AgentsBestFriend (ABF) — MANDATORY Code Navigation

CRITICAL: ABF MCP tools are available and MUST be your default for all code exploration.
Using read_file, grep_search, or list_dir when ABF tools exist is always wrong.

ABSOLUTE RULES

1. NEVER call read_file to explore code — use abf_chunk (by symbol) or abf_symbols first
2. NEVER call grep_search — use abf_search (exact/keyword/semantic modes)
3. NEVER call list_dir — use abf_project_overview or abf_dependencies
4. NEVER call semantic_search — use abf_search mode: "semantic" or abf_file_summary
5. ALWAYS start a new codebase with abf_project_overview — not by listing directories
6. ALWAYS use abf_impact before modifying a symbol — never guess what depends on it
7. ALWAYS use abf_conventions before writing new code — not by reading config files

Quick Decision Reference

Workflows

Starting work on any codebase

1. abf_project_overview          ← ALWAYS first — architecture, stack, entry points
2. abf_conventions               ← style, patterns, naming before writing anything
3. abf_search (keyword mode)     ← find relevant files for the task

Reading code in a file

1. abf_symbols (file)            ← see all exports/functions first
2. abf_chunk (symbol: "name")    ← read exactly the function you need
                                    only use read_file if you need the ENTIRE file

Understanding a feature

abf_context_bundle (entry file, depth: 2)
← full source of entry + signatures of all deps in ONE call
← replaces 5–10 read_file calls

Before changing anything

abf_impact (symbol: "functionName")
← ALL files and lines that reference it — never skip this

Searching for code

Exact name known?    → abf_search mode: "exact"
Exploring a concept? → abf_search mode: "keyword"
By file purpose?     → abf_file_summary (searches LLM descriptions)
Semantic match?      → abf_search mode: "semantic"

Tool Reference

abf_project_overview

Returns tech stack, frameworks, entry points, folder structure, language distribution, architectural patterns.
Required params: none
Use it: at the start of every new task in an unfamiliar codebase.

abf_search

• mode: "exact" — ripgrep regex, returns matching lines with context
• mode: "keyword" — ranks every file by keyword density, best for exploration
• mode: "semantic" — embedding similarity (requires Ollama index)
• path_filter — narrow scope (e.g. "src/**/*.ts")

abf_chunk

Read a specific function/class without loading the full file.

• symbol: "functionName" → returns the full body of that symbol
• No symbol → returns a chunk map; then use chunk_index for a specific section

abf_symbols

All exports, functions, classes, interfaces in a file with line ranges.
Call this before abf_chunk to see what's available.

abf_context_bundle

Biggest token saver. Returns entry file + signatures/source of all its imports in one call.

• include: "smart" (default) — full source for entry, signatures for deps
• include: "full" — full source for everything
• focus_symbol — only follow imports relevant to one function
• depth: 0–4 — how far to follow the import graph

abf_dependencies

Returns both imports (what this file uses) and reverse dependencies (who imports this file).

abf_impact

All files and specific lines that reference a symbol.
Always call before modifying a function, class, or exported type.

abf_conventions

Detected naming patterns, design patterns, folder structure conventions — with confidence scores and examples.

abf_file_summary

Full-text search across LLM-generated file descriptions (FTS5/BM25 ranked).
Use when you want to find files by purpose, not by exact code text.

• match_mode: "or" (default) — broader results
• match_mode: "and" — stricter matching

abf_git

Structured git output — no terminal needed.

• action: "log" — recent commits
• action: "file_history" — commits touching a file
• action: "blame" — line-by-line authorship
• action: "diff" — staged, unstaged, or between commits

abf_index

• action: "status" — index health and file count
• action: "rebuild" — full re-index
• action: "update" — incremental update
• action: "summarize" — generate LLM summaries (requires Ollama)

abf_ping

Returns server version and project root. Use to verify ABF is connected.

When ABF Tools Are NOT Needed

• Writing/editing files — ABF is read-only; use your normal edit tools
• Running tests or build commands — use the terminal
• Checking lint/type errors — use native diagnostic tools
• ABF is not connected — fall back to native tools, then reconnect with abf start
• ABF returned no useful result — if you already called the appropriate ABF tool and the output didn't answer your question (e.g. abf_search returned nothing, abf_chunk didn't find the symbol), fall back to native tools for that specific lookup. Do not skip ABF preemptively — only fall back after ABF has been tried.