grepai-init

SKILL.md

GrepAI Init

This skill covers the grepai init command and project initialization.

When to Use This Skill

Setting up GrepAI in a new project

Understanding what grepai init creates

Customizing initial configuration

Troubleshooting initialization issues

Basic Usage

cd /path/to/your/project
grepai init

What Init Creates
Running grepai init creates the .grepai/ directory with:

.grepai/
├── config.yaml    # Configuration file
├── index.gob      # Vector index (created by watch)
└── symbols.gob    # Symbol index for trace (created by watch)

Default Configuration

The generated config.yaml:

version: 1

embedder:
  provider: ollama
  model: nomic-embed-text
  endpoint: http://localhost:11434

store:
  backend: gob

chunking:
  size: 512
  overlap: 50

watch:
  debounce_ms: 500

trace:
  mode: fast
  enabled_languages:
    - .go
    - .js
    - .ts
    - .jsx
    - .tsx
    - .py
    - .php
    - .c
    - .h
    - .cpp
    - .hpp
    - .cc
    - .cxx
    - .rs
    - .zig
    - .cs
    - .pas
    - .dpr

ignore:
  - .git
  - .grepai
  - node_modules
  - vendor
  - target
  - __pycache__
  - dist
  - build

Understanding Default Settings

Embedder Settings

Setting
Default
Purpose

provider
ollama
Local embedding generation

model
nomic-embed-text
768-dimension model

endpoint
http://localhost:11434
Ollama API URL

Store Settings

Setting
Default
Purpose

backend
gob
Local file storage

Chunking Settings

Setting
Default
Purpose

size
512
Tokens per chunk

overlap
50
Overlap for context

Watch Settings

Setting
Default
Purpose

debounce_ms
500
Wait time before re-indexing

Ignore Patterns

Default patterns exclude:

Version control: .git

GrepAI data: .grepai

Dependencies: node_modules, vendor

Build outputs: target, dist, build

Cache: __pycache__

Customizing After Init

Edit .grepai/config.yaml to customize:

Change Embedding Provider

embedder:
  provider: openai
  model: text-embedding-3-small
  api_key: ${OPENAI_API_KEY}

Change Storage Backend

store:
  backend: postgres
  postgres:
    dsn: postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/grepai

Add Custom Ignore Patterns

ignore:
  - .git
  - .grepai
  - node_modules
  - "*.min.js"
  - "*.bundle.js"
  - coverage/
  - .nyc_output/

Init in Monorepos

For monorepos, init at the root:

cd /path/to/monorepo
grepai init

Or use workspaces for separate indices:

grepai workspace create my-workspace
grepai workspace add my-workspace /path/to/project1
grepai workspace add my-workspace /path/to/project2

Re-Initialization

If you need to reset:

# Remove existing config
rm -rf .grepai

# Re-initialize
grepai init

Warning: This deletes your index. You'll need to re-run grepai watch.

Verifying Initialization

After init, verify with:

# Check config exists
cat .grepai/config.yaml

# Check status (will show no index yet)
grepai status

Common Issues

❌ Problem: .grepai already exists
✅ Solution: Delete it first or edit existing config:

rm -rf .grepai && grepai init

❌ Problem: Config created but Ollama not running
✅ Solution: Start Ollama before running grepai watch:

ollama serve

❌ Problem: Wrong directory initialized
✅ Solution: Remove .grepai and init in correct directory

Best Practices

Init at project root: Where your main code lives

Add .grepai/ to .gitignore: Index is machine-specific

Customize ignore patterns: Exclude generated/vendored code

Review config after init: Adjust for your stack

Example .gitignore Addition

# GrepAI
.grepai/

Output Format

After successful initialization:

✅ GrepAI Initialized

   Config: .grepai/config.yaml

   Default settings:
   - Embedder: Ollama (nomic-embed-text)
   - Storage: GOB (local file)
   - Chunking: 512 tokens, 50 overlap

   Next steps:
   1. Ensure Ollama is running: ollama serve
   2. Start indexing: grepai watch