Ask questions about any codebase and get intelligent answers. No RAG, no vector databases - just smart context optimization that feeds the right code to AI models for accurate responses.
- No vector databases - No need to maintain embeddings or indices
- No preprocessing - Ask questions on any codebase immediately
- No stale data - Always analyzes your current code, not cached representations
- No embedding costs - Efficient search without expensive vector operations
- Intelligent file ranking - Prioritizes source files, core modules, and relevant matches
- Smart content extraction - Preserves function boundaries and class structures
- Context window maximization - Fits 900K+ characters of the most relevant code
- Progressive analysis - Builds context incrementally for optimal AI understanding
- Multi-strategy search - Combines text search, symbol lookup, and dependency analysis
- Relevance scoring - Advanced algorithm considers file importance, match quality, and code structure
- Language-aware parsing - Tree-sitter integration for precise Python and Java syntax understanding
- Relationship mapping - Understands how code components connect and interact
Question → Keywords → Multi-Search → Syntax Parse → Semantic Analysis → Relevance Score → Context Optimize → AI
- Extract Keywords - Identify relevant terms from your question
- Multi-Strategy Search - Find code using text search, symbol lookup, and file discovery
- Parse Syntax - Use Tree-sitter for precise code structure understanding
- Semantic Analysis - Map dependencies, imports, and code relationships
- Score Relevance - Rank files by importance, match quality, and code relationships
- Optimize Context - Fit the most relevant code within AI token limits
- Generate Answer - Feed optimized context to Gemini for accurate responses
Instead of vector embeddings, we use intelligent ranking:
- File importance - Source files > config files > documentation
- Match quality - Keyword density, function/class boundaries, import relationships
- Code structure - Preserve complete functions, avoid truncating mid-scope
- Progressive inclusion - Add files by relevance until context limit reached
# Install with pipx (recommended)
pip install pipx
pipx install git+https://github.com/kunaldeo/code-qna.git
# Set your API credentials# Option 1: Gemini Developer APIexport GEMINI_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"# Option 2: Vertex AIexport GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=true
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT="your-project-id"export GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION="us-central1"# Ask a question about your codebase
code-qna "How does user authentication work?"# Start interactive mode for multi-turn conversations
code-qna -i
# Analyze a specific directory with debug info
code-qna -p /path/to/project -d "What are the main API endpoints?"# Enable debug mode for detailed analysis
code-qna -d "Explain the database schema"code-qna [OPTIONS] [QUESTION]
Options:
-p, --path PATH Path to analyze (default: current directory)
-i, --interactive Start interactive mode with chat history
-d, --debug Show detailed debug information and analysis
--config Show current configuration and settings
--help Show help message and exitCopy .env.sample to .env and customize your settings:
# API Credentials (choose one option)# Option 1: Gemini Developer API
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here # Your Gemini API key from Google AI Studio# or GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here # Alternative environment variable# Option 2: Vertex AI# GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=true # Use Vertex AI instead of Developer API# GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=your-project-id # Your Google Cloud Project ID# GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=us-central1 # Vertex AI location# AI Model Settings
CODE_QNA_MODEL=gemini-2.0-flash-001 # AI model to use (gemini-2.0-flash-001, gemini-1.5-pro, etc.)
CODE_QNA_TEMPERATURE=0.3 # Model temperature (0.0-2.0): Lower = focused, Higher = creative
CODE_QNA_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS=4000 # Maximum tokens in AI response (1-8192)
CODE_QNA_STREAM=false # Enable streaming responses (true/false)# CODE_QNA_API_VERSION=v1 # API version (optional: v1, v1alpha)# Thinking Mode Settings (for Gemini 2.5 series models)
CODE_QNA_ENABLE_THINKING=false # Enable thinking mode for complex reasoning tasks (true/false)
CODE_QNA_THINKING_BUDGET=1024 # Thinking token budget (128-32768 for Pro, 0-24576 for Flash)
CODE_QNA_INCLUDE_THOUGHTS=false # Include thought summaries in responses (true/false)# Context Optimization
CODE_QNA_MAX_CONTEXT=900000 # Maximum context size in characters (100000-2000000)
CONTEXT_BUFFER_PERCENTAGE=0.9 # Buffer percentage for low priority files (0.1-1.0)
MAX_SEARCH_RESULTS=100 # Maximum total search results to process (50-500)
MAX_RELATED_FILES=10 # Maximum related files via imports (5-50)
MAX_FILE_SIZE_MB=1.0 # Maximum file size in MB to analyze (0.1-10.0)# Search Settings
SEARCH__MAX_RESULTS_PER_KEYWORD=50 # Maximum results per keyword search (10-200)
SEARCH__MAX_CONTEXT_LINES=15 # Lines of context around search matches (5-50)
SEARCH__ENABLE_FUZZY_SEARCH=true # Enable fuzzy/approximate matching (true/false)
SEARCH__CASE_SENSITIVE=false # Case sensitive search (true/false)
SEARCH__SEARCH_TIMEOUT=30 # Search timeout in seconds (10-120)
ENABLE_SEMANTIC_ANALYSIS=false # Enable semantic code analysis (slower but more thorough)# UI Settings
CODE_QNA_DEBUG=false # Show debug information (true/false)
UI__SHOW_FILE_PATHS=true # Show file paths in output (true/false)
UI__USE_COLORS=true # Use colors in terminal output (true/false)
UI__MAX_DISPLAY_FILES=10 # Maximum files to display in results (5-50)Create .env in your project root or ~/.config/code-qna/.env for global settings.
View current configuration: code-qna --config
Enable advanced reasoning capabilities for complex code analysis tasks:
# Enable thinking mode for complex reasoningexport CODE_QNA_ENABLE_THINKING=true
# Set thinking budget for detailed analysis (higher = more thorough)export CODE_QNA_THINKING_BUDGET=2048
# Include thought summaries in responses to see reasoning processexport CODE_QNA_INCLUDE_THOUGHTS=true
# Use a 2.5 series model that supports thinkingexport CODE_QNA_MODEL=gemini-2.5-flash-preview-06-05Thinking Budget Guidelines:
- Gemini 2.5 Pro: 128-32768 tokens (minimum 128, cannot be disabled)
- Gemini 2.5 Flash: 0-24576 tokens (set to 0 to disable thinking)
- Higher budgets = more detailed reasoning for complex tasks
- Lower budgets = faster responses for simpler questions
Best Use Cases for Thinking Mode:
- Complex architectural analysis and design questions
- Multi-step debugging and troubleshooting
- Performance optimization recommendations
- Security vulnerability analysis
- Advanced refactoring suggestions
Automatically adapts to Python and Java projects by detecting manifest files (setup.py, pyproject.toml, pom.xml, build.gradle).
export CODE_QNA_ENABLE_SEMANTIC_ANALYSIS=true- Dependency mapping - Build NetworkX graphs of code relationships
- Function call tracing - Trace execution paths across files
- Impact analysis - Find code affected by changes
- Concurrent processing - Multi-threaded search operations
- Intelligent caching - SHA256-keyed storage with file timestamp validation
- Memory optimization - Efficient processing of large codebases
# Code Understanding
code-qna "How does user authentication work in this codebase?"
code-qna "What are all the REST API endpoints and what do they do?"# Code Analysis & Reviews
code-qna "Are there any potential security vulnerabilities in the auth code?"
code-qna "What parts of the code might have performance bottlenecks?"# Development & Debugging
code-qna "Show me all functions that process user payments"
code-qna "How does user data flow from the frontend to the database?"
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