Codebase Navigator - /chippery-orient

Use this when you don't know where to look. Instead of grepping blindly or reading random files, orient gives you a ranked list of relevant files based on semantic understanding.

Usage

bash

MODE=$(cat ~/.chippery/mode 2>/dev/null || echo "balanced")
CONFIG=$(~/.chippery/bin/chippery-license config "$MODE" 2>/dev/null)
FILE_LIMIT=$(echo "$CONFIG" | grep -o '"ownershipOutputFiles":[0-9]*' | grep -o '[0-9]*' || echo "5")
~/.chippery/bin/chippery-navigator query "$(pwd)" "$ARGUMENTS" --mode "$MODE" | jq --argjson limit "$FILE_LIMIT" '{query: .query, concept: .concept, files: ((.ranked // [])[:$limit] | map({path: .path, reason: .reason})), fileCount: ((.ranked // []) | length)} | del(.[] | nulls)'

When to Use Orient

Situation	Instead of...	Use
"Where is auth handled?"	`grep -r "auth"` (hundreds of matches)	`/chippery-orient auth`
"Find the payment flow"	Reading random files hoping to find it	`/chippery-orient payments`
"How does caching work?"	`grep "cache"` and wading through noise	`/chippery-orient caching`
"Where are API routes?"	Guessing directory names	`/chippery-orient "api routes"`
New to a codebase	Reading files at random	`/chippery-orient "entry points"`

Examples

bash

# Find authentication/authorization code
/chippery-orient auth

# Find database models and queries
/chippery-orient "database models"

# Find API endpoint definitions
/chippery-orient "api routes"

# Rich queries - combine multiple concepts
/chippery-orient "oauth shopify etsy"        # OAuth for specific integrations
/chippery-orient "webhook stripe payment"    # Stripe webhook handlers
/chippery-orient "sync inventory amazon"     # Amazon inventory sync

Rich Queries

Orient supports multi-term queries to narrow your search:

bash

# Find specific integration points:
/chippery-orient "oauth shopify etsy"
/chippery-orient "api marketplace ebay"
/chippery-orient "webhook notification slack"

This finds files where these concepts intersect, not just files containing any single term.

What It Returns

A compact JSON with:

•query - Your search query
•concept - Detected concept category (auth, database, api, etc.)
•files - Top ranked files with WHY each is relevant
•fileCount - Total matches found
•relatedFiles - Secondary files via import graph (if any)

Output is automatically limited based on your token mode (balanced=5 files, balanced-pro=4, frugal=3).

Workflow: Orient → Func

•Orient first - /chippery-orient auth → finds AuthController.php
•Then func - /chippery-func AuthController.login → Get source + callers + callees

This is faster and uses fewer tokens than reading multiple files.

Tips

•Use natural language: "user signup flow", "payment processing"
•Start broad, then narrow: /chippery-orient auth → /chippery-orient "oauth flow"
•Combine with func: Orient finds the files, func dives into specific methods