> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/abhigyanpatwari/GitNexus/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# gitnexus context

> 360-degree view of a code symbol

## Syntax

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context [name]
```

## Description

Provides a 360-degree view of a code symbol: callers, callees, processes it participates in, and more. This is a direct CLI wrapper for the [`context`](/api/tools/context) MCP tool.

Use this to understand:

* Who calls this symbol
* What this symbol calls
* Which execution flows use this symbol
* Where this symbol is defined
* Related symbols in the same cluster

## Arguments

<ParamField path="name" type="string" optional>
  Symbol name to look up (e.g., "validateUser", "AuthService").

  Omit if using `--uid` for direct lookup.
</ParamField>

## Options

<ParamField path="--repo" type="string" optional>
  Target repository name. Omit if only one repository is indexed.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--uid" type="string" optional>
  Direct symbol UID for zero-ambiguity lookup.

  Example: `--uid "file:src/auth.ts:function:validateUser"`
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--file" type="string" optional>
  File path to disambiguate common symbol names.

  Example: `--file src/auth/validator.ts`
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--content" type="boolean" optional>
  Include full symbol source code in results.

  **Default**: `false`
</ParamField>

## Usage Examples

### Look up symbol by name

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context validateUser
```

### Disambiguate with file path

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context Logger --file src/utils/logger.ts
```

### Direct UID lookup

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context --uid "file:src/auth.ts:function:validateUser"
```

### Include source code

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context validateUser --content
```

### Specific repository

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context AuthService --repo backend-api
```

## Output Format

Results are returned as JSON on **stderr**:

```json theme={null}
{
  "symbol": {
    "name": "validateUser",
    "type": "Function",
    "file": "src/auth/validator.ts",
    "line": 42,
    "uid": "file:src/auth/validator.ts:function:validateUser"
  },
  "callers": [
    {
      "name": "login",
      "file": "src/auth/login.ts",
      "line": 18,
      "type": "Function"
    }
  ],
  "callees": [
    {
      "name": "hashPassword",
      "file": "src/auth/crypto.ts",
      "line": 12,
      "type": "Function"
    }
  ],
  "processes": [
    {
      "name": "user_authentication_flow",
      "entry_point": "login"
    }
  ],
  "cluster": "auth",
  "content": "export function validateUser(username: string, password: string) { ... }"
}
```

## When to Use

Use `gitnexus context` instead of the MCP tool when:

* Writing shell scripts
* Running in CI/CD pipelines
* Performing batch analysis
* You need machine-readable output
* Debugging from the terminal

For interactive use in AI editors, the MCP tool is preferred.

## Symbol Disambiguation

When multiple symbols share the same name (e.g., multiple `Logger` classes), use `--file` to disambiguate:

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context Logger --file src/utils/logger.ts
```

Or use `--uid` for zero-ambiguity lookup:

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context --uid "file:src/utils/logger.ts:class:Logger"
```

## Multi-Repo Support

If you have multiple repositories indexed, specify which one:

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context AuthService --repo backend-api
```

## Output Destination

All output goes to **stderr** instead of stdout because KuzuDB's native module captures stdout at the OS level.

To redirect to a file:

```bash theme={null}
gitnexus context validateUser 2> context.json
```

## Related Commands

* [`gitnexus query`](/api/commands/query) — Search for execution flows
* [`gitnexus impact`](/api/commands/impact) — Blast radius analysis
* [`gitnexus cypher`](/api/commands/cypher) — Raw graph queries