Ask better graph questions

Start with a specific subsystem or concept, then narrow your investigation. A compact query is usually more useful to an assistant than the whole architecture report.

Gather context with query

graphify query "authentication and session storage" --budget 1500

query finds relevant starting nodes and traverses their relationships. Breadth-first traversal gathers a broader neighborhood. --dfs follows a deeper chain:

graphify query "request validation" --dfs --budget 1500

Inspect one concept with explain

Take a label or node ID from the query results:

graphify explain "normalize_email"

Look at its source, community, and incoming and outgoing relationships. Inspect the source itself when a precise implementation detail matters.

Trace a relationship with path

graphify path "login" "normalize_email"

This uses the tutorial’s example project. In your project, replace the labels with real nodes. Stored direction is respected; add --undirected when you want connectivity rather than a directional path.

Ask the assistant to preserve uncertainty

Use Graphify to trace how a request reaches persistence. Show the path and source references. Flag inferred or ambiguous edges, and tell me if the graph is missing evidence.

The tool supplies context, and the assistant interprets it. Ask for evidence and avoid treating an absent path as proof that two systems are independent.

Run it on a real repository

These examples come from a code-only graph of the open-source httpx repository, built with Graphify Local 0.9.97. Your counts will differ.

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/encode/httpx && cd httpx
graphify extract . --code-only
graphify query "how does the client send a request" --budget 600

Graph: graphify-out/graph.json (1883 nodes) | Traversal: BFS depth=2 | Start: ['Send', 'send()', 'Client', 'Request'] | 550 nodes found

[!] TRUNCATED: showing 26 of 550 nodes (~600-token budget). ... raise the token budget to 14777 to get all 550 (CLI: --budget 14777, MCP: token_budget=14777) or narrow the query

NODE Client [src=httpx/_client.py loc=L594 community=Community 21]
NODE Request [src=httpx/_models.py loc=L382 community=Community 14]
NODE BaseClient [src=httpx/_client.py loc=L188 community=Community 5]

The header tells you where the traversal started and how much it found. When the output is truncated, Graphify prints the exact budget that would return everything. Raise --budget, or narrow the question. To start from a node you already know, pass --seed. To follow only one kind of edge, pass --context:

graphify query "what raises timeouts" --seed "TimeoutException" --budget 300
graphify query "who calls send" --context calls

path and explain show the confidence of each edge:

$ graphify path "Client" "HTTPTransport"
Shortest path (1 hops):
  Client --uses [INFERRED]--> HTTPTransport

Flags

Flag	Applies to	What it does
`--budget N`	`query`	Caps output at N tokens. The default is 2000.
`--dfs`	`query`	Uses depth-first traversal instead of breadth-first.
`--seed X`	`query`	Starts at node X (an ID, label or file path). You can repeat it.
`--context C`	`query`	Filters edges by context. You can repeat it.
`--all`	`explain`	Lists every connection, not just the 20 most connected.
`--directed` / `--undirected`	`path`	Directed is the default. Undirected ignores edge direction.
`--graph PATH`	all three	Reads a different `graph.json`.

Exit codes and troubleshooting

query, path and explain exit with 0 when they return an answer, 3 when a name is ambiguous, and 4 when no node matches. Scripts can branch on these codes.

$ graphify explain send
Ambiguous: 'send' matches 3 nodes in different files.
  httpx/_client.py
    id: httpx_client_asyncclient_send
  ...
Retry with path::symbol using one of the paths above (e.g. <path>::.send()) or the full node id.

Retry with one of the listed IDs, or a path::symbol form. If you get No node matching '...' found. (exit 4), check the spelling or run graphify god-nodes to see the main labels.

FAQ

Does querying call an LLM? No. query, path and explain read graph.json locally. What does INFERRED mean? The edge came from a resolution step, not a direct syntax match. EXTRACTED edges were read straight from the source. Check INFERRED edges before you rely on them.

Next steps

Try it in Graphify

We build and host the graph for you. Start with a 14-day Pro trial, then keep up to 3 repositories on Free. No card required.

Trace who calls this

Follow calls across repositories in the console.

graphify query

Flags and output for query.

Get started

Features

Configuration

Support

Ask better graph questions

Gather context with query

Inspect one concept with explain

Trace a relationship with path

Ask the assistant to preserve uncertainty

Run it on a real repository

Flags

Exit codes and troubleshooting

FAQ

Next steps

Try it in Graphify

Trace who calls this

graphify query

​Gather context with query

​Inspect one concept with explain

​Trace a relationship with path

​Ask the assistant to preserve uncertainty

​Run it on a real repository

​Flags

​Exit codes and troubleshooting

​FAQ

​Next steps

Try it in Graphify

Trace who calls this

graphify query

Gather context with query

Inspect one concept with explain

Trace a relationship with path

Ask the assistant to preserve uncertainty

Run it on a real repository

Flags

Exit codes and troubleshooting

FAQ

Next steps