Dr. Context

Diagnose and fix context rot before your coding agent reads it.

Dr. Context is a local, read-only CLI that checks AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, Cursor rules, Copilot instructions, package files, CI workflows, and architecture docs for stale commands, missing verification instructions, and hidden source-of-truth docs.

Install

npx dr-context

Or after install:

drctx check

Scan another repository without changing directories:

drctx check --root ../other-repo

Find candidate repository roots under a folder without scanning them:

drctx discover --root ../workspace --max-depth 3

Quick start

pnpm install
pnpm test
pnpm run typecheck
pnpm run lint
pnpm run build

Before publishing, inspect the package contents:

pnpm run pack:dry-run

If pnpm is not on PATH, use Corepack:

corepack pnpm test
corepack pnpm run typecheck
corepack pnpm run lint
corepack pnpm run build
corepack pnpm run pack:dry-run

Example

Dr. Context

Found 2 finding(s).

1. WARNING ci-doc-command-mismatch (high)
.github/workflows/ci.yml:8 - CI runs "lint" but agent instructions do not mention it

Evidence:
- .github/workflows/ci.yml:8 runs `pnpm run lint`.
- No agent-visible instruction mentions `pnpm run lint` or `pnpm lint`.
- package.json defines script "lint".

Suggested fix:
- Add `pnpm run lint` to agent verification instructions so local agent checks match CI.

2. WARNING ci-doc-command-mismatch (high)
.github/workflows/ci.yml:9 - CI runs "typecheck" but agent instructions do not mention it

Evidence:
- .github/workflows/ci.yml:9 runs `corepack pnpm run typecheck`.
- No agent-visible instruction mentions `pnpm run typecheck` or `pnpm typecheck`.
- package.json defines script "typecheck".

Suggested fix:
- Add `pnpm run typecheck` to agent verification instructions so local agent checks match CI.

Why

AI coding agents often fail because repo context rots. The agent is told old commands, misses architecture docs, or loads bloated rules. Dr. Context finds the concrete places where your repo is misleading the agent.

v0.1 scope

• Package manager mismatch.
• Stale command references.
• Missing verification commands.
• CI/doc command mismatch.
• Architecture docs discovery and visibility.
• Coverage signals for repos with no supported context files or no agent-visible instructions.
• Placeholder failing test script detection.
• Multiple JavaScript lockfile detection.
• Candidate root discovery for folders that contain multiple repos or shared agent instructions.
• Evidence-backed text and JSON reports.

Discover candidate roots

Use discover when a folder contains multiple repos or shared agent instructions:

drctx discover --root ../workspace

It reports candidate roots and signal names only. It does not scan each child, merge parent and child instructions, or print file contents.

JSON output uses schemaVersion: "drctx.discover.v1":

{
  "schemaVersion": "drctx.discover.v1",
  "root": "<requested-root>",
  "candidates": [
    {
      "path": ".",
      "type": "agent-context-root",
      "signals": ["AGENTS.md"]
    },
    {
      "path": "repo-a",
      "type": "git-repository",
      "signals": [".git", "AGENTS.md", "package.json"]
    }
  ],
  "summary": {
    "candidates": 2
  }
}

Candidate types:

• git-repository: has .git.
• agent-context-root: has agent instruction files but no .git.
• package-root: has package or lockfile signals but no .git or agent instruction file.

Unlike scan reports, discover JSON does not echo the absolute requested root. Candidate paths are relative to the requested root.

Useful findings

no-scannable-context

Dr. Context did not find supported agent instructions, package files, CI workflows, architecture docs, or command mentions.

This usually means the command ran outside a repository root or the repository has no supported context files yet.

no-agent-instructions

Dr. Context found repo facts, such as package.json, lockfiles, CI workflows, or architecture docs, but did not find an agent-visible instruction file.

Add AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or another supported instruction file with exact first reads and verification commands.

This finding suppresses other actionable warnings. Without an agent-visible instruction file, Dr. Context cannot tell whether missing commands are product problems or simply undocumented intent.

placeholder-test-script

package.json contains a placeholder failing test script, for example:

{
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  }
}

Replace it with a real verification command or remove it. Dr. Context does not recommend placeholder test scripts as agent instructions.

Direct verification commands

When a package script delegates directly to a known verification tool, Dr. Context suggests that tool command instead of guessing a package-manager command.

For example, this script:

{
  "scripts": {
    "test": "forge test"
  }
}

Produces a suggestion to document forge test.

multiple-package-lockfiles

Multiple JavaScript package manager lockfiles were found, for example package-lock.json and yarn.lock.

Keep one JavaScript package manager lockfile and remove stale lockfiles so agents use the intended package manager.

Privacy and dogfood hygiene

Dr. Context is local and read-only by default. It does not call LLM or network APIs in v0.1.

Do not publish raw scans from private repositories. Public examples, tests, issues, and release notes should use synthetic fixtures or sanitized aggregate findings only.

Output contracts

• Human-readable text is the default output.
• --json emits schemaVersion: "drctx.report.v1" for tool consumers.
• Findings include source-backed evidence, confidence, severity, and suggested fixes.
• Exit code 0: no error-level findings.
• Exit code 1: one or more error-level findings, or warnings in --strict mode.
• Exit code 2: runtime/config/internal error.

Non-goals

• Not a code reviewer.
• Not a docs generator.
• Not a repo packer.
• Not a prompt optimizer.
• No LLM calls in v0.1.
• No file writes by default.

Project health

• See CONTRIBUTING.md for local development and TDD rules.
• See docs/roadmap.md for v0.1 blockers and deferred work.
• See docs/release.md for the npm release checklist.
• See SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting.
• See CHANGELOG.md for release notes once public releases begin.