symbol locations without searching
• Modify files without reading them first
• Search when index is missing or incompatible
• Ignore DSR risk levels (high risk = extra review needed)

Examples

Find authentication code:

semantic_search({ path: "/repo", query: "user authentication logic", topk: 10 })

Find who calls a function:

ast_graph_callers({ path: "/repo", name: "handleRequest", limit: 50 })

Trace call chain upstream:

ast_graph_chain({ path: "/repo", name: "processOrder", direction: "upstream", max_depth: 3 })

View symbol history:

dsr_symbol_evolution({ path: "/repo", symbol: "authenticateUser", limit: 50 })

References

• Tool details: See references/tools.md for complete tool documentation
• Constraints: See references/constraints.md for behavioral rules