indexion explore

When to Use

• User asks to find similar or duplicate files
• User wants to understand code overlap before refactoring
• User asks "what files are related to X?"
• User wants to detect copy-paste code
• Quick scan before detailed refactoring — use as a first pass, then follow up with

  indexion plan refactor

  for actionable detail

Usage

# Basic similarity matrix (default: tfidf strategy)
indexion explore <path>

# List format with threshold (most useful for finding duplicates)
indexion explore --format=list --threshold=0.7 <path>

# Cluster similar files together
indexion explore --format=cluster --threshold=0.6 <path>

# JSON output for further processing
indexion explore --format=json --threshold=0.5 <path>

# Filter by extension
indexion explore --ext=.mbt --ext=.ts <path>

# Include/exclude patterns
indexion explore --include='*.ts' --exclude='*_test.ts' src/

# Filter out config noise
indexion explore --format=list --threshold=0.7 \
  --include='*.mbt' --exclude='*moon.pkg*' cmd/indexion/

# Function-level tree edit distance (more precise, slower)
indexion explore --strategy=apted --format=list <path>
indexion explore --strategy=tsed --format=list <path>

# Hybrid strategy (auto-selects TF-IDF or APTED based on dataset size)
indexion explore --strategy=hybrid --format=list <path>

Strategies

tfidf

hybrid

ncd

apted

tsed

Output Formats

• matrix

  — Full similarity matrix (default, good for small sets)

• list

  — Sorted pairs above threshold (best for finding duplicates)

• cluster

  — Groups of similar files

• json

  — Machine-readable output

Relationship to Other Commands

explore --format=list

grep "for ... for"

grep --semantic=name:sort

plan refactor --threshold=0.9

grep --semantic="similar:..."

Workflow: explore → plan refactor

1. Run

   indexion explore --format=list --threshold=0.7 <path>

   for a quick scan
2. If high-similarity pairs exist, run

   indexion plan refactor --threshold=0.9 <path>

   for details
3. Fix duplicates, then re-run both to verify

Dogfooding Lessons

• moon.pkg files inflate similarity scores (they all look alike) — exclude with

  --exclude='*moon.pkg*'

  for meaningful results
• 96%+ similarity between CLI files usually means duplicated utility functions
• 85-95% similarity is often structural (same CLI patterns) — not always actionable
• types.mbt files showing 100% similarity is normal — type definition files share structural patterns (pub struct + getters) that inflate TF-IDF scores