ByteRover Context Tree
A project-level knowledge repository that persists across sessions. Use it to avoid re-discovering patterns, conventions, and decisions.
Why Use ByteRover
- Query before working: Get existing knowledge about patterns, conventions, and past decisions before implementing
- Curate after learning: Capture insights, decisions, and bug fixes so future sessions start informed
Quick Reference
| Command | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
brv query "question" | Before starting work | brv query "How is auth implemented?" |
brv curate "context" -f file | After completing work | brv curate "JWT 24h expiry" -f auth.ts |
brv status | To check prerequisites | brv status |
When to Use
Query when you need to understand something:
- "How does X work in this codebase?"
- "What patterns exist for Y?"
- "Are there conventions for Z?"
Curate when you learned or created something valuable:
- Implemented a feature using specific patterns
- Fixed a bug and found root cause
- Made an architecture decision
Curate Quality
Context must be specific and actionable:
# Good - specific, explains where and why
brv curate "Auth uses JWT 24h expiry, tokens in httpOnly cookies" -f src/auth.ts
# Bad - too vague
brv curate "Fixed auth"Note: Context argument must come before -f flags. Max 5 files.
Best Practices
- Break down large contexts - Run multiple
brv curatecommands for complex topics rather than one massive context. Smaller chunks are easier to retrieve and update. - Let ByteRover read files - Don't read files yourself before curating. Use
-fflags to let ByteRover read them directly:# Good - ByteRover reads the files brv curate "Auth implementation details" -f src/auth.ts -f src/middleware/jwt.ts # Wasteful - reading files twice # [agent reads files] then brv curate "..." -f same-files - Be specific in queries - Queries block your workflow. Use precise questions to get faster, more relevant results:
# Good - specific brv query "What validation library is used for API request schemas?" # Bad - vague, slow brv query "How is validation done?" - Signal outdated context - When curating updates that replace existing knowledge, explicitly tell ByteRover to clean up:
brv curate "OUTDATED: Previous auth used sessions. NEW: Now uses JWT with refresh tokens. Clean up old session-based auth context." -f src/auth.ts - Specify structure expectations - Guide ByteRover on how to organize the knowledge:
# Specify topics/domains brv curate "Create separate topics for: 1) JWT validation, 2) refresh token flow, 3) logout handling" -f src/auth.ts # Specify detail level brv curate "Document the error handling patterns in detail (at least 30 lines covering all error types)" -f src/errors/
Prerequisites
Run brv status first. If errors occur, the agent cannot fix them—instruct the user to take action in their brv terminal. See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for details.
See also: WORKFLOWS.md for detailed patterns and examples, TROUBLESHOOTING.md for error handling