Find Code

Rule: Never scan the repo with AI. Run a tool, read the results, go directly to the file or refine the search and run again.

Quick Start

# Find anything by pattern
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh "createUser"

# Find a file by name
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh --file "userService"

# Find where a symbol is defined
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh --def "createUser"

# Find all callers of a function
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh --callers "createUser"

Output is always file:line: content — use the file path and line number to jump directly.

Workflow

1. Choose a search mode

Goal	Command
Find text / regex anywhere	find.sh "pattern"
Find a file by name	find.sh --file "name"
Find where symbol is defined	find.sh --def "SymbolName"
Find all callers / usages	find.sh --callers "SymbolName"
Find all imports of a module	find.sh --imports "moduleName"
Find by file type	find.sh "pattern" --ext ts
Find in a specific folder	find.sh "pattern" --in src/services

2. Read results — never re-scan

Results come back as:

src/services/userService.ts:14:export async function createUser(
src/handlers/users.ts:31:  const user = await createUser(body);

Each line tells you: which file, which line, what's there. Navigate directly — do not open other files to double-check.

3. Refine if needed

If results are too broad, narrow the search:

# Too many results → scope to a folder
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh "create" --in src/services

# Still too broad → add file type filter
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh "create" --in src/services --ext ts

# Looking for exact function signature
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh --def "createUser" --ext ts

If results are empty, broaden:

# Try case-insensitive
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh "createuser" --flags "-i"

# Try filename only
bash <skill-dir>/scripts/find.sh --file "user"

4. Jump to the file

Once you have file:line, read only that file starting at that line:

# Agent reads file at the exact line — no re-scanning

Guardrails

• Never use AI to guess file locations — always run find.sh first.
• Never open a file to search inside it — run another find.sh instead.
• Results cap at 50 lines by default. If truncated, narrow the search rather than raising the limit.
• Do not chain more than 3 refinements without reporting back to the user.

References

• REFERENCE.md — grep recipes, regex patterns by language, common search scenarios.