Privacy + injection resistance

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Retrieval MCP — local codebase context prep

Type: local stdio · Cost: $0 · LLM: none (deterministic rg + symbol graph) · Version: v2

SSOT docs:

• retrieval-mcp (see mcp-token-savers)/README.md — full tool spec, data policy
• your catalog config § retrieval-mcp — Pantheon catalog entry

When to use

When NOT to use

• Exact file is already known → Read directly
• Short conceptual question → skip retrieval
• One direct read is cheaper and faster
• Final architecture/security/product judgment → frontier reasoning (retrieval supports, never replaces)

Tools

retrieve_context (primary)

Returns ranked files, line-anchored snippets, and compact_context for a broad repo question.

{
  "query": "authentication JWT refresh token flow",
  "root_path": "/home/user/your-repo",
  "task_intent": "bug_fix",
  "context_hints": {
    "selected_paths": ["your-auth/", "src/middleware/"],
    "diagnostic_files": ["logs/error.log"],
    "open_files": ["src/routes/api.ts"]
  },
  "metadata": {
    "surface": "claude",
    "source": "production"
  }
}

task_intent options: bug_fix · implementation · review · explain · test

find_files

Cheap candidate-path search when snippets are not needed.

{
  "pattern": "auth",
  "root_path": "/home/user/your-repo",
  "globs": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.js"],
  "metadata": {"surface": "claude"}
}

get_artifact

Returns raw ranked search output when compact result is insufficient.

{
  "artifact_url_or_file": "retrieval-abc123-compact.md",
  "metadata": {
    "surface": "claude",
    "source": "production"
  }
}

record_feedback

Report when retrieval under-ranked or missed the files actually used. Improves future ranking.

{
  "call_id": "ret_abc123",
  "outcome": "partial",
  "frontier_had_to_search": true,
  "expected_paths": ["your-auth/jwt.ts"],
  "missing_paths": ["your-auth/refresh.ts"],
  "notes": "ranked middleware first but actual bug was in refresh handler",
  "benchmark_candidate": true
}

outcome values: helpful · partial · miss · wrong_context · manual_search_needed

The retrieval result already carries feedback_contract with the active call_id, the qualifying outcomes, the required feedback fields, and ready-to-edit payload scaffolds for common bad outcomes. Use that payload instead of reconstructing the contract from memory.

Anti-pattern: Do NOT create filler helpful feedback just to raise coverage. Feedback is actionable only for real miss/partial/wrong-context cases.

get_measurement_report

Returns Pantheon-safe aggregate metrics — no raw queries or code bodies.

{
  "date": "2026-05-03",
  "metadata": {
    "surface": "claude",
    "source": "production"
  }
}

Returns: calls_total, traffic_class_split (production_like / proof / benchmark / unknown), saved_token_estimate, counterfactual_usd, feedback_count, miss_partial_count, frontier_search_count, p95_latency_ms.

Quality guardrails

1. Read before edit. Before modifying any file, read the exact returned files/lines. ranked_files are candidates, not confirmed targets.
2. Uncertainty gate. If confidence.uncertainty > 0.03 and candidates conflict, call get_artifact or ask one targeted clarification.
3. context_hints are metadata-only. Pass selected_paths, diagnostic_files, changed_files_override, open_files, recent_files as path hints only — do NOT include file bodies in hints.
4. Secret paths excluded by default. Never request your credentials config, .env, private keys, or token files via retrieval.
5. Attribution metadata on every real call. metadata.surface = claude | codex | cursor | windsurf. Use metadata.source for narrower workflow labels (production / proof / benchmark). Proof/smoke/e2e → proof; golden-dataset runs → benchmark.

Cross-repo roadmap (B2, benchmark-gated)

Current v2 is repo-local only (rg/path scoring + code-graph-lite symbols). Planned v3:

• Cross-repo graph queries via root_paths: [...]
• PR history and blame signals
• Full tree-sitter AST graph
• LLM-based reranker (Haiku-class, benchmark-gated for 5% precision gain)

Do not use retrieval to search repos outside the current worktree until B2 ships.

Proof loop

cd retrieval-mcp (see mcp-token-savers)
npm install && npm run build
npm run smoke        # verifies tool schema + basic retrieve_context
npm run benchmark    # runs golden-query set, checks p50/p95 vs baseline
npm run measurement:report -- --date=2026-05-03 --format=pantheon

Scoring/path-policy changes MUST pass npm run benchmark + e2e before being treated as ready.

Commercial comparison

SSOT cross-references

• retrieval-mcp (see mcp-token-savers)/README.md — full API spec, data policy
• your catalog config § retrieval-mcp — Pantheon catalog entry
• configs/gatus-config.yaml § retrieval health — uptime monitoring
• the project rule (see your repo rules) — trigger policy (always applied)
• claude/SKILL_ORCHESTRATION.md — conflict resolution when retrieval + scraper-stack both fire
• claude/SKILL_TRIGGER_LEXICON.md — RU/EN trigger phrases