atlas_search
Search code and documents using semantic hybrid search. Locate symbols or concepts by natural language or exact queries, returning metadata to identify exact lines before reading full content.
Instructions
Search code AND documents in the project's local index — your FIRST tool to find, explore or investigate anything here, before broad file reads or grep.
Runs a semantic hybrid search (vector + BM25, fused via RRF) over pre-indexed chunks
of source code (classes/functions/methods) and documents (Markdown, text, JSON/YAML/
TOML). Pass natural language or exact symbols. For a structural overview instead, use
atlas_map.
Token-efficient two-pass pattern: by default this returns metadata only (file_path,
lines, symbol, type, score). Locate first, then read the exact lines with Read, or
re-call with include_content=true for the few results whose content you actually need.
Call directly — do NOT call atlas_status first "just to check". If the index does
not exist yet, this raises an actionable error explaining how to build it (see
atlas_index).
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| repo | No | Optional repository name filter. | |
| limit | No | Alias for 'top_k'; overrides it when provided. | |
| query | Yes | Natural language description or exact symbols to find. | |
| top_k | No | Max results, 1-50. Defaults to 5. | |
| language | No | Optional language filter (e.g. 'python', 'javascript', 'go'). | |
| path_prefix | No | Optional path prefix filter (e.g. 'src/controllers'). | |
| include_content | No | When true, includes each result's 'content'. Defaults to false (metadata/location only) to save tokens. |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| result | Yes |