The Repository Map Tool
Build a structural map of a repository from a cached snapshot — the directory layout and the files that matter — giving an agent the lay of the land before it reads a single line, on infrastructure you control.
You can’t reason about a repo you can’t see
Faced with an unfamiliar repository, the first task is always orientation: where things live, what the key directories are, which files matter. Without that map, both people and agents wander.
No bird’s-eye view
A flat file listing isn’t a map; it’s a maze.
Key files are buried
The files that matter most are lost among hundreds that don’t.
Agents read blindly
Without structure, an agent opens files at random.
Re-orientation is constant
Every return to a repo restarts the orientation cost.
The lay of the land, fast
Structure
A map of the layout
Directories and key files.
The tool builds a structural map from a cached snapshot — the directory hierarchy and the files that matter — so an agent starts with the shape of the codebase instead of a flat list.
- Directory hierarchy
- Key-file surfacing
- Snapshot-based
- Per-ref map
Layout + key files
Orientation
Where to look first
Navigation, not wandering.
With the map in hand, an agent knows where to look before it reads — entry points, config, core modules — turning blind exploration into directed navigation.
Directed reading
Governance
On-premise analysis
Source stays internal.
The map is built from a snapshot inside your perimeter with audit logging, so repo understanding never exposes code.
IP-safe, logged
Parameters
The repo_map tool accepts these inputs when an agent calls it. Required inputs are flagged.
Where the repo map pays back
Agent orientation
Give an agent the structure before it reads any file.
Onboarding
Hand a new engineer a clear map of the codebase.
Code Q&A grounding
Help an agent find the right area to answer a question.
Refactor scoping
See the layout before reshaping directories.
Documentation
Seed a README with an accurate structure overview.
Network workflows
Provide shared repo context to a multi-agent network.
Assigned to agents, orchestrated as networks
On VDF AI, an industry’s use cases map to agents, and you assign tools like this one to those agents. Compose multiple agents into a governed, on-premise network.
What changes after you assign it
Questions about the Repository Map tool
What does the repository map tool do?
It builds a structural map of a repository from a cached snapshot — the directory layout and the files that matter — so an agent has the lay of the land before reading code.
How is it different from the GitHub explorer?
The explorer reads and searches specific files and issues; the repo map gives the high-level structure that tells an agent where to point the explorer.
Is it fast?
Yes. It works from a cached snapshot, so building the map is quick and repeatable.
Is our code exposed?
No. The map is built on-premise with audit logging; source never leaves your perimeter.
How does it pair with other tools?
It is foundational — assigned with the GitHub explorer, semantic code search, and architecture inference to give agents complete codebase context.
Assign Repository Map to these agents
These VDF AI agents can be assigned this tool. Open an agent to see the full toolkit it can run.
Tools that work well alongside this one
Where this tool delivers value
Give agents the lay of the land
See the repository map orient an engineering agent before it reads code — on-premise.