Commands

Run sieve --help for the full list. The samples come from a run on the Vite repo. A line with ... marks cut output. Every other line is as Sieve printed it. A [dir] argument defaults to the nearest ancestor folder with a sieve/ index.

build

$ sieve build .
sieve sifted vite-new in 1.6 s
1,583 files → 4,866 symbols · 10,055 links
astro · javascript · jsx · svelte · tsx · typescript · vue
index in ./sieve · git-ignored · stays on this machine

Flags: -e, --no-reuse, --lsp, --include-dir, --only-dir, --no-gitignore, --no-ignore, and the follow flags. See Configuration.

ask

$ sieve ask "how does the dev server handle hot module replacement"
ask  how does the dev server handle hot module replacement · 8 hits

1  [packages/vite/] createServerModuleRunner  fn  packages/vite/src/node/ssr/runtime/serverModuleRunner.ts:143-160
   function createServerModuleRunner( environment: DevEnvironment, options: ServerModuleRunnerOptions = {}, ): ModuleRunner

2  [packages/vite/] handleHMRUpdate  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/hmr.ts:411-679
   async function handleHMRUpdate( type: 'create' | 'delete' | 'update', file: string, server: ViteDevServer, ): Promise<void>

3  [packages/vite/] _createServer  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts:513-1148
...

Flags: -n/--limit, --source, --full, --in <path>, --json, --no-refresh.

callers

$ sieve callers handleHMRUpdate --depth 2
handleHMRUpdate  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/hmr.ts:411-679
2 callers · 5 within 2 hops
├─ testRestartDuringHotUpdate  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/__tests__/hmr.spec.ts:6-40
│  │  34: handleHMRUpdate(
│  └─ hmr.spec.ts  file  packages/vite/src/node/server/__tests__/hmr.spec.ts:1-56
└─ onHMRUpdate  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts:908-915
   │  913: await handleHMRUpdate(type, file, server)
   ├─ onFileAddUnlink  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts:917-953
   └─ onFileChange  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts:955-969
[sieve] saved ≈ 20,282 tokens

Each edge has a confidence, Extracted or Inferred. See ADR 0002.

Flags: --direction <in|out> (out lists callees), -d/--depth <n|all>, --in, --json.

grep

$ sieve grep "handleHMRUpdate"
grep "handleHMRUpdate" · 5 hits in 5 symbols across 3 files · searched 1583 files

handleHMRUpdate  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/hmr.ts:411-679  · 2 links in
  411: export async function handleHMRUpdate(

_createServer.onHMRUpdate  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts:908-915  · 2 links in
  913: await handleHMRUpdate(type, file, server)

...

Flags: -i/--ignore-case, --fixed, --in <path>, --json, --no-refresh.

map

$ sieve map
map · 1583 files · 3283 symbols · 10055 links · javascript, jsx, tsx, typescript

## playground/environment-react-ssr/
playground/environment-react-ssr/vite.config.ts1 file · 8 symbols   hubs: importWithRetry (vite.config.ts, 2←), vitePluginSsrMiddleware (vite.config.ts, 1←)
playground/environment-react-ssr/src/3 files · 4 symbols   hubs: importHtml (entry-server.tsx, 1←), main (entry-client.tsx, 1←)
playground/environment-react-ssr/__tests__/1 file · 0 symbols

## playground/optimize-missing-deps/
playground/optimize-missing-deps/__test__/2 files · 2 symbols
playground/optimize-missing-deps/server.js1 file · 2 symbols   hubs: createServer (server.js, 1←), resolve (server.js, 1←)
...

Flags: --max-dirs <n> (default 16), --json, --no-refresh.

skeleton

$ sieve skeleton packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts
packages/vite/src/node/server/hmr.ts · 42 symbols
    48-56  WsOptions  iface
    58-88  HmrOptions  iface
    90-97  HotUpdateOptions  iface
   99-105  HmrContext  iface
  107-111  PropagationBoundary  iface
  113-115  HotChannelClient  iface
  117-120  HotChannelListener  type  <T extends string = string> = ( data: InferCustomEventPayload<T>, client: HotChannelClient, ) => void
...

Flags: --json, --no-refresh. The argument is a repo-relative path or a unique file name.

blast

This sample ran after one edited line in handleHMRUpdate (hmr.ts).

$ sieve blast
your diff changes handleHMRUpdate · 1 symbol in 2 files · 1 of 1 reached by a test · working tree vs HEAD
3 callers affected within 2 hops
└─ onHMRUpdate  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts:908-915
   ├─ onFileAddUnlink  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts:917-953
   └─ onFileChange  fn  packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts:955-969
1 test suite also references this code (not listed)
tests for handleHMRUpdate were not updated
ask for review  翠 (80 commits, 11d ago) · btea (4 commits, 28d ago)
not indexed  1 file: .gitignore

Flags: --base <ref>, -d/--depth, --format text|markdown|mermaid|json, --export-viz <dir>, --no-owners, --pr-author. --format markdown makes a PR comment.

stats

$ sieve stats
no saved tokens yet — they appear after an agent session uses sieve

why

sieve why <symbol> shows the decision records that explain a symbol. Sieve reads these decision folders in your repo: docs/decisions/, docs/adr/, adr/, and LEDGER.md.

A record links to code with an anchor line. The line starts with - **Code:** and lists node ids in backticks. A record with a Status: line that says Superseded shows as SUPERSEDED.

Example only. This ADR is made up:

# adr-0007-use-keyset-cursor
Status: Accepted
- **Date:** 2026-01-02
- **Code:** `src/orders.ts#listOrders`
- **Decision:** List orders with a keyset cursor, not an offset.

Real output on the Sieve tree:

$ sieve why savings_line
why savings_line  crates/sieve-savings/src/lib.rs:96
decision  docs/adr/adr-0004-savings-header.md:1  ADR 0004: Each query result opens with one savings line
          link: Code anchor
test  crates/sieve-savings/src/lib.rs:236  savings_line_names_the_given_product

Flags: --check lists SUPERSEDED records that still link to code. --all shows every row, not the first 10. --suggest, --diff, --json.

Other commands

check: fails if the index is stale. viz: serves a graph viewer (-p/--port, --no-open, --export <dir>).
mcp: see MCP. init, uninstall: see Claude Code.
telemetry shows that Sieve sends no usage data. The command records nothing. version prints one line. Top-level options: -v, --dir <path>.