Index File Command

Update a single file in the semantic memory index. Uses hash-based change detection to skip unchanged files.

Your Task

1. Get the file path:

   • From command arguments ($ARGUMENTS)
   • OR if no arguments, use current file in editor
   • Ensure path is absolute (use realpath if needed)

2. Validate the file path:

   • Check file exists: test -f "$FILE_PATH"
   • Check file is readable
   • Check extension is supported (.py, .js, .ts, .md, .txt, .json, .yaml, .yml)

3. Call the index_file MCP tool:

   • Pass absolute file path
   • Use force_update: false by default (respects hash-based skip)
   • Tool will return operation type: "inserted", "updated", or "skipped"

4. Report result to user:

   New file (inserted):

   ✅ File indexed: /path/to/file.py
   - Operation: inserted
   - Hash: a3f2d1...
   - Size: 1,234 bytes
   

   Updated file (hash changed):

   ✅ File re-indexed: /path/to/file.py
   - Operation: updated
   - Hash: b5e7c2... (changed)
   - Previous: a3f2d1...
   

   Unchanged file (skipped):

   ℹ️  File unchanged: /path/to/file.py
   - Operation: skipped
   - Reason: Content hash matches existing index
   - Last indexed: 2 hours ago
   

Example Usage

With explicit path:

User: /index-file /Users/me/projects/myapp/auth.py

✅ File re-indexed: auth.py
- Operation: updated
- Hash: b5e7c2...

Without path (current file):

User: /index-file

✅ File indexed: server.py
- Operation: inserted
- Hash: a3f2d1...

When to Use

• After editing a file - Update index immediately (though auto-indexing hook should handle this)
• Manual update - When you want to ensure a file is indexed right now
• Debugging - Check if a file's hash has changed
• Force update - Use /index-file --force to re-index even if unchanged

Advanced: Force Update

To re-index even if content hash unchanged:

User: /index-file /path/to/file.py --force

✅ File re-indexed (forced): file.py
- Operation: updated
- Reason: Force update requested

Use cases for force update:

• Testing indexing pipeline
• Recovering from corrupted index
• After schema changes

Error Handling

File not found:

❌ Error: File not found
Path: /path/to/missing.py
Suggestion: Check file path is correct and file exists

Unsupported file type:

❌ Error: Unsupported file type
File: /path/to/image.png
Extension: .png
Supported: .py, .js, .ts, .md, .txt, .json, .yaml, .yml

Permission denied:

❌ Error: Permission denied
File: /etc/sensitive.py
Reason: Cannot read file (check permissions)

Implementation Notes

• This command calls the existing index_file MCP tool
• No new code needed - thin wrapper around MCP tool
• Tool handles:
  • Hash calculation
  • Change detection
  • Embedding generation (if changed)
  • Database update
• Typically completes in <100ms per file