ashlr__orient
Meta-orientation. Answers "how does X work here?" in one round-trip — tree scan + file discovery + synthesis.
Server: ashlr-orient — servers/orient-server.ts
Replaces 3–5 orientation calls (tree + grep + multiple reads + one synthesis) with a single round-trip. Performs a baseline tree scan, keyword-derived file discovery (genome retriever if present, else ripgrep), snipCompact'd file reads, and local-LLM synthesis. Read-only — never writes project files.
Input schema
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
question | string | yes | "How does X work?" or "What is Y?" |
path | string | no | Root directory for discovery (default: cwd) |
depth | number | no | Max files to read during discovery (default: 8) |
Output format
Returns a structured answer synthesized from discovered file snippets:
Savings baseline
Replaces a typical 5-call orientation sequence (tree + 3 greps + 2 reads). On a warm genome, median savings: −84 %.
When to use
Use ashlr__orient at the start of any task touching unfamiliar code. It is the primary entry point for the ashlr:explore sub-agent delegation pattern.
Related tools
ashlr__tree— structural view onlyashlr__grep— targeted searchashlr__ask— routes to orient automatically on "how does" questions