Package Exports
- reponova
- reponova/dist/index.js
This package does not declare an exports field, so the exports above have been automatically detected and optimized by JSPM instead. If any package subpath is missing, it is recommended to post an issue to the original package (reponova) to support the "exports" field. If that is not possible, create a JSPM override to customize the exports field for this package.
Readme
๐ค RepoNova ๐ญ
Turn your codebase into a knowledge graph. Query it with AI.
Knowledge graph builder & MCP server for AI code assistants.
Extracts symbols, relationships, and semantics from your code โ then exposes the entire structure
as 11 graph tools that any MCP-compatible agent can use.
โ ๏ธ Alpha โ Active Development APIs, config format, and CLI may change between releases. Already usable in production workflows. Open an issue if something doesn't work.
Why RepoNova?
AI agents read files one at a time. They don't understand how your codebase fits together โ which functions call what, which modules depend on which, where the architectural bottlenecks are.
RepoNova fixes that. It builds a persistent knowledge graph of your entire codebase (or multiple repos) and gives your AI agent 11 specialized tools to query it: search, impact analysis, shortest path, semantic similarity, community detection, and more.
One build. Persistent graph. Instant queries across sessions. No re-reading files. No burning tokens on context. The graph remembers everything.
What makes it different
- Zero external dependencies โ no Python, no Docker, no database servers. Pure Node.js
- Multi-repo support โ build one graph spanning multiple repositories
- Smart incremental builds โ SHA256 file hashing, per-phase config change detection, selective subsystem regeneration
- Local LLM-enhanced โ optional local LLM for richer community summaries and node descriptions (runs on CPU)
- 11 MCP tools โ from text search to weighted Dijkstra, semantic similarity to structural queries
- Works with any MCP client โ OpenCode, Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code Copilot
How it works
Your Codebase reponova build AI Agent
โโโโโโโโโโโโโ โโโโโโโโโโโโโโ โโโโโโโโ
Python ยน 1. tree-sitter AST parsing graph_search
Markdown / Docs โโโโโโโโโโโบ 2. Symbol + edge extraction โโโบ graph_impact
Diagrams / SVG 3. Louvain communities graph_path
Multi-repo 4. TF-IDF / ONNX embeddings graph_similar
5. Community summaries
6. HTML visualizations ... (11 tools)ยน More languages coming soon โ contributions welcome.
Install
npm install -g reponovaOr run directly without installing:
npx reponovaRequires Node.js >= 18.
Quick Start
1. Install into your editor
reponova install --target opencodeThis registers the MCP server, installs hooks/skills, and writes the default reponova.yml config.
Supported editors: opencode, cursor, claude, vscode
2. Build the knowledge graph
reponova build3. Use it
The MCP server starts automatically with your editor. Your AI agent now has access to all 11 graph tools.
You: "What would be the impact of refactoring the authenticate function?"
Agent: [calls graph_impact] โ shows upstream/downstream blast radius across reposMCP Tools
11 specialized tools exposed over MCP (stdio). Each tool is designed for a specific query pattern.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
graph_search |
๐ Full-text search across nodes. Filter by type, repo. Expand results with BFS/DFS. |
graph_impact |
๐ฅ Blast radius analysis โ find all upstream/downstream dependents of any symbol. |
graph_path |
๐ค๏ธ Weighted shortest path (Dijkstra) between two symbols. Filter by edge type. |
graph_explain |
๐ Full detail on a node: edges, community, centrality metrics, signature, docstring. |
graph_similar |
๐งฒ Semantic similarity search using TF-IDF or ONNX vector embeddings. |
graph_context |
๐ง Smart context builder with token budget โ combines search + vectors + graph expansion. |
graph_community |
๐๏ธ List all nodes in a community, ranked by degree centrality. |
graph_hotspots |
๐ฅ God nodes / architectural bottlenecks โ most connected symbols in the graph. |
graph_outline |
๐๏ธ Tree-sitter code outline: functions, classes, imports with signatures and line ranges. |
graph_docs |
๐ Search documentation nodes (markdown, text, rst). |
graph_status |
๐ Graph metadata: node/edge counts, repos, build timestamp, reponova version, build config. |
Agentic Workflows
RepoNova is designed to be the structural memory layer for AI coding agents. Here's how to use it effectively in agentic workflows.
Recommended agent patterns
Before any refactoring:
1. graph_impact "TargetFunction" โ understand blast radius
2. graph_path "ModuleA" "ModuleB" โ see dependency chain
3. graph_community 5 โ understand the module cluster
4. Make changes with full structural awarenessWhen exploring unfamiliar code:
1. graph_status โ understand graph size and repos
2. graph_hotspots โ identify architectural pillars
3. graph_search "authentication" โ find entry points
4. graph_explain "Function:authenticate" โ deep diveWhen answering "where is X used?":
1. graph_search "X" โ find the node
2. graph_impact "X" direction=downstream โ who depends on it
3. graph_similar "X" โ find semantically related codeIntegration with editor skills
The reponova install command installs a skill file and a hook/rule that teaches your AI agent when and how to use each tool. The agent automatically reaches for graph tools when it needs structural information.
| Editor | MCP Config | Hook / Rule | Skill | Config |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenCode | .opencode/opencode.json |
.opencode/plugins/reponova.js |
.opencode/skills/reponova/SKILL.md |
.opencode/reponova.yml |
| Cursor | .cursor/mcp.json |
.cursor/rules/reponova.mdc |
(embedded in rule) | .cursor/reponova.yml |
| Claude Code | claude mcp add |
.claude/settings.json |
.claude/skills/reponova/SKILL.md |
.claude/reponova.yml |
| VS Code | .vscode/mcp.json |
.github/copilot-instructions.md |
(embedded in instructions) | .vscode/reponova.yml |
Keeping the graph fresh
# Incremental rebuild โ only processes changed files
reponova build
# Force rebuild โ ignores all caches, reruns every phase
reponova build --forceTip: Add
reponova buildto your CI pipeline or as a post-commit hook to keep the graph always up-to-date.
How incremental builds work
RepoNova's incremental build goes beyond simple file-change detection. It minimizes redundant work at every stage of the pipeline:
| Layer | What it does | When it kicks in |
|---|---|---|
| File hashing | SHA256 per file โ only re-parse changed/added files. Detects removed files too. | Every incremental build |
| Config fingerprinting | Compares a hash of build-relevant config fields across builds. | When reponova.yml changes between builds |
| Selective subsystem regeneration | Only reruns the subsystems affected by config changes (e.g. switching embeddings.method reruns embeddings but not parsing). |
Config-only changes (no file changes) |
| Incremental embeddings | Tracks text content per node. Only re-embeds nodes whose text changed. | Every incremental build with embeddings enabled |
| Outline hashing | SHA256 per source file for outlines. Skips outline regeneration for unchanged files. | Every incremental build with outlines enabled |
| Stale artifact cleanup | Removes outdated artifacts when config changes invalidate them (e.g. deletes tfidf_idf.json after switching to ONNX). |
After config change detection |
| Per-phase skip | Each phase independently checks its cache and config fingerprint. If nothing relevant changed, the phase is skipped. | Every incremental build |
The build config fingerprint is stored in graph.json metadata. Each phase also stores its own config hash in .cache/ for per-phase change detection.
CLI Reference
reponova install
Set up editor integration. Creates MCP config, hook, skill, and reponova.yml.
reponova install --target <editor> [--graph <path>]| Option | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
--target |
Yes | Editor to configure. Values: opencode, cursor, claude, vscode |
--graph |
No | Path to the reponova-out/ directory. Default: ./reponova-out |
reponova build
Build (or rebuild) the knowledge graph.
reponova build [--config <path>] [--force] [--target <phase>]| Option | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
--config |
No | Path to reponova.yml. Default: auto-detected (see Config Resolution) |
--force |
No | Ignore all caches and rerun every phase. Default: false |
--target |
No | Run only this phase and its transitive dependencies. Useful for selective rebuilds without running the full pipeline. |
Target examples:
reponova build --target index # file-detection โ graph โ communities โ index
reponova build --target outlines # file-detection โ outlines
reponova build --target html # file-detection โ graph โ communities โ community-summaries โ node-descriptions โ html
reponova build --target embeddings # file-detection โ graph โ communities โ community-summaries โ node-descriptions โ embeddingsWhen --target is omitted, all 10 phases run in DAG order.
Build pipeline (10 DAG phases, 5 levels):
The pipeline executes as a directed acyclic graph โ phases within the same level run in parallel:
Level 0: file-detection
Level 1: graph, outlines (parallel)
Level 2: communities
Level 3: community-summaries, node-descriptions, search-index (parallel)
Level 4: embeddings, html, report (parallel)| Phase | What it does |
|---|---|
| file-detection | Detect source files, documentation, and diagrams (centralized glob matching via picomatch) |
| graph | Diff files against previous build, parse changed files with tree-sitter WASM, extract symbols/calls/imports/inheritance, build directed graph with cross-file/cross-repo edges |
| outlines | Generate tree-sitter code outlines per file (SHA256 per-file hashing โ skip unchanged) |
| communities | Detect communities (Louvain algorithm) and write final graph.json with community assignments |
| community-summaries | Generate community summaries (algorithmic or LLM-enhanced) |
| node-descriptions | Generate descriptions for high-degree nodes (algorithmic or LLM-enhanced) |
| search-index | Generate SQLite search index (graph_search.db) |
| embeddings | Generate embeddings incrementally โ only re-embed nodes whose text content changed (TF-IDF or ONNX MiniLM). Clean up stale artifacts on config change. |
| html | Generate graph.html and graph_communities.html interactive visualizations |
| report | Generate report.md build report |
Each phase internally handles its own incremental logic: file diffing, config fingerprint comparison, cache invalidation, and stale artifact cleanup.
reponova mcp
Start the MCP server over stdio. Normally launched automatically by the editor.
reponova mcp [--graph <path>]| Option | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
--graph |
No | Path to reponova-out/ directory. Default: auto-detected |
reponova models
Manage local AI models (ONNX embeddings, LLM). See Models for details.
reponova models status # Show configured and cached models
reponova models download # Pre-download all models needed by config
reponova models remove <name> # Remove a specific cached model
reponova models clear # Remove all cached models| Option | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
--config |
No | Path to reponova.yml. Default: auto-detected |
--cache-dir |
No | Override model cache directory |
reponova check
Verify graph installation, build integrity, and report stats.
reponova check [--graph <path>]| Option | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
--graph |
No | Path to reponova-out/ directory. Default: auto-detected |
Checks performed:
- Graph file (
graph.json) exists and is readable - Build metadata presence (
build_configfingerprint) - Embedding artifacts consistency (TF-IDF IDF file, ONNX vectors)
- Warns if embedding method in config doesn't match the built artifacts
- Search index (
graph_search.db) existence - Outlines directory existence
- tree-sitter WASM availability
Supported Languages
Extraction (AST parsing + graph building)
| Language | Extensions | Parser | Node Types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python | .py, .pyw |
tree-sitter-python (WASM) | function, class, method, module, constant |
| Markdown | .md, .txt, .rst |
Built-in | document, section |
| Diagrams | .puml, .plantuml, .svg, .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif |
Built-in | diagram, component, interface, section |
Outline (tree-sitter code outline)
| Language | Extensions | Outline Support |
|---|---|---|
| Python | .py, .pyw |
Full: functions, classes, methods, imports, signatures, decorators, docstrings |
Adding a new language: Create
src/extract/languages/<lang>.tsimplementingLanguageExtractor, register it inregistry.ts, add the.wasmgrammar togrammars/. See Contributing > Adding Language Support for the full interface reference.Note: Extraction and outline are separate systems with different registries and interfaces. Registering an extractor gives you graph building (symbols, edges, imports). For code outlines (
graph_outline), you also need aLanguageSupportimplementation insrc/outline/languages/โ see Contributing > Adding Outline Support.
Edge Types
Every edge in the graph has a type that describes the relationship:
| Edge Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
calls |
Function/method invocation | process_data โ validate_input |
imports |
Module-level import | api.py โ models.py |
imports_from |
Named import of a specific symbol | api.py โ UserModel |
extends |
Class inheritance | AdminUser โ BaseUser |
contains |
Parent contains a child (moduleโsymbol, classโmethod, documentโsection) | auth.py โ login() |
Configuration
Config Resolution
The config file is auto-detected from these locations (first match wins):
- Explicit
--configargument reponova.ymlin the project root.opencode/reponova.yml.cursor/reponova.yml.claude/reponova.yml.vscode/reponova.yml
All paths inside the config are relative to the config file's location. When placed inside an editor directory (e.g. .opencode/), use ../ to reference the project root.
Pattern Resolution
All glob patterns (patterns, exclude, docs.patterns, etc.) are matched against workspace-relative paths. How those paths look depends on the number of repos.
Single-repo
With one repo, file paths are relative to the repo root โ no prefix:
src/core.py
src/utils/helpers.py
tests/test_core.pyPatterns work as you'd expect:
repos:
- name: my-project
path: .
patterns: ["src/**/*.py"] # matches src/core.py โ
exclude: ["tests/**"] # excludes tests/test_core.py โMulti-repo
With multiple repos, each file path is prefixed with the repo name from the config:
api/src/routes.py # โ "api" comes from repos[].name
api/src/handlers.py
core/src/models.py # โ "core" comes from repos[].name
core/src/db.pyPatterns are tested against both forms โ the full prefixed path and the repo-relative path โ so the same pattern works in single and multi-repo:
repos:
- name: api
path: ../services/api
- name: core
path: ../services/core
patterns: ["src/**/*.py"] # matches api/src/routes.py, api/src/handlers.py, core/src/models.py, core/src/db.py โ (via repo-relative)
exclude: ["**/test_*.py"] # works across all reposFiltering a specific repo
Use the repo name as a path prefix to target one repo only:
exclude:
- "api/src/generated/**" # excludes only in the api repo
- "**/migrations/**" # excludes in all reposThis works because the full workspace path is always <repo-name>/<path>. The repo name is the name field from your repos config โ not the directory name on disk.
Full Config Reference
Every field, every valid value, every default.
# โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# reponova.yml โ Full Configuration Reference
# โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# Where to write build output (graph.json, graph.html, graph_search.db, etc.)
# Type: string
# Default: "reponova-out"
output: ../reponova-out
# โโ Repositories โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# List of repositories to include in the build.
# Each repo needs a unique name and a path (relative to this config file).
repos:
- name: api-service # string โ unique identifier for this repo
path: ../services/api # string โ path to repo root (relative to this file)
- name: core-lib
path: ../services/core
# โโ Centralized Model Management โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# Shared settings for all models (LLM, ONNX embeddings).
# Individual features (community_summaries, node_descriptions) can specify
# their own model via a `model` field. These settings apply to all of them.
models:
# Directory to cache downloaded models (ONNX embeddings + LLM weights)
# Type: string
# Default: "~/.cache/reponova/models"
cache_dir: ~/.cache/reponova/models
# GPU acceleration backend for LLM inference
# Values: "auto" | "cpu" | "cuda" | "metal" | "vulkan"
# - auto: auto-detect best available backend
# - cpu: force CPU inference (slower but always works)
# - cuda: NVIDIA GPU (requires CUDA drivers)
# - metal: Apple Silicon GPU (macOS only)
# - vulkan: Cross-platform GPU (AMD, Intel, NVIDIA)
# Default: "auto"
gpu: auto
# Number of CPU threads for LLM inference
# Type: number
# Default: 0 (auto-detect based on available cores)
threads: 0
# Automatically download models on first use
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
download_on_first_use: true
# โโ Source Code File Filters โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# Shared by graph + outlines โ a single file-detection phase produces
# the file list consumed by both.
# Glob patterns for source code files to include
# Type: string[]
# Default: [] (empty = auto-detect by file extension using registered extractors)
# Example: ["src/**/*.py", "lib/**/*.ts"]
patterns: []
# Glob patterns to exclude from source code detection
# Type: string[]
# Default: []
# Example: ["**/generated/**", "**/*.test.ts", "**/vendor/**"]
exclude: []
# Exclude common non-source directories from all file detection
# (source code, documentation and diagrams).
# When true, the following directories are skipped at any depth:
# node_modules, __pycache__, .git, .svn, .hg, venv, .venv, env, .env, .tox,
# site-packages, dist, build, .eggs, .mypy_cache, .pytest_cache, .ruff_cache,
# target, bin, obj
# Set to false if you need to index files inside these directories
# (e.g. vendored code in node_modules). You can still exclude specific
# directories via the `exclude` patterns above.
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
exclude_common: true
# Incremental builds: only re-process files whose SHA256 hash changed
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
incremental: true
# โโ Documentation Extraction โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
docs:
# Enable/disable documentation extraction
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
enabled: true
# Glob patterns for documentation files (relative to repo root)
# Type: string[]
# Default: [] (empty = auto-detect by file extension: .md, .txt, .rst)
# Example: ["docs/**/*.md", "**/*.rst"]
patterns: []
# Glob patterns to exclude from documentation extraction
# Type: string[]
# Default: []
# Example: ["**/CHANGELOG.md", "**/node_modules/**"]
exclude: []
# Maximum file size in KB โ files larger than this are skipped
# Type: number
# Default: 500
max_file_size_kb: 500
# โโ Diagram / Image Extraction โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
images:
# Enable/disable diagram extraction
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
enabled: true
# Glob patterns for diagram files (relative to repo root)
# Type: string[]
# Default: [] (empty = auto-detect by file extension: .puml, .plantuml, .svg, .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif)
# Example: ["diagrams/**/*.puml", "**/*.svg"]
patterns: []
# Glob patterns to exclude
# Type: string[]
# Default: []
# Example: ["**/node_modules/**"]
exclude: []
# Parse PlantUML files to extract components and relationships
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
parse_puml: true
# Extract text content from SVG files
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
parse_svg_text: true
# โโ Embeddings โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# Vector representations for semantic search (graph_similar, graph_context)
embeddings:
# Enable/disable embedding generation
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
enabled: true
# Embedding method
# Values: "tfidf" | "onnx"
# - tfidf: Feature-hashed TF-IDF (384-dim). Fast (milliseconds). No model download.
# - onnx: MiniLM-L6-v2 via ONNX Runtime (384-dim). More accurate. ~86MB model download.
# Default: "tfidf"
method: tfidf
# ONNX model name (only used when method: "onnx")
# Must be a sentence-transformers/ model on HuggingFace with ONNX export
# and BERT-compatible tokenizer. Dimensions must match 'dimensions' below.
# See the "Models" section for compatible models and details.
# Type: string
# Default: "all-MiniLM-L6-v2"
model: all-MiniLM-L6-v2
# Embedding vector dimensions
# Type: number
# Default: 384
dimensions: 384
# Batch size for ONNX inference
# Type: number
# Default: 128
batch_size: 128
# โโ Community Summaries โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# Natural-language summaries for each detected community (cluster of related symbols).
# Independent from node descriptions โ can enable one without the other.
community_summaries:
# Enable/disable community summary generation
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
enabled: true
# Maximum number of communities to summarize
# Type: integer (>= 0)
# Default: 0 (no limit โ summarize all communities)
# Communities are sorted by size (largest first). When max_number > 0,
# only the top N largest communities are summarized.
# Communities with fewer than 3 nodes are always excluded.
max_number: 0
# LLM model for richer summaries (optional)
# Uses hf: URI notation โ see the "Models" section for details.
# Type: string | null
# Default: null (algorithmic summaries โ still useful, just less prose)
# model: "hf:Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M"
# Context window size for LLM inference (only used when model is set)
# Type: number
# Default: 512
context_size: 512
# โโ Node Descriptions โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# Natural-language descriptions for high-degree (important) nodes.
# Independent from community summaries โ can enable one without the other.
node_descriptions:
# Enable/disable node description generation
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
enabled: true
# Degree threshold for node description generation
# Type: number (0.0 โ 1.0)
# Default: 0.8
# Meaning: top (1 - threshold)% of nodes by degree get descriptions.
# - 0.8 = top 20% of nodes
# - 0.5 = top 50% of nodes
# - 0.0 = all nodes (expensive!)
# - 1.0 = no nodes
threshold: 0.8
# LLM model for richer descriptions (optional)
# Uses hf: URI notation โ see the "Models" section for details.
# Type: string | null
# Default: null (algorithmic descriptions)
# model: "hf:Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M"
# Context window size for LLM inference (only used when model is set)
# Type: number
# Default: 512
context_size: 512
# โโ HTML Visualizations โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# Generate interactive HTML visualizations (graph.html + graph_communities.html)
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
html: true
# Minimum node degree to include in HTML visualization
# Useful for large graphs โ filters out leaf nodes to reduce clutter
# Type: integer (>= 1)
# Default: not set (include all nodes)
# html_min_degree: 3
# โโ Outlines โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# Tree-sitter code outlines: functions, classes, imports with signatures.
# Language is auto-detected from file extension (no need to specify it).
# File selection comes from top-level patterns / exclude / exclude_common.
outlines:
# Enable/disable outline generation
# Type: boolean
# Default: true
enabled: true
# โโ Server โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
# MCP server options (reserved for future use)
# Type: object
# Default: {}
server: {}Minimal Config
Most fields have sensible defaults. A minimal config for a single repo:
output: ../reponova-out
repos:
- name: my-project
path: ..Multi-repo Config
output: ../reponova-out
repos:
- name: api
path: ../services/api
- name: core
path: ../services/core
- name: shared
path: ../libs/sharedLLM-enhanced Config
For richer, natural-language community summaries and node descriptions:
output: ../reponova-out
repos:
- name: my-project
path: ..
models:
gpu: auto # auto-detect GPU, falls back to CPU
download_on_first_use: true
community_summaries:
enabled: true
model: "hf:Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M" # ~350MB download
node_descriptions:
enabled: true
threshold: 0.5 # describe top 50% nodes by degree
model: "hf:Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M" # same model, auto-sharedWhen
community_summaries.modelandnode_descriptions.modelresolve to the same file, RepoNova shares a single engine instance โ no double memory usage.
File Filtering Config
Control which source files are included in the graph:
output: ../reponova-out
repos:
- name: my-project
path: ..
patterns: # only include files matching these globs
- "src/**/*.py"
- "lib/**/*.ts"
exclude: # exclude files matching these globs
- "**/test/**"
- "**/tests/**"
- "**/migrations/**"
- "**/*.generated.ts"When
patternsis empty (default) for any subsystem (docs,images), RepoNova auto-detects files by extension using the corresponding registry. Source code and outlines share the top-levelpatterns/exclude/exclude_common. No configuration needed for standard project layouts. The configured output directory is automatically excluded from all file detection โ no need to add it toexcludepatterns manually.exclude_common(default:true) skips the following directories at any depth:node_modules,__pycache__,.git,.svn,.hg,venv,.venv,env,.env,.tox,site-packages,dist,build,.eggs,.mypy_cache,.pytest_cache,.ruff_cache,target,bin,obj. Setexclude_common: falseto disable this behavior and use explicitexcludepatterns instead.
Models
RepoNova uses two types of AI models, both downloaded automatically on first use and cached locally. No API keys, no cloud services.
ONNX Embeddings
Sentence-transformer models for semantic similarity search (graph_similar, graph_context).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Config field | embeddings.model |
| Notation | Plain model name (e.g., all-MiniLM-L6-v2) |
| Source | huggingface.co/sentence-transformers/{model} |
| Cache path | {models.cache_dir}/{model-name}/ |
| Files downloaded | model.onnx, vocab.txt, tokenizer_config.json |
| Required when | embeddings.method: onnx |
Compatible models (all 384-dim, must match embeddings.dimensions):
| Model | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
all-MiniLM-L6-v2 |
~86 MB | Default. Good speed/quality balance |
all-MiniLM-L12-v2 |
~130 MB | More accurate, slower |
paraphrase-MiniLM-L6-v2 |
~86 MB | Optimized for paraphrase detection |
multi-qa-MiniLM-L6-cos-v1 |
~86 MB | Optimized for Q&A |
Any model under the sentence-transformers/ org on HuggingFace that provides an ONNX export with BERT-compatible tokenizer (WordPiece) should work. The dimensions config field must match the model's output dimension.
LLM (GGUF)
Local language models for richer community summaries and node descriptions, powered by node-llama-cpp.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Config field | community_summaries.model, node_descriptions.model |
| Notation | hf: URI (e.g., hf:Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M) |
| Format | hf:{user}/{repo}:{quantization} |
| Cache path | {models.cache_dir}/llm/ |
| Required when | community_summaries.model or node_descriptions.model is set |
| Dependency | node-llama-cpp (optional peer dependency) |
When both community_summaries.model and node_descriptions.model resolve to the same file, RepoNova shares a single engine instance โ no double memory usage.
Why different notations? ONNX embeddings use direct HTTP fetch from a fixed HuggingFace org (
sentence-transformers/), downloading specific files (model.onnx, vocab.txt). LLM models delegate entirely to node-llama-cpp'sresolveModelFile(), which handles thehf:URI protocol, download, and caching. The two systems are technically incompatible โ the notation reflects this.
Model Management CLI
reponova models status # Show configured and cached models
reponova models download # Pre-download all models needed by config
reponova models remove <name> # Remove a specific cached model
reponova models clear # Remove all cached modelsModels are also downloaded automatically during reponova build when models.download_on_first_use: true (default). The CLI commands let you manage the cache independently of the build.
Build Output
After reponova build, the output directory contains:
reponova-out/
โโโ graph.json # Full graph: nodes, edges, community assignments, metadata
โ # metadata.build_config: config fingerprint for change detection
โ # nodes include: docstring, signature, bases (when available)
โโโ graph-nodes.json # Intermediate graph (pre-community detection, no Louvain assignments)
โโโ detected-files.json # Detected file list (intermediate, consumed by graph + outlines)
โโโ graph.html # Interactive visualization (vis.js) โ click, search, filter
โโโ graph_communities.html # Community-focused visualization with summary labels
โโโ graph_search.db # SQLite search index (sql.js WASM) โ structural queries
โโโ report.md # Build report: stats, hotspots, community breakdown
โโโ community_summaries.json # Community summaries (algorithmic or LLM-enhanced)
โโโ node_descriptions.json # Descriptions for high-degree nodes
โโโ tfidf_idf.json # TF-IDF vocabulary weights (for query-time embedding)
โโโ vectors/ # LanceDB vector store โ semantic similarity search
โ โโโ (LanceDB internal files) # fallback: vectors.json when @lancedb/lancedb unavailable
โโโ outlines/ # Pre-computed code outlines per file
โ โโโ <repo>/<path>.outline.json
โโโ .cache/ # Incremental build cache
โโโ hashes.json # file path โ SHA256 hex map (source code hashing)
โโโ outline-hashes.json # file path โ SHA256 map for outline generation
โโโ node-texts.json # node id โ text hash map for incremental embeddings
โโโ graph-nodes-hash.txt # SHA256 of graph-nodes.json (skip community detection)
โโโ embeddings-config-hash.txt # config fingerprint for embeddings phase
โโโ community-summaries-config-hash.txt # config fingerprint for community summaries phase
โโโ community-summary-fingerprints.json # per-community content fingerprint (incremental)
โโโ node-descriptions-config-hash.txt # config fingerprint for node descriptions phase
โโโ node-description-fingerprints.json # per-node content fingerprint (incremental)
โโโ extractions/ # cached FileExtraction per file
โโโ <hash>.jsonTwo storage engines serve different purposes:
- SQLite (
graph_search.db) โ structural index for exact lookups, graph traversal, FTS. Used bygraph_search,graph_impact,graph_path,graph_explain, and more. - LanceDB (
vectors/) โ vector index for semantic similarity. Used bygraph_similarandgraph_context. Falls back to brute-force cosine similarity (JSON) when@lancedb/lancedbis not installed.
Programmatic API
Use RepoNova as a library in your own Node.js tools.
Build API
Run the full build pipeline programmatically โ useful for CI integrations, custom tooling, or workflows that register custom extractors/languages before building.
import { build } from "reponova";
const result = await build("./reponova.yml");
console.log(`Output: ${result.outputDir}`);
console.log(`Total processed: ${result.totalProcessed}`);
for (const [phase, r] of result.phases) {
console.log(` ${phase}: ${r.skipped ? `skipped (${r.skipReason})` : `${r.processed} items`}`);
}// Force rebuild โ ignores all caches, reruns every phase
const result = await build("./reponova.yml", { force: true });build() returns a BuildResult:
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
outputDir |
string |
Absolute path to the output directory |
phases |
Map<string, PhaseResult> |
Per-phase results (processed count, skip status, skip reason) |
totalProcessed |
number |
Total items processed across all phases |
If configPath is omitted, config is auto-detected from standard locations (see Config Resolution).
Runtime Registration + Build
Register custom extractors or outline languages before calling build():
import {
build,
registerExtractor,
registerOutlineLanguage,
} from "reponova";
import type { LanguageExtractor, LanguageSupport } from "reponova";
// 1. Register a custom extractor (graph building)
const myExtractor: LanguageExtractor = { /* ... */ };
registerExtractor(myExtractor);
// 2. Register outline support (graph_outline)
const myOutline: LanguageSupport = { /* ... */ };
registerOutlineLanguage("rust", ["rs"], myOutline);
// 3. Build โ all registrations are picked up automatically
const result = await build("./reponova.yml");Query API
After building, load and query the graph:
import {
openDatabase,
initializeSchema,
populateDatabase,
loadGraphData,
searchNodes,
analyzeImpact,
findShortestPath,
getNodeDetail,
} from "reponova";
// Load and index the graph
const graphData = loadGraphData("./reponova-out/graph.json");
const db = await openDatabase(":memory:");
initializeSchema(db);
populateDatabase(db, graphData);
// Search
const results = searchNodes(db, "authentication", { top_k: 5, type: "function" });
// Impact analysis
const impact = analyzeImpact(db, "Function:authenticate_user", { max_depth: 3 });
// Shortest path
const path = findShortestPath(db, graphData, "ModuleA", "ModuleB");
// Node detail
const detail = getNodeDetail(db, graphData, "Function:process_payment");Advanced API
import {
ContextBuilder,
loadConfig,
} from "reponova";
// Smart context assembly (search + vectors + graph expansion)
const { config } = loadConfig("./reponova.yml");
const builder = new ContextBuilder(db, graphData, "./reponova-out");
await builder.initialize(config.embeddings);
const context = await builder.buildContext({
query: "authentication flow",
maxTokens: 4000,
});FAQ
Do I need an API key?
No. Everything runs locally. The optional LLM is a local model (Qwen 0.5B) โ no cloud, no API keys, no data leaves your machine.
How big are the models?
| Model | Size | When downloaded |
|---|---|---|
| TF-IDF embeddings | None (computed in-process) | Never |
| ONNX embeddings | ~86 MB (MiniLM-L6-v2) | First build with method: onnx |
| LLM (Qwen 0.5B Q4_K_M) | ~350 MB | When community_summaries.model or node_descriptions.model is set |
How long does a build take?
Depends on codebase size. Rough benchmarks:
- Small project (500 files): ~5-10 seconds
- Medium project (5,000 files): ~30-60 seconds
- Large monorepo (20,000+ files): 2-5 minutes
- LLM summaries add ~2-3 seconds per community
Can I use it without an editor?
Yes. Use the CLI (reponova build, reponova check) and the programmatic API. The MCP server is just one way to query the graph.
What about TypeScript / JavaScript extraction?
Tree-sitter grammars are ready. The extractor implementation is on the roadmap โ contributions welcome.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome.
Adding Language Support (Extraction)
Add new programming language extractors via tree-sitter. An extractor teaches RepoNova how to parse a language's AST and extract symbols, imports, and references for graph building.
Steps
- Create
src/extract/languages/<lang>.tsimplementing theLanguageExtractorinterface - Register it in
src/extract/languages/registry.ts(or at runtime viaregisterExtractor()) - Add the tree-sitter WASM grammar to
grammars/(e.g.,tree-sitter-javascript.wasm)
LanguageExtractor Interface
interface LanguageExtractor {
/** Language identifier โ must match tree-sitter grammar name (e.g., "javascript") */
readonly languageId: string;
/** File extensions this extractor handles (e.g., [".js", ".mjs", ".cjs"]) */
readonly extensions: string[];
/**
* WASM grammar filename (e.g., "tree-sitter-javascript.wasm").
* If provided: pipeline parses with tree-sitter and passes the SyntaxTree.
* If omitted: extract() receives a null tree and must work from sourceCode directly.
* (Markdown and diagram extractors use this โ no WASM needed.)
*/
readonly wasmFile?: string;
/**
* Extract symbols, imports, and references from a single source file.
* @param tree - Parsed tree-sitter AST (null if wasmFile not set)
* @param sourceCode - Raw file content
* @param filePath - Relative path (normalized, forward slashes)
*/
extract(tree: SyntaxTree | null, sourceCode: string, filePath: string): FileExtraction;
/**
* Resolve an import module path to candidate file paths.
* Example: "config.loader" โ ["config/loader.py", "config/loader/__init__.py"]
* Return empty array for external/third-party modules.
*/
resolveImportPath(importModule: string, currentFilePath: string): string[];
}FileExtraction Return Type
interface FileExtraction {
filePath: string; // Relative path (forward slashes)
language: string; // Must match languageId
symbols: SymbolNode[]; // Functions, classes, methods, variables
imports: ImportDeclaration[]; // Import/export statements
references: SymbolReference[]; // Calls, type annotations, inheritance refs
}Key types your extractor produces:
| Type | Fields | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
SymbolNode |
name, qualifiedName, kind, signature?, decorators, docstring?, startLine, endLine, parent?, bases?, calls |
A symbol defined in the file |
ImportDeclaration |
module, names, isWildcard, isExport?, line |
An import/export statement |
SymbolReference |
name, fromSymbol, kind ("call" | "type_annotation" | "attribute_access" | "inheritance"), line |
A reference to another symbol |
SymbolKind |
"function" | "class" | "method" | "variable" | "constant" | "interface" | "enum" | "module" | "document" | "section" |
Symbol classification |
See src/extract/types.ts for full type definitions and JSDoc.
How tree-sitter Parsing Works
- If
wasmFileis set, the pipeline loadsgrammars/<wasmFile>, parses the source, and passes aSyntaxTreetoextract() - If
wasmFileis omitted,extract()receivesnullas the tree and must work fromsourceCodedirectly - WASM grammars are loaded from the
grammars/directory relative to the package root SyntaxTree/SyntaxNodetypes match the web-tree-sitter WASM interface
Runtime Registration
You can also register extractors at runtime via the public API (must be called before build):
import { registerExtractor } from "reponova";
import type { LanguageExtractor } from "reponova";
const myExtractor: LanguageExtractor = { /* ... */ };
registerExtractor(myExtractor);Note: duplicate languageId or extensions silently overwrite the previous extractor.
Reference Implementation
See src/extract/languages/python.ts for a full tree-sitter-based extractor, or src/extract/languages/markdown.ts for a non-tree-sitter (regex) extractor.
Adding Outline Support
Outlines (graph_outline) use a separate system from extraction. They have their own registry, interface, and implementations.
Steps
- Create
src/outline/languages/<lang>.tsimplementing theLanguageSupportinterface - Register it in
src/outline/languages/registry.tsviaregisterOutlineLanguage() - The same WASM grammar from
grammars/is shared with the extraction system
LanguageSupport Interface
interface LanguageSupport {
/** WASM grammar filename (e.g., "tree-sitter-python.wasm") */
readonly wasmFile: string;
/** Extract outline from tree-sitter AST (primary method) */
treeSitterExtract(rootNode: SyntaxNode, filePath: string, lineCount: number): FileOutline;
/** Extract outline from raw source via regex (fallback when WASM unavailable) */
regexExtract(filePath: string, source: string, lineCount: number): FileOutline;
}Runtime Registration
You can also register outline languages at runtime via the public API (must be called before build):
import { registerOutlineLanguage } from "reponova";
import type { LanguageSupport } from "reponova";
const myOutline: LanguageSupport = { /* ... */ };
registerOutlineLanguage("rust", ["rs"], myOutline);Note: duplicate language names or extensions silently overwrite the previous registration.
See src/outline/languages/python.ts for the reference implementation.
License
MIT โ CristianoCiuti/reponova