What is the Repo-Info Agent?

The /repo-info agent is Zencoder’s intelligent context management agent that generates and maintains a comprehensive snapshot of your project structure. This snapshot serves as a contextual foundation for all other agents, automatically included in every request to provide persistent project awareness without manual intervention.

To use the Repo-Info Agent, simply invoke it with /repo-info in the chat interface. Zencoder will suggest running this agent when you first open a project to establish the contextual foundation.

How It Works

The Repo-Info Agent operates by analyzing your project and creating a persistent memory of your project configuration:

1

Project analysis

When executed, /repo-info performs a comprehensive analysis of your project structure, dependencies, build configurations, and development workflows

2

File generation

The agent generates a structured Markdown file at .zencoder/docs/repo.md that serves as the agent’s persistent memory of your project

3

Context integration

The repo.md file is automatically injected into Coding agent’s context for every request, ensuring consistent project awareness

What Information is Captured

The Repo-Info Agent performs a comprehensive analysis capturing:

Project structure

Directory hierarchy, module organization, source code layout conventions, and asset locations

Dependency management

Package manager detection, dependency listings from lock files, version constraints, and dev vs. production segregation

Build configuration

Build tool configurations, runtime environments, environment variable patterns, and compilation targets

Technology stack

Programming languages and versions, framework detection, database configurations, and API patterns

Benefits

With proper context from /repo-info, you can expect:

  • Reduced discovery operations as the coding agents will understand project layout immediately without extensive exploration
  • Accurate commands with correct package manager and tool usage based on project configuration
  • Better suggestions including framework-aware recommendations that align with your project patterns
  • Consistent behavior helping you maintain project conventions across all agent interactions

Usage and Best Practices

When to Run /repo-info

Initial Setup:

/repo-info

Run this command when starting work on a project to create the initial context snapshot.

In some cases, Zencoder will automatically suggest running this agent when you first open a project.

We also suggest running it in the following scenarios after major:

  • Adding new modules, services, or packages
  • Installing, updating, or removing dependencies
  • Modifying build tools or environment setup
  • Upgrading frameworks or switching tools

Enhanced Context Requests

You can customize the generated context by asking the agent to include additional details or focus on specific aspects of your project.

Example:

/repo-info please include details about our custom build pipeline and API versioning strategy

Version Control Strategy

Consider adding .zencoder/docs/repo.md to your repository for:

  • Team consistency so that all developers start with the same project context
  • Onboarding efficiency could help new team members get immediate project understanding
  • Context versioning might be useful if you want to track how project structure evolves over time
  • Reduced setup time meaning that you don’t need to regenerate on every clone

Manual Enhancements

The generated context file can be manually edited to include:

  • Architectural patterns and explain how your code is organized
  • Naming conventions to match your team’s specific standards
  • Key dependencies and reasoning why certain packages are critical
  • Custom tooling describing non-standard build or development processes
  • Links to documentation which might include internal design documents or wikis

When editing repo.md, maintain the existing section structure and focus on information that helps agents understand your project better.

The Repo-Info Agent is one of Zencoder’s built-in agents: