@liendev/lien 0.13.0 → 0.15.1

package/CURSOR_RULES_TEMPLATE.md

@@ -1,459 +1,110 @@
 ---
+description: MANDATORY code search rules - use Lien MCP tools instead of grep
+globs: ["**/*"]
 alwaysApply: true
 ---
 
-# Lien MCP Integration Rules
+# MANDATORY: Use Lien MCP for Code Search
 
-This project uses **Lien** - a local semantic code search MCP server. You MUST use Lien tools proactively to understand the codebase before making changes.
+You have access to Lien semantic search tools. USE THEM INSTEAD OF grep/ripgrep/built-in search.
 
-## Core Rules
+## Tool Selection (FOLLOW THIS)
 
-### ALWAYS Use Lien When:
-1. **Before reading any file** - Use `semantic_search` or `get_file_context` to understand what you're looking for
-2. **User asks about code location** - Use `semantic_search` before grepping
-3. **User asks "how does X work"** - Use `semantic_search` to find implementations
-4. **Before making changes** - Use `get_file_context` to understand dependencies
-5. **User asks for examples** - Use `find_similar` to locate patterns
-6. **Exploring unfamiliar code** - Use `semantic_search` with broad queries first
+| User wants... | Use this | NOT this |
+|---------------|----------|----------|
+| "Where is X implemented?" | `semantic_search` | grep |
+| "How does X work?" | `semantic_search` | reading random files |
+| "Find all Controllers" | `list_functions` | grep |
+| Edit a file | `get_file_context` FIRST | direct edit |
+| Find similar code | `find_similar` | manual search |
 
-### NEVER:
-1. Skip Lien and go straight to reading files when you don't know the codebase
-2. Use grep when the user is asking about functionality (use semantic search instead)
-3. Make assumptions about code location without searching first
-4. Edit files without getting context via `get_file_context`
+## Before ANY Code Change
 
----
-
-## MCP Tools Reference
-
-### `semantic_search` - PRIMARY TOOL
-**Use this FIRST for almost all code understanding tasks.**
-
-```typescript
-semantic_search({
-  query: "natural language description of what you're looking for",
-  limit: 5  // increase to 10-15 for broad exploration
-})
-```
-
-**Use for:**
-- "Where is X implemented?" → `semantic_search({ query: "X implementation" })`
-- "How does Y work?" → `semantic_search({ query: "Y functionality" })`
-- Finding patterns, features, utilities, handlers, validators, etc.
-- Understanding architecture before making changes
-
-**Query tips:**
-- Use full sentences describing what the code does
-- Focus on behavior: "handles user authentication", "validates email input"
-- Not exact names: search semantically, not syntactically
-
-### `get_file_context`
-**Use BEFORE editing any file you haven't read yet.**
-
-```typescript
-get_file_context({
-  filepath: "relative/path/to/file.ts",
-  includeRelated: true  // default, gets related chunks
-})
-```
-
-**MANDATORY for:**
-- Before making any file edits
-- Understanding file dependencies and relationships
-- Getting full context of what a file does
-
-**Pro tip:** Use after `semantic_search` identifies the right file
-
-### `find_similar`
-**Use for finding patterns and ensuring consistency.**
-
-```typescript
-find_similar({
-  code: "function example() { ... }",
-  limit: 5
-})
-```
-
-**Use for:**
-- Refactoring: find all similar implementations
-- Consistency: ensure new code matches existing patterns
-- Duplication detection
-
-### `list_functions` ⚡ NEW in v0.5.0
-**Fast symbol-based search for functions, classes, and interfaces by name.**
-
-```typescript
-list_functions({
-  pattern: ".*Controller.*",  // regex to match symbol names
-  language: "php"  // optional language filter
-})
-```
-
-**How it works:**
-- Extracts and indexes function/class/interface names during indexing
-- Direct symbol name matching (not semantic search)
-- **10x faster** than semantic search for finding specific symbols
-- Automatic fallback for old indices
-
-**Use for:**
-- Finding all classes matching a pattern (e.g., `.*Controller.*`, `.*Service$`)
-- Getting structural overview of functions/classes
-- Discovering API endpoints, handlers, or utilities by name pattern
-- Understanding code organization and naming conventions
-
-**Best practices:**
-- Use regex patterns that match naming conventions: `.*Controller.*`, `handle.*`, `get.*`
-- Combine with language filter for large codebases: `language: "typescript"`
-- For best results: run `lien reindex` after upgrading to v0.5.0
-
-**When to use `list_functions` vs `semantic_search`:**
-- ✅ Use `list_functions` when you know the naming pattern (e.g., "all Controllers")
-- ✅ Use `semantic_search` when searching by functionality (e.g., "handles authentication")
-
-**Note:** Test files are indexed alongside source code and will naturally appear in semantic search results when relevant.
-
----
-
-## Enhanced Metadata (AST-Based) ⚡ NEW in v0.13.0
-
-Lien now uses **Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) parsing** for TypeScript/JavaScript files to provide rich code metadata:
-
-### Metadata Fields in Search Results
-
-All search results (`semantic_search`, `get_file_context`, `find_similar`, `list_functions`) now include enhanced metadata when available:
-
-```typescript
-{
-  content: "function validateEmail(email: string): boolean { ... }",
-  metadata: {
-    file: "src/validators.ts",
-    startLine: 45,
-    endLine: 60,
-    type: "function",  // 'function' | 'class' | 'block'
-    language: "typescript",
-    
-    // AST-derived metadata (NEW in v0.13.0):
-    symbolName: "validateEmail",              // Function/class name
-    symbolType: "function",                   // 'function' | 'method' | 'class' | 'interface'
-    parentClass: undefined,                   // For methods: parent class name
-    complexity: 3,                            // Cyclomatic complexity
-    parameters: ["email: string"],            // Function parameters
-    signature: "function validateEmail(email: string): boolean",  // Full signature
-    imports: ["@/utils/regex"]               // File imports (for context)
-  },
-  score: 0.85,
-  relevance: "highly_relevant"
-}
-```
-
-### AST Metadata Benefits
-
-1. **Never splits functions** - Chunks respect semantic boundaries (no mid-function splits)
-2. **Function context** - Know exactly which function you're looking at
-3. **Complexity metrics** - Identify complex functions that may need refactoring
-4. **Signature awareness** - See parameters and return types at a glance
-5. **Better AI context** - AI assistants get structured code information
-
-### Using AST Metadata
-
-**Find complex functions:**
-```typescript
-// Search for authentication logic
-const results = await semantic_search({ query: "authentication logic" });
-
-// Filter by complexity
-const complexFunctions = results.filter(r => (r.metadata.complexity || 0) > 5);
-```
-
-**Identify methods in a class:**
-```typescript
-// Get file context
-const context = await get_file_context({ filepath: "src/auth/AuthService.ts" });
-
-// Find all methods
-const methods = context.results.filter(r => r.metadata.symbolType === 'method');
-```
-
-**List functions with specific parameters:**
-```typescript
-const functions = await list_functions({ pattern: ".*validate.*", language: "typescript" });
-
-// Filter by parameter count
-const simpleValidators = functions.filter(r => (r.metadata.parameters?.length || 0) <= 2);
-```
-
-### AST Support
-
-**Currently supported:**
-- ✅ TypeScript (`.ts`, `.tsx`)
-- ✅ JavaScript (`.js`, `.jsx`, `.mjs`, `.cjs`)
-
-**Coming soon:**
-- 🔜 Python, Go, Rust, Java, PHP, and more
-
-**Fallback behavior:**
-- For unsupported languages, Lien automatically falls back to line-based chunking
-- No disruption to existing workflows
-
-### Known Limitations
-
-**Very large files (1000+ lines):**
-- Tree-sitter may fail with "Invalid argument" error on extremely large files
-- When this occurs, Lien automatically falls back to line-based chunking
-- This is a known Tree-sitter limitation with very large syntax trees
-- Fallback behavior is configurable via `astFallback` setting
-
-**Resilient parsing:**
-- Tree-sitter is designed to produce best-effort ASTs even for invalid syntax
-- Parse errors are rare; most malformed code still produces usable chunks
-- The `astFallback: 'error'` option mainly catches edge cases like large file errors
-
-### Configuration
+REQUIRED sequence:
+1. `semantic_search` → find relevant files
+2. `get_file_context` → understand the file + check `testAssociations`
+3. Make changes
+4. Remind user to run affected tests
 
-Control AST behavior in `.lien.config.json`:
+## Tool Reference
 
-```json
-{
-  "chunking": {
-    "useAST": true,              // Enable AST-based chunking (default: true)
-    "astFallback": "line-based"  // Fallback strategy: 'line-based' | 'error'
-  }
-}
-```
-
----
-
-## Input Validation & Error Handling
-
-Lien uses Zod schemas for runtime type-safe validation of all tool inputs. This provides:
-- **Automatic validation** of all parameters before tool execution
-- **Rich error messages** with field-level feedback
-- **Type safety** with full TypeScript inference
-- **Consistent error structure** across all tools
-
-### Understanding Validation Errors
-
-When you provide invalid parameters, you'll receive a structured error response:
-
-```json
-{
-  "error": "Invalid parameters",
-  "code": "INVALID_INPUT",
-  "details": [
-    {
-      "field": "query",
-      "message": "Query must be at least 3 characters"
-    },
-    {
-      "field": "limit",
-      "message": "Limit cannot exceed 50"
-    }
-  ]
-}
-```
-
-### Common Validation Rules
-
-**semantic_search:**
-- `query`: 3-500 characters (required)
-- `limit`: 1-50 (default: 5)
-
-**find_similar:**
-- `code`: minimum 10 characters (required)
-- `limit`: 1-20 (default: 5)
-
-**get_file_context:**
-- `filepath`: cannot be empty (required)
-- `includeRelated`: boolean (default: true)
+**`semantic_search({ query: "what the code does", limit: 5 })`**
+- Use natural language: "handles authentication", "validates email"
+- NOT function names (use grep for exact names)
+- Returns relevance category: `highly_relevant`, `relevant`, `loosely_related`, `not_relevant`
 
-**list_functions:**
-- `pattern`: optional regex string
-- `language`: optional language filter
+**`get_file_context({ filepath: "path/to/file.ts" })`**
+- MANDATORY before editing any file
+- Returns `testAssociations`: which tests cover this file
+- Shows file dependencies and relationships
 
-### Error Codes
+**`list_functions({ pattern: ".*Controller.*" })`**
+- Fast symbol lookup by naming pattern
+- Use for structural queries: "show all services", "find handlers"
+- 10x faster than semantic_search for name-based lookups
 
-Lien uses structured error codes for programmatic error handling:
+**`find_similar({ code: "snippet to match" })`**
+- Find similar implementations for consistency
+- Use when refactoring or detecting duplication
 
-- `INVALID_INPUT` - Parameter validation failed
-- `FILE_NOT_FOUND` - Requested file doesn't exist in index
-- `INDEX_NOT_FOUND` - No index found (run `lien index`)
-- `INDEX_CORRUPTED` - Index is corrupted (run `lien reindex`)
-- `EMBEDDING_GENERATION_FAILED` - Embedding model failed (retryable)
-- `INTERNAL_ERROR` - Unexpected internal error
+## Test Associations
 
-### Best Practices
+`get_file_context` returns `testAssociations` showing which tests cover the file.
+ALWAYS check this before modifying source code.
+After changes, remind the user: "This file is covered by [test files] - run these to verify."
 
-1. **Always provide required fields**: Check tool schemas for required parameters
-2. **Respect validation limits**: Don't exceed max values for `limit` parameters
-3. **Use descriptive queries**: Avoid very short or vague queries
-4. **Handle validation errors gracefully**: Parse error details to understand what went wrong
+## Workflow Patterns
 
----
-
-## Workflow Patterns (FOLLOW THESE)
-
-### Pattern 1: User Asks "Where is X?"
+### Pattern 1: "Where is X?" / "How does X work?"
 ```
-1. semantic_search({ query: "X functionality" })
-2. Review results, identify file(s)
+1. semantic_search({ query: "X implementation" })
+2. Review results (check relevance scores)
 3. get_file_context({ filepath: "identified/file.ts" })
-4. Answer with specific information
+4. Answer with specific code locations
 ```
 
-### Pattern 2: User Asks to Edit/Change Code
+### Pattern 2: Edit or Change Code
 ```
 1. semantic_search({ query: "area being modified" })
 2. get_file_context({ filepath: "target/file.ts" })
-3. find_similar({ code: "existing pattern" }) // if ensuring consistency
-4. Make changes with full context
-```
-
-### Pattern 3: User Asks "How Does X Work?"
-```
-1. semantic_search({ query: "X implementation", limit: 10 })
-2. Review top results
-3. get_file_context for key files
-4. Explain with references to actual code locations
-```
-
-### Pattern 4: Debugging or Understanding Error
-```
-1. semantic_search({ query: "error handling for [area]" })
-2. semantic_search({ query: "[specific error type] handling" })
-3. get_file_context for relevant files
-4. Provide analysis
-```
-
-### Pattern 5: Modifying Source Code (Test-Aware)
-```
-1. semantic_search({ query: "functionality being modified" })
-2. get_file_context({ filepath: "target/file.ts" })
-3. Check testAssociations in response to see which tests cover this code
+3. Check testAssociations in response
 4. Make changes
-5. Remind user to run the associated tests
+5. Tell user which tests to run
 ```
 
-### Pattern 6: Understanding Test Coverage
-```
-1. get_file_context({ filepath: "src/component.ts" })
-2. Review testAssociations field in response
-3. Use get_file_context for each test file to understand coverage
-4. Analyze and suggest improvements
-```
-
-### Pattern 7: Finding All Classes/Functions by Name Pattern ⚡ NEW
-```
-1. list_functions({ pattern: ".*Controller.*", language: "php" })
-2. Review the list of matching classes
-3. Use get_file_context on specific files for deeper investigation
-4. Answer user's structural/architectural questions
-```
-
-**Example queries:**
-- "Show me all Controllers" → `list_functions({ pattern: ".*Controller.*" })`
-- "What Services exist?" → `list_functions({ pattern: ".*Service.*" })`
-- "Find all API handlers" → `list_functions({ pattern: "handle.*" })`
-
----
-
-## Decision Tree: Lien vs Other Tools
-
-### Use `semantic_search` when:
-✅ User asks about functionality, features, or "how X works"
-✅ You need to understand what code exists before editing
-✅ Looking for patterns, implementations, handlers, validators, etc.
-✅ Exploring unfamiliar parts of codebase
-✅ Searching by what code **does** (behavior, functionality)
-
-### Use `list_functions` when: ⚡ NEW
-✅ User asks "show me all Controllers" or similar structural queries
-✅ Looking for classes/functions matching a **naming pattern**
-✅ Getting architectural overview (all Services, all Handlers, etc.)
-✅ Searching by what code is **named** (symbol names, not behavior)
-✅ Need fast results for known naming conventions
-
-### Use `grep` when:
-✅ User provides exact function/variable name to find
-✅ Looking for specific string literals or imports
-✅ Finding all occurrences of exact text
-
-### Use `get_file_context` when:
-✅ You identified a file via search and need to understand it
-✅ About to edit a file (MANDATORY)
-✅ Need to understand file relationships and dependencies
+## Query Construction
 
-### Use `find_similar` when:
-✅ Refactoring multiple similar pieces of code
-✅ Ensuring new code matches existing patterns
-✅ Finding duplicated logic
-
-### Check test associations when:
-✅ Before modifying any source file (use `get_file_context` to see testAssociations)
-✅ User asks "what tests cover this?" (use `semantic_search` and check metadata)
-✅ Understanding what a test file is testing (use `get_file_context` on the test file)
-✅ Working on bug fixes (search results include test metadata)
-
----
-
-## Query Construction Guide
-
-### Good Semantic Queries (DO THIS):
+### Good Queries (DO THIS)
 - "handles user authentication"
-- "validates email addresses" 
+- "validates email addresses"
 - "processes payment transactions"
-- "parses JSON responses"
-- "middleware for authorization"
 - "React components with form state"
-- "database migration scripts"
 - "API endpoints for user data"
 
-### Bad Queries (DON'T DO THIS):
+### Bad Queries (DON'T DO THIS)
 - "auth" (too vague)
 - "validateEmail" (use grep for exact names)
-- "line 234" (Lien doesn't work with line numbers)
 - "code" (way too generic)
 
-### Query Formula:
-`[action verb] + [domain object] + [optional context]`
-- "handles authentication for API requests"
-- "validates user input in forms"
-- "caches API responses from external services"
+**Formula:** `[action verb] + [domain object] + [optional context]`
 
----
+## AST Metadata
 
-## Performance Notes
+Results include rich metadata: `symbolName`, `symbolType`, `complexity`, `parameters`, `signature`.
 
-- First query loads embeddings (~1-2s), subsequent queries are fast (<500ms)
-- Increase `limit` to 10-15 for broad exploration
-- Results are ranked by semantic relevance (trust the ranking)
-- User can re-index with `lien reindex` if results seem stale
-- **Relevance categories**: All search results include a `relevance` field (`highly_relevant`, `relevant`, `loosely_related`, `not_relevant`) to help interpret search quality at a glance
-- **Test associations**: Lien automatically detects test-source relationships across 12 languages using convention-based patterns and import analysis
+Use for filtering:
+- Complex functions: `results.filter(r => r.metadata.complexity > 5)`
+- Methods only: `results.filter(r => r.metadata.symbolType === 'method')`
 
----
+## When to Use grep Instead
 
-## Key Principles
+ONLY use grep/ripgrep when:
+- User provides an exact string/function name to find
+- Looking for specific imports or string literals
+- Semantic search returned no results
 
-1. **Search First, Read Second**: Use Lien before reading files blindly
-2. **Semantic Over Syntactic**: Think about what code *does*, not what it's *named*
-3. **Context Before Changes**: Always get file context before editing
-4. **Test-Aware Development**: Check testAssociations in results to understand test coverage
-5. **Trust the Results**: Semantic search finds relevant code even with different naming. Use the `relevance` field (`highly_relevant`, `relevant`, `loosely_related`, `not_relevant`) to quickly assess result quality
-6. **Chain Your Tools**: semantic_search → get_file_context (includes testAssociations) → make changes is a powerful pattern
+For everything else: **Lien first.**
 
 ---
 
-## Setup Instructions
-
-Create a `lien.mdc` file in your `.cursor/rules/` directory:
-
-```bash
-# From your project directory
-mkdir -p .cursor/rules
-cp /path/to/lien/CURSOR_RULES_TEMPLATE.md .cursor/rules/lien.mdc
-```
-
-The `alwaysApply: true` frontmatter ensures Cursor uses Lien for all files in your project.
-
-This approach allows you to have multiple rule files in `.cursor/rules/` without conflicts.
-
+REMINDER: semantic_search and get_file_context FIRST. grep is the fallback, not the default.

package/README.md

@@ -72,7 +72,15 @@ Contributions welcome! See **[CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md)** for guidelin
 
 ## License
 
-MIT © [Alf Henderson](https://github.com/alfhen)
+AGPL-3.0 © [Alf Henderson](https://github.com/alfhen)
+
+**Lien is free forever for local use.** The AGPL license ensures that:
+- ✅ You can use Lien locally without restrictions
+- ✅ You can modify and distribute Lien freely
+- ✅ Improvements get contributed back to the community
+- ✅ We can sustain long-term development
+
+For questions about licensing, contact us at alf@lien.dev
 
 ---