Canonical: https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/

# 7 Native VS Code & MCP Tools

 

**Which native VS Code and MCP tools are available?**:  Reference for 7 native VS Code and MCP tools: context, grep, read, files, status, sync, and workspaces, with inline budgets and document anchors.

 

**Scope and evidence**:  Local developer tooling, not a hosted source-search service. Benchmark results are workload-specific, not guarantees.

 

Where can I verify the results and limitations?

 

Read the [benchmark methodology](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/benchmarks/), [architecture and privacy boundaries](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/architecture/), and [technical FAQ](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/faq/).

 

Code Context exposes seven identical capabilities across three local transports: VS Code Native Language Model Tools (`dotnetpower.code-context-native`), Model Context Protocol (`cctx shared-mcp`), and the `cctx` CLI.

 

## Tool mapping overview

[Section titled “Tool mapping overview”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#tool-mapping-overview)

 

| VS Code `toolReferenceName` | Internal Native ID | MCP Tool | CLI Subcommand | Mutates Index? | 
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |  
| `#cctxNativeContext` | `code-context-native_codeContext` | `code_context` | `cctx --backend shared context` | Queues cold root nonblockingly | 
| `#cctxNativeGrep` | `code-context-native_codeGrep` | `code_grep` | `cctx --backend shared grep` | Queues cold root nonblockingly | 
| `#cctxNativeFiles` | `code-context-native_codeFiles` | `code_files` | `cctx --backend shared files` | Queues cold root nonblockingly | 
| `#cctxNativeRead` | `code-context-native_codeRead` | `code_read` | `cctx --backend shared read` | Live disk fallback + hash check | 
| `#cctxNativeStatus` | `code-context-native_codeStatus` | `code_status` | `cctx --backend shared status` | Never (purely observational) | 
| `#cctxNativeSync` | `code-context-native_codeSync` | `code_sync` | `cctx --backend shared sync` | Blocking full-source barrier | 
| `#cctxNativeWorkspaces` | `code-context-native_codeWorkspaces` | `code_workspaces` | `cctx workspaces` | Never (lists catalog) |

  

## 1. `#cctxNativeContext` / `code_context` (Primary Tool)

[Section titled “1. #cctxNativeContext / code_context (Primary Tool)”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#1-cctxnativecontext--code_context-primary-tool)

 

Searches saved source for a literal substring or regular expression and returns block-clamped surrounding code in a single round trip.

 

- Key parameters: 

- `pattern` (required): Literal string by default; set `regex: true` for alternation (`foo|bar`) or regex patterns. 
- `root`: Explicit absolute workspace or Git worktree root. 
- `radius` (`0..100`): Requested context radius around matches, automatically clamped to clean function, struct, class, or heading boundaries so unrelated neighboring functions are excluded. 
- `limit` (`1..64`): Total match cap across the response. 
- `max_matches_per_file` (`1..64`): Caps noisy files and prioritizes symbol definitions (`fn`, `pub struct`, `class`, `def`, `interface`, `export function`, etc.) ahead of call-site noise. 
- `paths` / `glob` / `ignore_case`: Narrow scope to relative directory prefixes or file patterns.

 

### Supported polyglot block clamping

[Section titled “Supported polyglot block clamping”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#supported-polyglot-block-clamping)

 

Boundary clamping understands declarations and structural blocks across Rust, Python, TypeScript/JavaScript/JSX/TSX (React 19), Vue, Svelte, Go, Kotlin, Swift, Elixir, Ruby, SQL, Protobuf, Terraform, Makefile, Dockerfile, and Markdown.

  

## 2. `#cctxNativeGrep` / `code_grep`

[Section titled “2. #cctxNativeGrep / code_grep”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#2-cctxnativegrep--code_grep)

 

Fast trigram-indexed line search when you only need matching line numbers and text rather than surrounding code blocks.

 

- Uses ASCII and UTF-8 case-folded trigram postings (`src/resident.rs`) plus an HIR literal extractor (`src/planner.rs`) to eliminate >99% of non-matching files before running `grep-regex`. 
- Pass `max_matches_per_file` (for example `5` or `10`) so generated or test fixtures cannot starve results from core modules, while keeping total output strictly below the `<8 KiB` host offload threshold.

  

## 3. `#cctxNativeFiles` / `code_files`

[Section titled “3. #cctxNativeFiles / code_files”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#3-cctxnativefiles--code_files)

 

Sub-millisecond filename and relative-path discovery against the in-memory workspace catalog.

 

- Pass `glob` such as `"*.rs"`, `"*Service*.ts"`, `"**/*.test.tsx"`, or a bare stem. 
- Combine with `paths: ["src", "crates"]` and `limit` (`1..1000`).

  

## 4. `#cctxNativeRead` / `code_read` & Rich Document Anchors

[Section titled “4. #cctxNativeRead / code_read & Rich Document Anchors”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#4-cctxnativeread--code_read--rich-document-anchors)

 

Batched, SHA-256-verified 1-based inclusive line reads with transparent live-disk recovery if a file was just edited moments before watcher reconciliation.

 

### `<8 KiB` inline budget & pagination

[Section titled “<8 KiB inline budget & pagination”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#8-kib-inline-budget--pagination)

 

Host agent harnesses often offload tool outputs larger than `8 KiB` into temporary `/tmp` files, costing extra tool calls to inspect. Keep batched `ranges` to `<= 150` total lines for instant inline delivery, or pass `page: true` (and follow `next_ranges` until `complete: true`) for structured streaming pagination.

 

### Rich document virtual `#toc` & `#slide-N-M` anchors

[Section titled “Rich document virtual #toc & #slide-N-M anchors”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#rich-document-virtual-toc--slide-n-m-anchors)

 

`code_read` extracts clean, token-compact Markdown/text from binary and structured documents with zero external runtime dependencies (powered by an internal 9-bit $O(1)$ DEFLATE decoder that runs 5.4× faster):

 

| Document Format | Supported Virtual Anchors | Token Savings | 
| --- | --- | --- |  
| Markdown (`.md`, `.mdx`) | `docs/REFERENCE.md#native-tools`, `#toc` | Reads exact section slug without loading whole file | 
| PowerPoint (`.pptx`) & ODP | `deck.pptx#toc`, `deck.pptx#slide-3`, `deck.pptx#slide-3-5` | -86.3% to -98.9% (hoists repeated slide headers/footers & compresses charts) | 
| Word (`.docx`), ODT & RTF | `spec.docx#toc`, `spec.docx#outline`, `spec.docx#architecture`, `{#bookmark}` | Jumps straight to heading or bookmark span | 
| Excel (`.xlsx`) & ODS | `metrics.xlsx#toc`, sheet & bounded table ranges | Prunes empty columns/rows automatically | 
| PDF, EPUB, Jupyter (`.ipynb`), SRT/VTT, XLIFF | `#toc`, page/cell/cue ranges | Clean text projection without raw JSON/XML markup tax |

  

## 5. `#cctxNativeStatus`, `#cctxNativeSync` & `#cctxNativeWorkspaces`

[Section titled “5. #cctxNativeStatus, #cctxNativeSync & #cctxNativeWorkspaces”](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/tools/#5-cctxnativestatus-cctxnativesync--cctxnativeworkspaces)

 

- `#cctxNativeStatus` / `code_status`: Returns index state (`warm`, `loading`, `cold`), memory ceiling, cgroup v2 reserve, file counts, and latency telemetry without triggering background indexing. 
- `#cctxNativeSync` / `code_sync`: Waits for a full source synchronization barrier. Use only when proving exhaustive symbol absence across an entire workspace—never call `code_sync` before ordinary lookups. 
- `#cctxNativeWorkspaces` / `code_workspaces`: Lists registered roots, allowed directory scopes, globs, and active exclusion profiles.

 

Next, see how [`pctx` probes, `cctx journal`, and `cctx prompt`](https://dotnetpower.github.io/code-context/probes-and-journal/) eliminate non-code token waste.

## Sources and limitations

Measurements are from the repository's published benchmark fixtures, not a performance or billing guarantee. Hardware, workload, cache state and model pricing change results. This documentation site cannot search or read a visitor's local source code. Indexing is local; explicitly requested HTTP probes contact their supplied URLs.