using-glean-code

Search and analyze internal source code across the user's organization's repositories. Use when the user asks how something is implemented, where the code for a system lives, who has been working on a codebase, or wants to find similar patterns across teams — i.e., questions that need visibility beyond the local working directory.

1.41x

Quality

82%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

92%

1.41x

Average score across 3 eval scenarios

Securityby

Advisory

Suggest reviewing before use

Using Glean for Code Exploration

Glean indexes source code across the user's organization's connected repositories. Local tools (Grep, Glob, Read) see only the current repo; this skill is for everything else.

When to reach for this

Finding the system — "Where does our payments code live?"
Finding the patterns — "How do other teams handle rate limiting?"
Finding the people — combining code authorship with employee_search reveals real owners (not just titled ones)
Prior art before designing — see reference/plan-prep.md for the research-before-plan workflow

The tool you'll mostly use

This skill drives the code_search MCP tool. For full param shape, inline filter syntax, and pitfalls (quoting names, the app: filter not applying, recency caveats), read using-glean/reference/code-search.md in the glean-core plugin. That's the canonical reference; this skill carries the workflow on top.

For this skill's own workflow patterns, see:

reference/exploration.md — exploring an unfamiliar system across repos: what to search for, what to filter, what to present
reference/plan-prep.md — gathering enterprise context before entering plan mode for architectural / strategic work

Vetting

Not every match is worth surfacing. Code in legacy/, deprecated/, archive/, abandoned repos, or files with extensive TODO/FIXME comments will mislead the user. Apply the criteria in using-glean/reference/vetting.md and prefer 3 high-quality matches over 10 unfiltered ones.

Output expectations

When presenting code findings:

Cite each file with its full URL so the user can open it directly
Note last-update date when a result depends on currency (active patterns vs. archaeological digs)
Group by repo when results span many repos — it shows the user the shape of the answer
Flag drift when implementations disagree across teams — don't pretend consensus exists if it doesn't

Related commands

/glean-code:codebase-context <system> — structured architecture rundown for an unfamiliar system
/glean-code:similar-code <pattern> — find similar implementations
/glean-code:find-examples <api> — usage examples
/glean-code:code-owners <component> — maintainers and contributors
/glean-code:plan-prep <task> — the workflow described in reference/plan-prep.md

Repository: gleanwork/claude-plugins
Commit: 39a5c99

Last updated: 2 days ago
Created: 2 days ago

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