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Agent integration

The graph is most useful when your AI assistant reaches for it automatically. There are four integration surfaces, all local: the MCP server, skill-file installers, git hooks, and an editor-side guard.

MCP server​

astria mcp [--graph .]

Runs the MCP stdio server — nine tools for querying the graph from any MCP-capable agent. The full tool list, arguments, and example calls are in the MCP tools reference. Add it to your agent's MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "astria": { "command": "astria", "args": ["mcp"] }
  }
}

Skill files (install)​

astria install [--platform claude]
astria uninstall [--platform claude]

Supported platforms: claude, codex, gemini, cursor, copilot, aider, opencode, kiro, trae, zcode.

install writes the platform's skill files and injects an always-on ## astria instruction block into AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md — telling agents to query the graph before grepping and to run update after edits. The instruction block names both access paths: MCP tools when the astria server is connected, or the astria CLI from any agent.

Platforms with a project-scoped MCP config also get the astria server registered automatically: zcode (.zcode/config.json), claude (.mcp.json — Claude Code asks you to approve it once), cursor (.cursor/mcp.json), and gemini (.gemini/settings.json). The tools (repo_map, query_graph, explain, get_neighbors, shortest_path, affected) then appear natively in every session for that project. Codex keeps hooks + CLI — its MCP config is global-only, so it is intentionally left untouched. All steps are idempotent and merge-safe (existing servers and unrelated config keys are preserved); uninstall removes them.

Existing installs upgrade in place: install recognizes its own previously generated instruction blocks and refreshes them to the current wording; hand-customized pre-1.0 ## graphify sections are detected and left untouched.

Git hooks​

astria hook install|uninstall|status

Keeps the graph fresh automatically on commit, so agents always see an up-to-date structure without anyone remembering to run update.

Editor guard (hook-guard)​

astria hook-guard <mode>    # search | read | gemini

The editor-side companion to git hooks: a PreToolUse hook installed into .claude/settings.json that nudges agents toward query before raw searches. Modes:

  • search — intercepts grep-style calls (the Grep tool, or grep/rg/ag/git grep in Bash) and injects a mandatory nudge to check the graph first
  • read — additionally watches source-file reads: when a file is newer than the graph build, it warns that the graph is stale and to run update before trusting answers
  • gemini — compatibility mode for Gemini CLI, whose BeforeTool hook only understands allow decisions — there the guard installs but cannot nudge

Strict mode (opt-in, via --strict or ASTRIA_HOOK_STRICT=1) additionally denies one un-indexed read per session until the agent orients with a graph query (query/explain/path); after that, reads proceed uninterrupted for ASTRIA_HOOK_STRICT_TTL seconds (default 1800 — 30 minutes). The guard always fails open: any error means the tool call proceeds untouched. See Environment variables.

The intended loop​

  1. install once per repo — agents learn the graph exists.
  2. Agents query/explain/affected instead of grepping (see MCP tools reference).
  3. Git hooks (or watch) keep the graph fresh after edits.
  4. Repeated queries compound into learned edges — see Memory and learning.