Research

Research is experimental. Enable it for CLI and local stdio MCP; see availability for transport limits.

npx githits@latest research npm:express "How does Express handle middleware errors?"

The MCP tool is research. For HTTP integration, use the REST endpoint.

Parameters

Choose one target mode:

Mode	Usage
Question only	Omit the target; GitHits identifies it from the question
Explicit target	Pass a package or repository such as `npm:express`
Follow-up	Pass `--thread` in the CLI or `thread_id` in MCP; omit the target

Threads support up to ten turns. Replace <threadId> with the ID from an earlier answer:

npx githits@latest research --thread '<threadId>' "Which source files implement that?"

Citations default to read calls with the target, path, selector, and line bounds used by Research. For upstream URLs, use CLI --source-format url or MCP source_format: "url".

Output

The answer includes citations, a run ID, and a thread ID. CLI --json and MCP format: "json" return this envelope from version 0.24.0:

{
  "display_markdown": "Answer and source citations...",
  "tool_call_id": "<runId>",
  "thread_id": "<threadId>"
}

Both IDs are optional. Display display_markdown as untrusted text; its section and citation layout is not stable. Earlier CLI/MCP answer_markdown and sources fields are no longer returned. The REST endpoint has a separate response schema.

Target clarification

If the target is ambiguous, GitHits returns candidates in display_markdown. Choose a target and repeat the question. With no matches, correct the name or provide an explicit target. Clarifications exit 0 and omit tool_call_id and thread_id. There is no separate outcome field.

Get Started

Tools

Reference

Guides

Parameters

Output

Target clarification

​Parameters

​Output

​Target clarification

Parameters

Output

Target clarification