@danielblomma/cortex-mcp 1.4.0 → 1.5.0

package/bin/cortex.mjs

@@ -734,8 +734,17 @@ async function run() {
   await runContextCommand(process.cwd(), [command, ...rest]);
 }
 
+function resolveArgv1() {
+  if (!process.argv[1]) return null;
+  try {
+    return fs.realpathSync(process.argv[1]);
+  } catch {
+    return process.argv[1];
+  }
+}
+
 const invokedAsScript =
-  process.argv[1] && import.meta.url === pathToFileURL(process.argv[1]).href;
+  process.argv[1] && import.meta.url === pathToFileURL(resolveArgv1()).href;
 
 if (invokedAsScript) {
   run().catch((error) => {

package/package.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "@danielblomma/cortex-mcp",
   "mcpName": "io.github.DanielBlomma/cortex",
-  "version": "1.4.0",
+  "version": "1.5.0",
   "description": "Local, repo-scoped context platform for coding assistants. Semantic search, graph relationships, and architectural rule context.",
   "type": "module",
   "author": "Daniel Blomma",
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
     "docs/MCP_MARKETPLACE.md"
   ],
   "scripts": {
-    "test": "node tests/context-regressions.test.mjs && node --test tests/ingest-units.test.mjs tests/javascript-parser.test.mjs tests/sql-parser.test.mjs tests/config-parser.test.mjs tests/resources-parser.test.mjs tests/vbnet-parser.test.mjs tests/cpp-parser.test.mjs tests/multi-level.test.mjs tests/no-legacy-paths.test.mjs",
+    "test": "node tests/context-regressions.test.mjs && node --test tests/ingest-units.test.mjs tests/javascript-parser.test.mjs tests/sql-parser.test.mjs tests/config-parser.test.mjs tests/resources-parser.test.mjs tests/vbnet-parser.test.mjs tests/cpp-parser.test.mjs tests/multi-level.test.mjs tests/no-legacy-paths.test.mjs tests/tree-sitter-error-reporting.test.mjs tests/tree-sitter-body-cap.test.mjs tests/tree-sitter-exported.test.mjs tests/tree-sitter-robustness.test.mjs",
     "release:sync-version": "node scripts/sync-release-version.mjs",
     "release:check-version-sync": "node scripts/sync-release-version.mjs --check",
     "prepublishOnly": "echo 'Ready to publish to npm'"

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/bash-treesitter.mjs

@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ import {
   initTreeSitter,
   lineRangeOf,
   loadGrammar,
+  bodyOf,
+  collectErrors,
   parseSource,
   runQuery
 } from "./tree-sitter/base.mjs";
@@ -181,7 +183,7 @@ function buildFunctionChunk(node, imports, language) {
     name,
     kind: "function",
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -193,7 +195,8 @@ function buildFunctionChunk(node, imports, language) {
 
 export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "bash") {
   await ensureLanguage();
-  const { tree } = parseSource(BASH_LANG, code);
+  const { tree, reason } = parseSource(BASH_LANG, code);
+  if (!tree) return { chunks: [], errors: [{ message: reason }] };
   const root = tree.rootNode;
   const imports = collectImports(root);
 
@@ -214,7 +217,7 @@ export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "bash") {
     return true;
   });
 
-  return { chunks: deduped, errors: [] };
+  return { chunks: deduped, errors: collectErrors(tree) };
 }
 
 if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/cpp-treesitter.mjs

@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ import {
   initTreeSitter,
   lineRangeOf,
   loadGrammar,
+  bodyOf,
+  collectErrors,
   parseSource,
   runQuery
 } from "./tree-sitter/base.mjs";
@@ -70,6 +72,52 @@ function normalizeWhitespace(value) {
   return String(value).replace(/\s+/g, " ").trim();
 }
 
+/**
+ * Determine whether a declaration is visible from outside its
+ * enclosing class/struct. Walks up the AST and, when the nearest
+ * class_specifier/struct_specifier ancestor is found, inspects the
+ * preceding access_specifier sibling inside the class body. Defaults:
+ * `class` members are private until an `access_specifier` says
+ * otherwise; `struct`/`union` members are public.
+ *
+ * Returns true when the declaration is at namespace scope or under
+ * a `public:` access specifier.
+ */
+function isCppVisible(node) {
+  let current = node;
+  while (current?.parent) {
+    const parent = current.parent;
+    const parentType = parent.type;
+
+    if (parentType === "field_declaration_list") {
+      // web-tree-sitter returns fresh wrapper objects per call, so compare
+      // by source position rather than identity.
+      let access = null;
+      for (let i = 0; i < parent.namedChildCount; i += 1) {
+        const sib = parent.namedChild(i);
+        if (sib.startIndex === current.startIndex && sib.endIndex === current.endIndex) break;
+        if (sib.type === "access_specifier") access = sib.text.trim();
+      }
+      const enclosing = parent.parent?.type;
+      if (access == null) {
+        // No access_specifier yet — use the enclosing type's default.
+        return enclosing === "struct_specifier" || enclosing === "union_specifier";
+      }
+      return access === "public";
+    }
+
+    if (parentType === "class_specifier" || parentType === "struct_specifier" || parentType === "union_specifier") {
+      // Direct member of a named type body not wrapped in a field list (rare).
+      // Treat as if under the default access.
+      return parentType !== "class_specifier";
+    }
+
+    current = parent;
+  }
+  // No enclosing class/struct body — namespace or file scope: always visible.
+  return true;
+}
+
 function signatureOfDecl(node) {
   const braceIndex = node.text.indexOf("{");
   const semiIndex = node.text.indexOf(";");
@@ -228,11 +276,11 @@ function buildFunctionChunk(node, imports, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind,
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
-    exported: true,
+    exported: isCppVisible(node),
     calls: collectCallsInNode(node),
     imports
   };
@@ -249,11 +297,11 @@ function buildTypeChunk(node, kind, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind,
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
-    exported: true,
+    exported: isCppVisible(node),
     calls: [],
     imports: []
   };
@@ -269,11 +317,11 @@ function buildNamespaceChunk(node, language) {
     name: fullPath,
     kind: "namespace",
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
-    exported: true,
+    exported: isCppVisible(node),
     calls: [],
     imports: []
   };
@@ -281,7 +329,8 @@ function buildNamespaceChunk(node, language) {
 
 export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "cpp") {
   await ensureLanguage();
-  const { tree } = parseSource(CPP_LANG, code);
+  const { tree, reason } = parseSource(CPP_LANG, code);
+  if (!tree) return { chunks: [], errors: [{ message: reason }] };
   const root = tree.rootNode;
   const imports = collectImports(root);
 
@@ -309,7 +358,7 @@ export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "cpp") {
     return true;
   });
 
-  return { chunks: deduped, errors: [] };
+  return { chunks: deduped, errors: collectErrors(tree) };
 }
 
 export async function isAvailable() {

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/dotnet/VbNetParser/Program.cs

@@ -206,7 +206,14 @@ sealed class VbChunkCollector
     private void AddMethodChunk(List<ChunkOutput> chunks, MethodBlockSyntax node, string parentTypeName)
     {
         var statement = node.BlockStatement;
-        var name = $"{parentTypeName}.{statement.Identifier.Text}";
+        var identifierText = statement switch
+        {
+            MethodStatementSyntax methodStmt => methodStmt.Identifier.Text,
+            SubNewStatementSyntax => "New",
+            OperatorStatementSyntax opStmt => opStmt.OperatorToken.Text,
+            _ => statement.ToString().Split('(')[0].Trim()
+        };
+        var name = $"{parentTypeName}.{identifierText}";
         var kind = statement.Kind() == SyntaxKind.SubStatement ? "method" : "function";
         chunks.Add(BuildChunk(
             name,
@@ -300,7 +307,6 @@ sealed class VbChunkCollector
         {
             SimpleImportsClauseSyntax simpleClause => simpleClause.Name.ToString(),
             XmlNamespaceImportsClauseSyntax xmlClause => xmlClause.XmlNamespace.ToString(),
-            AliasImportsClauseSyntax aliasClause => aliasClause.Name.ToString(),
             _ => clause.ToString()
         };
     }
@@ -309,6 +315,10 @@ sealed class VbChunkCollector
     {
         SyntaxTokenList modifiers = node switch
         {
+            TypeBlockSyntax typeBlock => typeBlock.BlockStatement.Modifiers,
+            MethodBlockSyntax methodBlock => methodBlock.BlockStatement.Modifiers,
+            PropertyBlockSyntax propertyBlock => propertyBlock.PropertyStatement.Modifiers,
+            EventBlockSyntax eventBlock => eventBlock.EventStatement.Modifiers,
             TypeStatementSyntax typeStatement => typeStatement.Modifiers,
             MethodStatementSyntax methodStatement => methodStatement.Modifiers,
             PropertyStatementSyntax propertyStatement => propertyStatement.Modifiers,
@@ -332,6 +342,7 @@ sealed class VbChunkCollector
             .Select(invocation => invocation.Expression)
             .Select(GetInvocationName)
             .Where(name => !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(name))
+            .Select(name => name!)
             .Distinct(StringComparer.Ordinal)
             .ToArray();
     }

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/dotnet/VbNetParser/VbNetParser.csproj

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
   <PropertyGroup>
     <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
-    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
+    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
     <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
     <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
     <LangVersion>latest</LangVersion>

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/go-treesitter.mjs

@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ import {
   initTreeSitter,
   lineRangeOf,
   loadGrammar,
+  bodyOf,
+  collectErrors,
   parseSource,
   runQuery
 } from "./tree-sitter/base.mjs";
@@ -172,7 +174,7 @@ function buildFunctionChunk(node, imports, language) {
     name,
     kind: "function",
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -193,7 +195,7 @@ function buildMethodChunk(node, imports, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind: "method",
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -211,7 +213,7 @@ function buildTypeChunk(node, nameNode, language) {
     name,
     kind,
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -223,7 +225,8 @@ function buildTypeChunk(node, nameNode, language) {
 
 export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "go") {
   await ensureLanguage();
-  const { tree } = parseSource(GO_LANG, code);
+  const { tree, reason } = parseSource(GO_LANG, code);
+  if (!tree) return { chunks: [], errors: [{ message: reason }] };
   const root = tree.rootNode;
   const imports = collectImports(root);
 
@@ -268,7 +271,7 @@ export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "go") {
     return true;
   });
 
-  return { chunks: deduped, errors: [] };
+  return { chunks: deduped, errors: collectErrors(tree) };
 }
 
 if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/java-treesitter.mjs

@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ import {
   initTreeSitter,
   lineRangeOf,
   loadGrammar,
+  bodyOf,
+  collectErrors,
   parseSource,
   runQuery
 } from "./tree-sitter/base.mjs";
@@ -151,7 +153,7 @@ function buildTypeChunk(node, kind, imports, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind,
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -174,7 +176,7 @@ function buildMethodChunk(node, imports, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind: "method",
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -195,7 +197,7 @@ function buildConstructorChunk(node, imports, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind: "constructor",
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -207,7 +209,8 @@ function buildConstructorChunk(node, imports, language) {
 
 export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "java") {
   await ensureLanguage();
-  const { tree } = parseSource(JAVA_LANG, code);
+  const { tree, reason } = parseSource(JAVA_LANG, code);
+  if (!tree) return { chunks: [], errors: [{ message: reason }] };
   const root = tree.rootNode;
   const imports = collectImports(root);
 
@@ -235,7 +238,7 @@ export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "java") {
     return true;
   });
 
-  return { chunks: deduped, errors: [] };
+  return { chunks: deduped, errors: collectErrors(tree) };
 }
 
 if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/python-treesitter.mjs

@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ import {
   initTreeSitter,
   lineRangeOf,
   loadGrammar,
+  bodyOf,
+  collectErrors,
   parseSource,
   runQuery
 } from "./tree-sitter/base.mjs";
@@ -197,7 +199,7 @@ function buildFunctionChunk(node, imports, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind: isMethod ? "method" : "function",
     signature: signatureOfDef(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -220,7 +222,7 @@ function buildClassChunk(node, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind: "class",
     signature: signatureOfDef(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -232,7 +234,8 @@ function buildClassChunk(node, language) {
 
 export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "python") {
   await ensureLanguage();
-  const { tree } = parseSource(PY_LANG, code);
+  const { tree, reason } = parseSource(PY_LANG, code);
+  if (!tree) return { chunks: [], errors: [{ message: reason }] };
   const root = tree.rootNode;
   const imports = collectImports(root);
 
@@ -256,7 +259,7 @@ export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "python") {
     return true;
   });
 
-  return { chunks: deduped, errors: [] };
+  return { chunks: deduped, errors: collectErrors(tree) };
 }
 
 if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/ruby-treesitter.mjs

@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ import {
   initTreeSitter,
   lineRangeOf,
   loadGrammar,
+  bodyOf,
+  collectErrors,
   parseSource,
   runQuery
 } from "./tree-sitter/base.mjs";
@@ -195,7 +197,7 @@ function buildTypeChunk(node, kind, language) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind,
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -218,7 +220,7 @@ function buildMethodChunk(node, imports, language, isSingleton) {
     name: qualifiedName,
     kind: isSingleton ? "class_method" : "method",
     signature: signatureOfDecl(node),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
@@ -230,7 +232,8 @@ function buildMethodChunk(node, imports, language, isSingleton) {
 
 export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "ruby") {
   await ensureLanguage();
-  const { tree } = parseSource(RUBY_LANG, code);
+  const { tree, reason } = parseSource(RUBY_LANG, code);
+  if (!tree) return { chunks: [], errors: [{ message: reason }] };
   const root = tree.rootNode;
   const imports = collectImports(root);
 
@@ -256,7 +259,7 @@ export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "ruby") {
     return true;
   });
 
-  return { chunks: deduped, errors: [] };
+  return { chunks: deduped, errors: collectErrors(tree) };
 }
 
 if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/rust-treesitter.mjs

@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ import {
   initTreeSitter,
   lineRangeOf,
   loadGrammar,
+  bodyOf,
+  collectErrors,
   parseSource,
   runQuery
 } from "./tree-sitter/base.mjs";
@@ -159,16 +161,24 @@ function groupDeclarations(rootNode) {
   return entries;
 }
 
+function isRustPublic(node) {
+  for (let i = 0; i < node.namedChildCount; i += 1) {
+    if (node.namedChild(i).type === "visibility_modifier") return true;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 function chunkFrom(kind, node, name, signatureOverride, calls, imports, language) {
   const { startLine, endLine } = lineRangeOf(node);
   return {
     name,
     kind,
     signature: signatureOverride ?? buildSignature(node.text),
-    body: node.text,
+    body: bodyOf(node),
     startLine,
     endLine,
     language,
+    exported: isRustPublic(node),
     calls,
     imports
   };
@@ -191,7 +201,8 @@ function extractFunctionCalls(functionNode) {
 
 export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "rust") {
   await ensureLanguage();
-  const { tree } = parseSource(RUST_LANG, code);
+  const { tree, reason } = parseSource(RUST_LANG, code);
+  if (!tree) return { chunks: [], errors: [{ message: reason }] };
   const root = tree.rootNode;
 
   const imports = collectImports(root);
@@ -257,10 +268,11 @@ export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "rust") {
           name: qualifiedName,
           kind: "method",
           signature: buildSignature(child.text),
-          body: child.text,
+          body: bodyOf(child),
           startLine,
           endLine,
           language,
+          exported: isRustPublic(child),
           calls: extractFunctionCalls(child),
           imports
         });
@@ -276,7 +288,7 @@ export async function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "rust") {
     return true;
   });
 
-  return { chunks: deduped, errors: [] };
+  return { chunks: deduped, errors: collectErrors(tree) };
 }
 
 if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/tree-sitter/base.mjs

@@ -77,10 +77,42 @@ export function createParser(language) {
   return parser;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Hard size limit on input passed to tree-sitter. Swift was dropped
+ * because its grammar OOM'd on large files (see aa52c93); even
+ * supported grammars can exhaust WASM memory on adversarial input.
+ * Callers receive { tree: null, reason } when the limit is hit.
+ * Override via CORTEX_TREE_SITTER_MAX_BYTES.
+ */
+const DEFAULT_MAX_SOURCE_BYTES = 4 * 1024 * 1024; // 4 MiB
+
+function getMaxSourceBytes() {
+  const override = process.env.CORTEX_TREE_SITTER_MAX_BYTES;
+  if (!override) return DEFAULT_MAX_SOURCE_BYTES;
+  const n = Number.parseInt(override, 10);
+  return Number.isFinite(n) && n > 0 ? n : DEFAULT_MAX_SOURCE_BYTES;
+}
+
 export function parseSource(language, code) {
+  const max = getMaxSourceBytes();
+  if (typeof code === "string" && code.length > max) {
+    return {
+      tree: null,
+      parser: null,
+      reason: `source exceeds CORTEX_TREE_SITTER_MAX_BYTES (${code.length} > ${max})`
+    };
+  }
   const parser = createParser(language);
-  const tree = parser.parse(code);
-  return { tree, parser };
+  try {
+    const tree = parser.parse(code);
+    return { tree, parser };
+  } catch (error) {
+    return {
+      tree: null,
+      parser,
+      reason: `tree-sitter parse threw: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`
+    };
+  }
 }
 
 export function runQuery(language, queryString, node) {
@@ -142,6 +174,46 @@ export function dedupe(items) {
   return [...new Set(items.filter((item) => item != null && item !== ""))];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Walk the tree collecting syntax errors. Tree-sitter flags MISSING
+ * and ERROR nodes during parsing; a clean parse has none. Returns
+ * `{message, line, column}` entries compatible with Cortex's existing
+ * parser error shape. Limits output to `maxErrors` to keep DB rows
+ * small on pathological input. Descends into ERROR subtrees so nested
+ * errors are also reported (capped by maxErrors).
+ */
+export function collectErrors(tree, { maxErrors = 32 } = {}) {
+  const errors = [];
+  if (!tree?.rootNode?.hasError) return errors;
+
+  const visit = (node) => {
+    if (errors.length >= maxErrors) return;
+    if (node.isError || node.type === "ERROR") {
+      errors.push({
+        message: "Syntax error",
+        line: node.startPosition.row + 1,
+        column: node.startPosition.column + 1
+      });
+      // fall through — ERROR nodes can contain nested errors we still want to report
+    } else if (node.isMissing) {
+      errors.push({
+        message: `Missing ${node.type || "token"}`,
+        line: node.startPosition.row + 1,
+        column: node.startPosition.column + 1
+      });
+      return;
+    } else if (!node.hasError) {
+      return;
+    }
+    for (let i = 0; i < node.childCount; i++) {
+      visit(node.child(i));
+    }
+  };
+
+  visit(tree.rootNode);
+  return errors;
+}
+
 /**
  * Convenience loader for language modules — initializes tree-sitter and
  * pre-loads a grammar. Returns an object with the grammar handle and

package/scaffold/scripts/parsers/vbnet.mjs

@@ -2,11 +2,16 @@
 /**
  * Conditional VB.NET parser bridge for Cortex.
  *
- * Uses a Roslyn sidecar via `dotnet run` when a .NET runtime is available.
- * If no runtime exists, callers should skip structured chunk extraction and
- * fall back to plain file-level indexing.
+ * Uses a Roslyn sidecar via a pre-published DLL when a .NET SDK is available.
+ * On first use the sidecar is published to bin/Release/<tfm>/publish/ and the
+ * DLL path is cached; subsequent invocations skip the msbuild cycle and run
+ * `dotnet <dll>` directly — roughly 10× faster per call than `dotnet run`.
+ *
+ * If no runtime/SDK exists, callers should skip structured chunk extraction
+ * and fall back to plain file-level indexing.
  */
 
+import fs from "node:fs";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
@@ -15,8 +20,10 @@ const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
 const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
 const DEFAULT_DOTNET_COMMAND = "dotnet";
 const DEFAULT_PROJECT_PATH = path.join(__dirname, "dotnet", "VbNetParser", "VbNetParser.csproj");
+const DEFAULT_TARGET_FRAMEWORK = "net10.0";
 
 let runtimeCache = null;
+let publishCache = null;
 
 function getDotnetCommand() {
   const override = process.env.CORTEX_DOTNET_CMD;
@@ -28,8 +35,51 @@ function getProjectPath() {
   return override && override.trim().length > 0 ? override.trim() : DEFAULT_PROJECT_PATH;
 }
 
+function getTargetFramework() {
+  const override = process.env.CORTEX_VBNET_PARSER_TFM;
+  return override && override.trim().length > 0 ? override.trim() : DEFAULT_TARGET_FRAMEWORK;
+}
+
+function getPublishDir() {
+  const override = process.env.CORTEX_VBNET_PUBLISH_DIR;
+  if (override && override.trim().length > 0) return override.trim();
+  const projectDir = path.dirname(getProjectPath());
+  return path.join(projectDir, "bin", "Release", getTargetFramework(), "publish");
+}
+
+function getDllPath() {
+  return path.join(getPublishDir(), "VbNetParser.dll");
+}
+
+function getMaxSourceMtime() {
+  const projectDir = path.dirname(getProjectPath());
+  const sources = [getProjectPath(), path.join(projectDir, "Program.cs")];
+  let max = 0;
+  for (const src of sources) {
+    try {
+      const mtime = fs.statSync(src).mtimeMs;
+      if (mtime > max) max = mtime;
+    } catch {
+      // missing source — treated as stale below
+    }
+  }
+  return max;
+}
+
+function needsPublish() {
+  const dll = getDllPath();
+  let dllMtime;
+  try {
+    dllMtime = fs.statSync(dll).mtimeMs;
+  } catch {
+    return true;
+  }
+  return getMaxSourceMtime() > dllMtime;
+}
+
 export function resetVbNetParserRuntimeCache() {
   runtimeCache = null;
+  publishCache = null;
 }
 
 export function getVbNetParserRuntime() {
@@ -69,19 +119,69 @@ export function isVbNetParserAvailable() {
   return getVbNetParserRuntime().available;
 }
 
+export function ensureVbNetParserPublished() {
+  if (publishCache) return publishCache;
+
+  const runtime = getVbNetParserRuntime();
+  if (!runtime.available) {
+    publishCache = { ok: false, reason: runtime.reason };
+    return publishCache;
+  }
+
+  const dllPath = getDllPath();
+  if (!needsPublish()) {
+    publishCache = { ok: true, dllPath };
+    return publishCache;
+  }
+
+  if (!process.env.CORTEX_QUIET) {
+    process.stderr.write("[cortex] Publishing Roslyn VB.NET parser (one-time, ~15s)...\n");
+  }
+
+  const result = spawnSync(
+    runtime.command,
+    [
+      "publish",
+      runtime.projectPath,
+      "-c", "Release",
+      "-o", getPublishDir(),
+      "--nologo",
+      "-v", "quiet"
+    ],
+    { encoding: "utf8", timeout: 180000 }
+  );
+
+  if (result.error || result.status !== 0) {
+    publishCache = {
+      ok: false,
+      reason:
+        result.error?.message ||
+        result.stderr?.trim() ||
+        `dotnet publish failed with exit code ${result.status ?? "unknown"}`
+    };
+    return publishCache;
+  }
+
+  publishCache = { ok: true, dllPath };
+  return publishCache;
+}
+
 export function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "vbnet") {
   const runtime = getVbNetParserRuntime();
   if (!runtime.available) {
     return { chunks: [], errors: [] };
   }
 
+  const published = ensureVbNetParserPublished();
+  if (!published.ok) {
+    return {
+      chunks: [],
+      errors: [{ message: `VB.NET parser publish failed: ${published.reason}` }]
+    };
+  }
+
   const args = [
-    "run",
-    "--project",
-    runtime.projectPath,
-    "--configuration",
-    "Release",
-    "--",
+    published.dllPath,
     "--stdin",
     "--file",
     filePath,
@@ -129,7 +229,6 @@ export function parseCode(code, filePath, language = "vbnet") {
 }
 
 if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {
-  const fs = await import("node:fs");
   const filePath = process.argv[2];
 
   if (!filePath) {