DevMap

Analyze once. Reuse context everywhere. A CLI that maps your codebase for developers and AI agents: entry points, critical files, features and routes.

Documentation · Website · GitHub

Every new AI chat about your code starts from zero — you re-explain the same codebase every time. DevMap fixes that.

It's a CLI that combines static analysis with optional AI interpretation to build a structured, reusable understanding layer of your project — once. That layer (.devmap/index.json, feature maps, DEVMAP.md) is what you and any AI agent read afterward, instead of re-scanning or re-pasting the whole repo. Full repo source stays local — nothing gets sent wholesale to the AI model.

Install

npm install --global @flaid/devmap

Or run without a global install:

npx @flaid/devmap --help

Requirements

• Node.js 22.12 or newer
• An API key for an AI provider: Groq, OpenRouter, or any custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint

Static analysis still works when AI is not configured.

Quick Start

Run these commands from the root of the project you want to understand:

devmap init
devmap analyze
devmap onboarding
devmap doctor

devmap init selects a provider, validates its key, stores configuration locally, prepares .devmap/, generates DEVMAP.md, and integrates with AGENTS.md safely.

AI Provider Setup

Choose Groq, OpenRouter, or a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint with the arrow keys during:

devmap init

Groq keys are available at https://console.groq.com/keys. OpenRouter keys are available at https://openrouter.ai/keys.

For custom endpoints, DevMap asks for the base URL (prefilled with http://localhost:20128/v1) and lists the models your server exposes, so any OpenAI-compatible self-hosted gateway works out of the box.

For OpenRouter, DevMap prompts:

OpenRouter model [openrouter/free]:

Press Enter to use the free router, or type any free or paid OpenRouter model ID. The selected model is saved and used as the primary choice.

For non-interactive Groq setup:

GROQ_API_KEY="your-key" devmap init

On PowerShell:

$env:GROQ_API_KEY="your-key"
devmap init
Remove-Item Env:GROQ_API_KEY

For non-interactive OpenRouter setup:

OPENROUTER_API_KEY="your-key" devmap init

The key is stored locally in ~/.devmap/config.json. Requests go directly from your machine to the selected provider. DevMap does not send the key to a DevMap-owned server.

Commands

devmap init
devmap analyze
devmap analyze --fresh
devmap map                    # full project map
devmap map <feature-or-file>  # scoped to one feature or file
devmap flow                   # curated top flows
devmap flow <feature-or-route>
devmap explain <target>       # file, feature, or function
devmap onboarding --write
devmap onboarding --write --language id
devmap doctor
devmap config model auto
devmap mcp                    # run as an MCP server

Groq and OpenRouter use the model selected during init. Change either provider's model with:

devmap config model <model-id>
devmap config model auto

MCP Server

devmap mcp runs DevMap as a Model Context Protocol server over stdio. An AI agent asks the project map questions with tool calls and gets structured JSON back, instead of reading a whole context file up front.

devmap analyze
claude mcp add devmap -- npx -y @flaid/devmap mcp

Other clients launch the same command (npx -y @flaid/devmap mcp) as a stdio server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devmap": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@flaid/devmap", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Tools: devmap_overview, devmap_map, devmap_flow, devmap_routes, devmap_impact, devmap_find, devmap_analyze and, only with --allow-ai, devmap_explain.

The server is read-only and static by default: no AI provider is contacted unless you start it with --allow-ai, and it only writes inside .devmap/ when the agent calls devmap_analyze or you start it with --auto-refresh. Every answer reports whether the snapshot is stale. See the MCP guide for client setup and tool inputs.

Generated Context

DevMap generates:

• .devmap/index.json for lightweight AI-agent navigation
• .devmap/features/*.json for focused feature maps and source priority
• .devmap/snapshot.json for the full structured project analysis archive
• DEVMAP.md for human and AI-agent usage guidance
• a small DevMap block in AGENTS.md only after confirmation when the file already exists

Existing AGENTS.md and DEVMAP.md files are never overwritten.

For AI Agents

Read .devmap/index.json first, open the relevant feature map, and inspect its sourcePriority files. Use .devmap/snapshot.json only when the lightweight navigation layer is insufficient.

Use --json for scripts, editors, CI, or AI agents:

devmap analyze --json
devmap onboarding --json
devmap doctor --json

JSON mode writes one parseable JSON document to stdout without ANSI colors, terminal decoration, or streamed partial output.

Supported Stacks

• Frontend: Next.js, Astro, SvelteKit, Nuxt, Remix, React Router v7, TanStack Router/Start, Expo Router, SolidStart, Qwik City, Angular, React, Vue, Svelte
• Backend: Express, NestJS, Fastify, Hono, Elysia, Koa, AdonisJS

Detection covers the full list above; Next.js and Express receive the deepest analysis. Multi-package workspaces are classified per project type, so a monorepo containing a CLI and a web app is reported as both.

Privacy

• Project analysis runs locally before AI interpretation.
• Full repository source is not sent to the selected provider.
• .env files and common generated directories are ignored.
• API keys are stored locally and should never be committed.

Links

• Repository: https://github.com/itsflaid/devmap
• Issues: https://github.com/itsflaid/devmap/issues
• Changelog: https://github.com/itsflaid/devmap/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

License

MIT