Smart Explore (Structural Code Search)

What it does

Instead of reading whole files, this skill makes Claude follow a 3-layer AST-based workflow:

1. smart_search — walks a directory, returns ranked symbols (functions/classes/methods) with line numbers plus folded file views (~2–6k tokens)
2. smart_outline — the structural skeleton of one file: functions, classes, properties, imports (~1–2k tokens)
3. smart_unfold — the full source of a single symbol, including JSDoc and decorators (~0.4–2.1k tokens)

One search call replaces the Glob → Grep → Read discovery loop, and because slices follow AST node boundaries, long methods are never truncated. The doc includes a token table claiming 4–8x savings vs Read and 11–18x vs an Explore agent.

JS/TS/TSX, Python, Go, Rust, Ruby, Java and C/C++ grammars ship bundled; extra tree-sitter grammars (e.g. Solidity) can be registered in .claude-mem.json. Markdown gets special treatment: heading-based outlines, section unfolds, and visible YAML frontmatter.

Who it's for

• Developers working in large repos who keep hitting context limits
• Anyone who needs to locate a feature scattered across many files before refactoring or debugging
• Teams trying to cut real token spend
• Tech writers producing docs or onboarding guides from source

Examples

• Trace a feature: smart_search(query="shutdown", path="./src") surfaces 14 symbols across 7 files, then unfold only performGracefulShutdown to read the core logic.
• Navigate a huge file: outline worker-service.ts (1,466 tokens → 12 functions, 24 class members), then unfold just startSessionProcessor — ~3k tokens total instead of ~12k for a full Read.
• Hybrid doc writing: use smart_* tools for code, plain Read for small JSON/Markdown config and plan files, then draft architecture docs.

Note: the skill itself tells you to fall back to Grep for exact string/regex hunts, Read for files under ~100 lines, and the Explore agent when you need narrative synthesis across 6+ files.

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the plugin/skills/smart-explore folder from the GitHub repo thedotmack/claude-mem into my ~/.claude/skills/smart-explore/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.