vexor-cli

Semantic file discovery via `vexor`. Use whenever locating where something is implemented/loaded/defined in a medium or large repo, or when the file location is unclear. Prefer this over manual browsing.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/scarletkc/vexor

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/scarletkc/vexor "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/plugins/vexor/skills/vexor-cli" ~/.claude/skills/scarletkc-vexor-vexor-cli && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: plugins/vexor/skills/vexor-cli/SKILL.md

source content

Vexor CLI Skill

Goal

Find files by intent (what they do), not exact text.

Use It Like This

Use
```
vexor
```
first for intent-based file discovery.
If
```
vexor
```
is missing, follow references/install-vexor.md.

Command

vexor "<QUERY>" [--path <ROOT>] [--mode <MODE>] [--ext .py,.md] [--exclude-pattern <PATTERN>] [--top 5] [--format rich|porcelain|porcelain-z]

Common Flags

```
--path/-p
```
: root directory (default: current dir)
```
--mode/-m
```
: indexing/search strategy
```
--ext/-e
```
: limit file extensions (e.g.,
```
.py,.md
```
)
```
--exclude-pattern
```
: exclude paths by gitignore-style pattern (repeatable;
```
.js
```
→
```
**/*.js
```
)
```
--top/-k
```
: number of results
```
--include-hidden
```
: include dotfiles
```
--no-respect-gitignore
```
: include ignored files
```
--no-recursive
```
: only the top directory
```
--format
```
:
```
rich
```
(default) or
```
porcelain
```
/
```
porcelain-z
```
for scripts
```
--no-cache
```
: in-memory only, do not read/write index cache

Modes (pick the cheapest that works)

```
auto
```
: routes by file type (default)
```
name
```
: filename-only (fastest)
```
head
```
: first lines only (fast)
```
brief
```
: keyword summary (good for PRDs)
```
code
```
: code-aware chunking for
```
.py/.js/.ts
```
(best default for codebases)
```
outline
```
: Markdown headings/sections (best for docs)
```
full
```
: chunk full file contents (slowest, highest recall)

Troubleshooting

Need ignored or hidden files: add
```
--include-hidden
```
and/or
```
--no-respect-gitignore
```
.
Scriptable output: use
```
--format porcelain
```
(TSV) or
```
--format porcelain-z
```
(NUL-delimited).
Get detailed help:
```
vexor search --help
```
.
Config issues:
```
vexor doctor
```
or
```
vexor config --show
```
diagnoses API, cache, and connectivity (tell the user to set up).

Examples

# Find CLI entrypoints / commands
vexor search "typer app commands" --top 5

# Search docs by headings/sections
vexor search "user authentication flow" --path docs --mode outline --ext .md --format porcelain

# Locate config loading/validation logic
vexor search "config loader" --path . --mode code --ext .py

# Exclude tests and JavaScript files
vexor search "config loader" --path . --exclude-pattern tests/** --exclude-pattern .js

Tips

First time search will index files (may take a minute). Subsequent searches are fast. Use longer timeouts if needed.
Results return similarity ranking, exact file location, line numbers, and matching snippet preview.
Combine
```
--ext
```
with
```
--exclude-pattern
```
to focus on a subset (exclude rules apply on top).