# Examples
Real-world examples and use cases for Tree-Sitter MCP.
## Code Exploration
### Understanding a New Codebase
**Scenario:** You've joined a team and need to understand their TypeScript React application.
```bash
# Find main entry points
tree-sitter-mcp search "main" --type function
tree-sitter-mcp search "App" --type class function
# Discover React components
tree-sitter-mcp search "Component" --type class function --path-pattern "**/*.{tsx,jsx}"
# Find API endpoints
tree-sitter-mcp search "api" --type function --path-pattern "**/api/**"
# Understand routing
tree-sitter-mcp search "Route" --type function class
```
### Finding Code Patterns
**Scenario:** You want to find all authentication-related code.
```bash
# Search for auth functions
tree-sitter-mcp search "auth" --type function method
# Find authentication classes
tree-sitter-mcp search "Auth" --type class interface
# Search for JWT usage
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "jwt" --case-sensitive
# Find middleware functions
tree-sitter-mcp search "middleware" --type function
```
## Refactoring
### Safe Function Renaming
**Scenario:** You want to rename `getUserData` to `fetchUserProfile`.
```bash
# First, find the function definition
tree-sitter-mcp search "getUserData" --exact --type function
# Find all usages to understand impact
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "getUserData" --exact
# Generate impact report
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "getUserData" --exact --output markdown > refactor-impact.md
```
### Class Extraction
**Scenario:** A class has grown too large and needs to be split.
```bash
# Analyze the large class
tree-sitter-mcp analyze src/services/UserService.ts --analysis-types quality
# Find all methods in the class
tree-sitter-mcp search "" --type method --path-pattern "**/UserService.ts"
# Find external dependencies
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "UserService" --exact
```
## Code Quality
### Quality Audit
**Scenario:** Conducting a code quality review before a major release.
```bash
# Full quality analysis
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types quality structure deadcode
# Generate quality report
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types quality structure deadcode --output markdown > quality-audit.md
```
**Note on Quality Scores:** The `codeQualityScore` measures complexity, not project value. Target 5-7 for most projects, 3-5 for large/complex codebases. Scores of 8+ may indicate over-abstraction. No project should aim for a perfect 10.
### Dead Code Cleanup
**Scenario:** Preparing to remove unused code before a release.
```bash
# Find all dead code
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types deadcode
# Check specific directory
tree-sitter-mcp analyze src/utils --analysis-types deadcode
```
## API Development
### Finding API Endpoints
**Scenario:** Documenting all REST API endpoints in an Express.js application.
```bash
# Find route definitions
tree-sitter-mcp search "router\." --path-pattern "**/routes/**"
tree-sitter-mcp search "app\.(get|post|put|delete)" --path-pattern "**/*.js"
# Find middleware functions
tree-sitter-mcp search "middleware" --type function
# Find controller methods
tree-sitter-mcp search "Controller" --type class
tree-sitter-mcp search "" --type method --path-pattern "**/controllers/**"
```
### Database Schema Analysis
**Scenario:** Understanding database models in a Node.js application.
```bash
# Find model definitions
tree-sitter-mcp search "Schema" --type variable class
tree-sitter-mcp search "model" --type function --path-pattern "**/models/**"
# Find database queries
tree-sitter-mcp search "query" --type method function
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "findOne"
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "aggregate"
```
## Testing
### Test Coverage Analysis
**Scenario:** Ensuring all critical functions have tests.
```bash
# Find all test files
tree-sitter-mcp search "test" --path-pattern "**/*.{test,spec}.{js,ts}"
# Find functions that might need tests
tree-sitter-mcp search "" --type function --path-pattern "src/**" | grep -v test
# Find mock usage
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "mock"
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "jest"
```
### Finding Test Patterns
**Scenario:** Understanding testing patterns in a codebase.
```bash
# Find test suites
tree-sitter-mcp search "describe" --type function
tree-sitter-mcp search "it" --type function
# Find setup/teardown patterns
tree-sitter-mcp search "beforeEach" --type function
tree-sitter-mcp search "afterEach" --type function
# Find assertion patterns
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "expect"
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "assert"
```
## Architecture Analysis
### Dependency Mapping
**Scenario:** Understanding the dependency structure of a microservices project.
```bash
# Find service definitions
tree-sitter-mcp search "Service" --type class interface
# Find import patterns
tree-sitter-mcp search "import" --path-pattern "**/*.ts"
# Analyze circular dependencies
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --structure
```
### Design Pattern Detection
**Scenario:** Identifying design patterns in a codebase.
```bash
# Find Factory patterns
tree-sitter-mcp search "Factory" --type class function
tree-sitter-mcp search "create" --type function
# Find Observer patterns
tree-sitter-mcp search "Observer" --type class interface
tree-sitter-mcp search "subscribe" --type method
# Find Singleton patterns
tree-sitter-mcp search "getInstance" --type method
tree-sitter-mcp search "singleton" --type class
```
## CI/CD Integration
### Quality Gates
**Scenario:** Adding code quality checks to your CI pipeline.
```bash
#!/bin/bash
# quality-check.sh
echo "Running code quality analysis..."
# Check for critical issues
critical_issues=$(tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types quality --output json | jq '.summary.criticalFindings')
if [ "$critical_issues" -gt 0 ]; then
echo "ERROR: Critical quality issues found:"
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types quality --output text
exit 1
fi
# Check for dead code
dead_code=$(tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types deadcode --output json | jq '.findings | length')
if [ "$dead_code" -gt 10 ]; then
echo "WARNING: Significant dead code detected:"
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types deadcode --output text
echo "Consider cleanup before merge"
fi
echo "SUCCESS: Quality checks passed"
```
### Documentation Generation
**Scenario:** Automatically generating API documentation.
```bash
#!/bin/bash
# generate-docs.sh
echo "Generating API documentation..."
# Find all exported functions
tree-sitter-mcp search "" --type function --output json | \
jq -r '.results[] | select(.path | contains("src/api/")) | .name' | \
sort | uniq > api-functions.txt
# Find all interfaces (TypeScript)
tree-sitter-mcp search "" --type interface --output json | \
jq -r '.results[] | .name' | \
sort | uniq > api-interfaces.txt
echo "Found $(wc -l < api-functions.txt) API functions"
echo "Found $(wc -l < api-interfaces.txt) interfaces"
```
## MCP Usage with Claude
### Code Review Assistant
**Conversation example:**
```
You: "Review the authentication module for security issues"
Claude: I'll analyze the authentication code for potential security issues.
[Uses search_code to find auth-related functions]
[Uses analyze_code on authentication modules]
[Uses find_usage to trace authentication flows]
Found several areas to review:
1. Password handling in src/auth/password.ts
2. JWT token validation in src/auth/jwt.ts
3. Session management in src/auth/session.ts
Key findings:
- Password hashing appears secure (bcrypt usage)
- JWT secret should be environment variable
- Session timeout needs configuration
```
### Architecture Documentation
**Conversation example:**
```
You: "Help me document the payment processing architecture"
Claude: I'll map out the payment processing architecture for you.
[Uses search_code to find payment-related classes]
[Uses find_usage to trace payment flows]
[Uses analyze_code to understand structure]
Payment Architecture:
1. PaymentController - Handles HTTP requests
2. PaymentService - Business logic layer
3. PaymentProcessor - External API integration
4. PaymentModel - Database representation
The flow follows: Controller → Service → Processor → External APIs
```
## Performance Optimization
### Finding Performance Bottlenecks
**Scenario:** Identifying potentially slow functions.
```bash
# Find long functions that might be slow
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types quality --output text | grep "long_method"
# Find complex functions
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types quality --output text | grep "high_complexity"
# Find functions with many parameters (potential over-engineering)
tree-sitter-mcp analyze --analysis-types quality --output text | grep "too_many_parameters"
```
### Database Query Analysis
**Scenario:** Finding potentially expensive database operations.
```bash
# Find all database queries
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "query"
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "findAll"
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "aggregate"
# Find N+1 query patterns
tree-sitter-mcp search "forEach" --type method
tree-sitter-mcp search "map" --type method
# Look for missing indexes hints
tree-sitter-mcp find-usage "index"
tree-sitter-mcp search "createIndex" --type function
```
