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

1. Init at project root: Where your main code lives
2. Add .grepai/ to .gitignore: Index is machine-specific
3. Customize ignore patterns: Exclude generated/vendored code
4. 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