context-distill

A Go tool that distills command output and retrieves code context before it reaches a paid LLM. Available as a Skill (recommended), a standalone CLI, and an MCP server. Inspired by the distill CLI and built with hexagonal architecture, dependency injection, and TDD.

Overview

context-distill exposes three operations accessible in three ways:

Mode	Best for	How it works
Skill ⭐ (recommended)	Any agent that can read markdown and run shell commands	The agent reads a SKILL.md file from its own skills directory and learns when and how to invoke the CLI. Zero config on the agent side.
CLI	Local scripts, CI pipelines, shell-capable agents	Direct subcommands: context-distill distill_batch, context-distill distill_watch, context-distill search_code.
MCP	Agents/clients with native MCP support (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex…)	Runs as an MCP server over stdio transport.

Operation	Purpose
distill_batch	Compresses full command output to answer a single, explicit question.
distill_watch	Compares two consecutive snapshots and returns only the relevant delta.
search_code	Locates relevant repository code and returns compact matches for the next reasoning step.

All three modes share the same underlying use cases, validation rules, and output behavior — only the invocation method differs.

It also provides:

• LLM provider configuration via YAML and environment variables.
• An interactive terminal UI for first-time setup (--config-ui).
• Support for Ollama and any OpenAI-compatible provider.

Why Skill Mode Is Recommended

	Skill	CLI	MCP
Agent config required	None — just drop SKILL.md in the agent's skills directory	Agent must know how to run shell commands	Register server in client config
Works across agents	✅ Any agent that reads markdown	✅ Any agent that runs shell	⚠️ Only MCP-compatible clients
Setup complexity	Copy one file per agent	Install binary	Install binary + register transport
Portability	Works in any repo	Works in any shell	Tied to MCP client config

Skill mode works because modern coding agents (Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, Aider, OpenCode…) already know how to read project documentation and execute shell commands. A SKILL.md file teaches the agent when to distill or retrieve code context and how to call the CLI — no protocol integration needed.

Features

• Triple interface — Skill file for zero-config agent adoption + CLI for direct shell use + MCP tools for protocol-native clients.
• Three core operations — distill_batch, distill_watch, and search_code.
• Hexagonal architecture — distill/domain, distill/application, platform/*.
• Dependency injection via sarulabs/di.
• Config management with viper + .env.
• Provider-specific validation at config time.
• Interactive setup UI (--config-ui).
• Unit, integration, and optional live tests.

Requirements

• Go 1.26+
• Make (recommended)

If you prefer not to compile, you can install a prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases (see below).

Installation

Option A: Build from source

make build

The binary is placed at ./bin/context-distill.

To install it into your PATH:

make install
# installs to ~/.local/bin/context-distill

Option B: Prebuilt binary (no build required)

Linux / macOS:

# Latest release
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jcastilloa/context-distill/master/scripts/install.sh | sh

# Specific version
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jcastilloa/context-distill/master/scripts/install.sh | VERSION=vX.Y.Z sh

Windows (PowerShell):

# Latest release
iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jcastilloa/context-distill/master/scripts/install.ps1 -UseBasicParsing | iex

# Specific version
$env:VERSION='vX.Y.Z'; iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jcastilloa/context-distill/master/scripts/install.ps1 -UseBasicParsing | iex

Installer environment variables:

Variable	Default
REPO	jcastilloa/context-distill
SERVICE_NAME	context-distill
INSTALL_DIR	~/.local/bin (Linux/macOS) · %LOCALAPPDATA%\context-distill\bin (Windows)
VERSION	Latest release tag

Makefile Targets

make help

Target	Description
make build	Build the binary to ./bin/context-distill
make install	Install binary to ~/.local/bin/context-distill
make clean	Remove ./bin

Quick Start

1. Configure the provider (all modes)

context-distill --config-ui

2. Verify it works

echo "PASS: TestA, PASS: TestB, FAIL: TestC - expected 4 got 5" | context-distill distill_batch --question "Did tests pass? Return only PASS or FAIL. If FAIL, list failing test names."

context-distill distill_watch --question "What changed? Return one short sentence." --previous-cycle "services: api=OK, db=OK, cache=OK" --current-cycle "services: api=OK, db=FAIL, cache=OK"

context-distill search_code --query "provider_name" --mode text --question "Return only file:line, one per line."

If commands return expected compact answers, setup is ready.

3. Choose your mode

⭐ Skill mode (recommended)

Copy SKILL.md into the appropriate agent skills directory (see Skill Setup). Your agent will read it automatically and start distilling.

CLI mode

Use the subcommands directly in scripts or agent shell calls:

# Pipe (preferred)
echo "data" | context-distill distill_batch --question "..."

# Explicit flag
context-distill distill_batch --question "..." --input "data"

# Explicit stdin marker
echo "data" | context-distill distill_batch --question "..." --input -

# Code retrieval
context-distill search_code --query "LoadDistillConfig" --mode symbol --question "Return likely definitions first as file:line, one per line."

MCP mode

context-distill --transport stdio

Then register the server in your MCP client (see MCP Client Registration).

---

Skill Setup (Recommended)

What is a Skill?

A skill is a SKILL.md file placed inside an agent's skills directory. The agent discovers it, reads the instructions, and learns when to activate and what commands to run. No protocol config, no server registration.

Where to install the Skill

Each agent has its own skills directory. Install the SKILL.md at project level, global level, or both:

Agent	Project-level path	Global path
Claude Code	.claude/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md	~/.claude/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md
Codex	.codex/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md	~/.codex/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md
OpenCode	.opencode/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md	~/.opencode/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md
Cursor	.cursor/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md	~/.cursor/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md

Project-level (recommended for teams): every agent working on the repo picks it up automatically.

Global (recommended for personal use): available in every project without per-repo setup.

Quick install example (Claude Code, project-level)

mkdir -p .claude/skills/context-distill
cp SKILL.md .claude/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md

Quick install example (all agents, global)

for agent in .claude .codex .opencode .cursor; do
  mkdir -p ~/"$agent"/skills/context-distill
  cp SKILL.md ~/"$agent"/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md
done

SKILL.md

---
name: context-distill
description: >
  Distills verbose command output and retrieves compact code context before sending
  payloads to an LLM. Saves tokens, reduces noise, and keeps context windows clean.
  Use before sending command output longer than 5–8 lines, after tests/builds/linters/git
  commands/docker logs, when comparing watch-mode snapshots, and before opening many files
  to locate symbols/usages/config paths.
---

Distill verbose CLI output and retrieve compact code context before passing to LLM. Keep signal. Drop noise.

## Activation

Use BEFORE sending any command output longer than 5–8 lines to LLM.

Use AFTER:
- tests
- builds
- linters
- git commands
- docker logs
- any verbose CLI tool

Use when:
- comparing two snapshots of same source in watch mode
- unsure whether to distill
- locating symbols/usages/config loading/entrypoints before opening many files

Default rule: **always distill**. Unnecessary distill cost ≈ 0. Flooding context expensive.

## Skip

Do not use when:
- output is ≤ 5–8 lines and already human-readable
- exact raw bytes required (audit / compliance / binary integrity)
- interactive terminal debugging needs character-by-character flow

## Commands

### Distill full output

```bash
# Pipe — preferred
<command> | context-distill distill_batch --question "<question with output contract>"

# Explicit flag
context-distill distill_batch --question "<question with output contract>" --input "<raw output>"

# Explicit stdin marker
<command> | context-distill distill_batch --question "<question with output contract>" --input -
```

### Distill delta between two snapshots

```bash
context-distill distill_watch \
  --question "<question with output contract>" \
  --previous-cycle "<snapshot T-1>" \
  --current-cycle "<snapshot T>"
```

### Locate code before opening many files

```bash
context-distill search_code \
  --query "<text|regex|symbol|path query>" \
  --mode "<text|regex|symbol|path>" \
  --question "<output contract>" \
  --scope "<optional glob list>" \
  --max-results 20 \
  --context-lines 2
```

Use CLI flags only (`--query`, `--mode`, `--question`, `--max-results`, `--context-lines`); do not use shell args like `search_code mode=text query=...`.

## Rules

1. **Every call MUST include an output contract in `--question`.**
   Say exact return format:
   - `PASS or FAIL`
   - `valid JSON {severity, file, message}`
   - `filenames, one per line`

2. **One task per call.**
   Do not mix unrelated questions.

3. **Prefer machine-checkable formats.**
   Use:
   - PASS/FAIL
   - JSON
   - one-item-per-line

## Examples

| Source command    | Question                                                                              |
|-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `go test ./...`   | `"Did all tests pass? PASS or FAIL. If FAIL, list failing test names, one per line."` |
| `git diff`        | `"List only changed file paths, one per line."`                                       |
| CI / build logs   | `"Return JSON array: [{severity, file, message}]."`                                   |
| `docker logs`     | `"Summarise errors only. One bullet per distinct error."`                             |
| `find` / `ls -lR` | `"Return only *.go paths, one per line."`                                             |

### Watch examples

| Question                                               | previous_cycle | current_cycle |
|--------------------------------------------------------|----------------|---------------|
| `"What changed in failure count? One short sentence."` | snapshot T-1   | snapshot T    |
| `"Return only newly failing services, one per line."`  | status at T-1  | status at T   |

### Search examples

| Query type | Example contract |
|---|---|
| `symbol` | `"Return likely definitions first as file:line, one per line."` |
| `text` | `"Return top 10 matches as JSON array [{file,line,snippet}]."` |
| `path` | `"Return matching file paths only, one per line."` |

## Binary location

If installed via `make install`: `~/.local/bin/context-distill`

If binary not in PATH, use absolute path.

---

CLI Commands Reference

The CLI commands provide the same capabilities as the MCP tools (distillation + code retrieval) but are invoked directly from the shell. Use them in local scripts, CI pipelines, or with agent runtimes that execute shell commands instead of MCP tools.

Input methods

# 1. Pipe (preferred)
echo "data" | context-distill distill_batch --question "..."

# 2. Explicit flag
context-distill distill_batch --question "..." --input "data"

# 3. Explicit stdin marker
echo "data" | context-distill distill_batch --question "..." --input -

distill_batch

Distills one raw output payload using an explicit question contract.

go test ./... 2>&1 | context-distill distill_batch --question "Did all tests pass? Return only PASS or FAIL."

Flags:

Flag	Required	Description
--question	yes	Exact question to answer from the command output.
--input	no	Raw command output to distill. If omitted, reads from stdin.

distill_watch

Distills only the relevant delta between two snapshots.

context-distill distill_watch \
  --question "Return only newly failing services, one per line." \
  --previous-cycle "$(cat /tmp/health.prev)" \
  --current-cycle "$(cat /tmp/health.curr)"

Flags:

Flag	Required	Description
--question	yes	Exact question to answer from cycle changes.
--previous-cycle	yes	Previous watch cycle output snapshot.
--current-cycle	yes	Current watch cycle output snapshot.

search_code

Searches repository code locally and distills compact matches according to --question.

context-distill search_code \
  --query "distill_watch" \
  --mode symbol \
  --question "Return definitions first, then usages, as file:line."

Important:

• CLI syntax uses flags. Use --query, --mode, --question, --max-results, --context-lines.
• Do not use shell arguments like search_code mode=text query="..." max_results=5 (that format is not valid CLI syntax).
• For --mode path, treat --query as a path fragment (for example, .go), and use --scope for glob filters.

Flags:

Flag	Required	Description
--query	yes	Search query for text, regex, symbol name, or path fragment.
--mode	yes	Search mode: text, regex, symbol, or path.
--question	yes	Output contract for final compact result.
--scope	no	Optional glob filters (repeat flag or comma-separated).
--max-results	no	Hard limit for returned candidates (default 20).
--context-lines	no	Context lines around each match (default 2).

CLI Notes

• CLI commands and MCP tools share the same underlying use cases and validation rules.
• Invalid/missing inputs return a non-zero exit code.
• Output is written to standard output exactly as produced by the selected use case.

---

MCP Server Mode

Running the server

context-distill --transport stdio
# or without building:
go run ./cmd/server --transport stdio

Version

go run ./cmd/server version

Server Flags

Flag	Description	Default
--transport	MCP transport mode (stdio)	service.transport
--config-ui	Open setup UI and exit	false

MCP Client Registration

After building or installing the binary, register it in your MCP client to use the tool interface.

JSON-based clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context-distill": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/context-distill",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Codex — manual TOML (recommended)

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.context-distill]
command = "/absolute/path/to/context-distill"
args = ["--transport", "stdio"]
startup_timeout_sec = 20.0

If you used make install:

[mcp_servers.context-distill]
command = "/home/<your-user>/.local/bin/context-distill"
args = ["--transport", "stdio"]
startup_timeout_sec = 20.0

Codex — CLI registration

codex mcp add context-distill -- /absolute/path/to/context-distill --transport stdio

Verify:

codex mcp list
codex mcp get context-distill

Restart your Codex session so it picks up the new server.

OpenCode — interactive CLI

opencode mcp add

Follow the prompts:

1. Location → Current project or Global.
2. Name → context-distill.
3. Type → local.
4. Command → /absolute/path/to/context-distill --transport stdio.

Verify:

opencode mcp list

If the server is not connected yet, restart your OpenCode session.

OpenCode — manual config (opencode.json)

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "context-distill": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["/absolute/path/to/context-distill", "--transport", "stdio"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Registration notes

• Always use an absolute binary path.
• Always use stdio transport.
• If the server does not appear, run codex mcp list --json to inspect the resolved config.

MCP Tools Reference

The MCP tools expose the same capabilities as the CLI commands (distillation + code retrieval), but are consumed by MCP-compatible clients over the stdio transport.

distill_batch

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
question	string	yes	What to extract from the input. Must include an output contract.
input	string	yes	Raw command output to distill.

Returns a short, focused answer to question.

distill_watch

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
question	string	yes	What delta to report. Must include an output contract.
previous_cycle	string	yes	Snapshot from the previous cycle.
current_cycle	string	yes	Snapshot from the current cycle.

Returns a short summary of relevant changes, or a no-change message when nothing meaningful differs.

search_code

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	yes	Search query for text, regex, symbol, or path.
mode	string	yes	Search mode: text, regex, symbol, path.
question	string	yes	Output contract for distilled response.
scope	array[string]	no	Optional glob scope filters.
max_results	number	no	Hard match limit (default 20).
context_lines	number	no	Context lines per match (default 2).

Returns compact output controlled by question, after local repository retrieval.

Notes:

• This section documents MCP tool payload fields (snake_case), not shell flags.
• CLI equivalents are --query, --mode, --question, --scope, --max-results, --context-lines.

---

Configuration

Terminal UI (recommended for first-time setup)

context-distill --config-ui
# or without building:
go run ./cmd/server --config-ui

Editable fields:

Field	Notes
provider_name	Dropdown list of supported providers.
base_url	Required for OpenAI-compatible providers.
api_key	Masked input. Required for openai, openrouter, jan.

Validation rules:

• Providers that require an API key block save until one is entered.
• OpenAI-compatible providers require a base_url.
• Provider aliases are normalized automatically (e.g. OpenAI Compatible → openai-compatible, dmr → docker-model-runner).

Persisted config path: ~/.config/context-distill/config.yaml

Save preserves existing YAML sections (service, openai, etc.) and updates only the relevant distill fields.

Manual YAML configuration

You can also edit the config file directly.

Lookup order:

1. ~/.config/<service>/config.yaml
2. ./config.yaml

Example config.yaml:

service:
  transport: stdio

openai:
  provider_name: openai
  api_key: sk-xxxx
  base_url: https://api.openai.com/v1
  model: gpt-4o-mini
  timeout: 30s
  max_retries: 3
  supports_system_role: true
  supports_json_mode: true

distill:
  provider_name: ollama
  base_url: http://127.0.0.1:11434
  model: qwen3.5:2b
  timeout: 90s
  max_retries: 0
  thinking: false

Note: service.version is injected at build time from binary metadata and does not need to be set manually.

Provider Matrix

Provider	Transport	API Key Required	Default Base URL
ollama	native ollama	No	http://127.0.0.1:11434
openai	openai-compatible	Yes	https://api.openai.com/v1
openrouter	openai-compatible	Yes	https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
openai-compatible	openai-compatible	No (backend-dependent)	—
lmstudio	openai-compatible	No	http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1
jan	openai-compatible	Yes	http://127.0.0.1:1337/v1
localai	openai-compatible	No	http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1
vllm	openai-compatible	No	http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1
sglang	openai-compatible	No	—
llama.cpp	openai-compatible	No	—
mlx-lm	openai-compatible	No	—
docker-model-runner	openai-compatible	No	http://127.0.0.1:12434/engines/v1

Writing Good Questions

The quality of distillation/search output depends on the question contract — whether invoked via Skill, CLI, or MCP. Be explicit about what you want and in what format.

Bad questions

• "What happened?"
• "Summarize this"

Good questions

• "Did tests pass? Return only PASS or FAIL. If FAIL, list failing test names, one per line."
• "List only changed file paths, one per line."
• "Return valid JSON only with keys: severity, file, message."

distill_batch examples

Source	Question
go test ./...	"Did tests pass? Return only PASS or FAIL."
git diff	"List changed files and one short reason per file. Max 10 lines."
CI logs	"Return only blocking errors with file and line if available."

distill_watch examples

Snapshots	Question
Test watcher output at T−1 / T	"What changed in failure count? Return one short sentence."
Deployment status at T−1 / T	"Return only newly failing services, one per line."

search_code examples

Mode	Question
text	"Return only file:line, one per line."
symbol	"Return likely definitions first, then usages, as file:line."
path	"Return matching file paths only, one per line."

---

AGENTS.md Templates

If you prefer to embed instructions directly in your project's AGENTS.md instead of using a standalone SKILL.md, use one of the templates below.

AGENTS.md Template (CLI Mode)

## context-distill CLI Usage

Default behavior: distill command output before sending it to the LLM.
Use `search_code` before opening many files to locate symbols/usages/config paths.

Use the local binary:
- `context-distill distill_batch`
- `context-distill distill_watch`
- `context-distill search_code`

### Rules

1. Every invocation MUST include an output contract in `--question`.
2. One task per call.
3. Prefer machine-checkable formats (PASS/FAIL, JSON, one-item-per-line).

### CLI patterns

#### Batch output

```bash
go test ./... 2>&1 | context-distill distill_batch \
  --question "Did all tests pass? Return only PASS or FAIL. If FAIL, list failing tests one per line."
```

#### Snapshot delta

```bash
context-distill distill_watch \
  --question "Return only newly failing services, one per line." \
  --previous-cycle "$(cat /tmp/status.prev)" \
  --current-cycle "$(cat /tmp/status.curr)"
```

#### Code retrieval

```bash
context-distill search_code \
  --query "provider_name" \
  --mode text \
  --question "Return only file:line, one per line."
```

### When to skip distill (exceptions only)

- Output is ≤ 5–8 lines and readable at a glance.
- Exact raw bytes are required (audit/compliance/binary integrity).
- Interactive terminal debugging where exact character flow matters.

AGENTS.md Template (MCP Mode)

## context-distill MCP Usage

**Default: ALWAYS distill.** Use `distill_batch` for ANY command output before
sending it to the LLM. Skip ONLY if the output is ≤ 5–8 lines and readable at
a glance. When unsure: **distill** — unnecessary calls cost ≈ 0; flooding
context is expensive.

When task is repository localization, run `search_code` before opening many files.

### Rules

1. **Every call MUST include an output contract in `question`** — tell the
   distiller the exact return format: `"PASS or FAIL"`, `"valid JSON {severity, file, message}"`,
   `"filenames, one per line"`, etc.
2. **One task per call.** No mixing unrelated questions.
3. **Prefer machine-checkable formats** (PASS/FAIL, JSON, one-item-per-line).

### `search_code` guidance

Use `search_code` before opening many files when task is locating symbols, config loading, entrypoints, or provider wiring.

MCP payload example:
`query="LoadDistillConfig", mode="symbol", question="Return likely definitions first as file:line, one per line."`

CLI equivalent:
`context-distill search_code --query "LoadDistillConfig" --mode symbol --question "Return likely definitions first as file:line, one per line."`

### `distill_batch` examples

| Source command    | `question`                                                                          |
|-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `go test ./...`   | "Did all tests pass? PASS or FAIL. If FAIL, list failing test names, one per line." |
| `git diff`        | "List only changed file paths, one per line."                                       |
| CI / build logs   | "Return JSON array: `[{severity, file, message}]`."                                |
| `docker logs`     | "Summarise errors only. One bullet per distinct error."                             |
| `find` / `ls -lR` | "Return only `*.go` paths, one per line."                                           |

### `distill_watch` — diff between snapshots

Use when you have two snapshots of the same source to extract only what changed.

| `question`                                           | `previous_cycle` | `current_cycle` |
|------------------------------------------------------|------------------|-----------------|
| "What changed in failure count? One short sentence." | snapshot T-1     | snapshot T      |
| "Return only newly failing services, one per line."  | status at T-1    | status at T     |

### When to skip distill (exceptions only)

- Output **≤ 5–8 lines**, already human-readable.
- You need **exact raw bytes** (compliance / audit / binary integrity).
- Debugging an **interactive terminal** where character-by-character flow matters.

AGENTS.md Template (Strict CI Mode)

## context-distill MCP Usage (CI Mode)

CRITICAL: For any command output consumed by automation, call `distill_batch` first.
CRITICAL: For repository localization in automation steps, call `search_code` first and keep output machine-parseable.

CRITICAL: Every `question` must define an explicit output contract and MUST be machine-parseable.
- Prefer JSON objects or arrays only.
- No markdown.
- No prose outside the requested schema.

CRITICAL: If JSON is requested, enforce:
- "Return valid JSON only."
- Fixed keys and fixed value shapes.

### Standard contracts

- **Test status:**
  `"Return valid JSON only with keys: status, failing_tests. status must be PASS or FAIL."`
- **Lint status:**
  `"Return valid JSON only with keys: status, issues. issues must be an array of {file, line, message}."`
- **Diff summary:**
  `"Return valid JSON only with key files_changed as an array of file paths."`

### `distill_watch` in CI

Use `distill_watch` only for periodic snapshots with strict delta output.

Example question:
`"Return valid JSON only with keys: changed, added, removed. Each must be an array of strings."`

### `search_code` in CI

Use `search_code` for deterministic discovery before heavier stages.

Example command:
`context-distill search_code --query "provider_name" --mode text --question "Return valid JSON only as array [{file,line,snippet}]."`

### Failure handling

- If the distillation output does not match the requested schema, treat it as invalid and re-run with a stricter question.
- If exact raw output is needed for audit or compliance, bypass distillation.

Suggested policy one-liner

Drop this into your project docs for a quick reference:

Default policy: use `context-distill` (via Skill, CLI, or MCP) to distill command output and run `search_code` for repository localization before sending data to an LLM, unless raw output is explicitly required.

---

Project Structure

context-distill/
├── cmd/
│   └── server/
│       ├── main.go
│       ├── bootstrap.go
│       └── openai_distill_config.go
├── distill/
│   ├── application/
│   │   └── distillation/
│   └── domain/
├── mcp/
│   ├── application/
│   └── domain/
├── platform/
│   ├── config/
│   ├── configui/
│   ├── di/
│   ├── mcp/
│   │   ├── commands/
│   │   ├── server/
│   │   └── tools/
│   ├── ollama/
│   └── openai/
├── shared/
│   ├── ai/domain/
│   └── config/domain/
├── SKILL.md
├── config.sample.yaml
├── config.yaml
├── Makefile
└── AGENTS.md

Architecture

Dependency rule:

platform  →  shared + distill/application + distill/domain
distill/application  →  distill/domain
cmd  →  platform + shared

Constraint: shared and distill/domain must never import platform.

Development

Tests and static checks

go test ./...
go vet ./...

Suggested local workflow

1. go test ./...
2. context-distill --config-ui
3. Verify CLI works:

   echo "hello world" | context-distill distill_batch --question "Return the input verbatim."
   context-distill search_code --query "provider_name" --mode text --question "Return only file:line, one per line."
   

4. (Optional) Start MCP server: context-distill --transport stdio
5. Validate behavior from your MCP client or via CLI commands.

Optional live test (real provider)

DISTILL_LIVE_TEST=1 OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 \
go test -tags=live ./platform/di -run TestLiveDistillBatchWithOpenAICompatibleProvider -v

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
provider unauthorized	Verify distill.api_key (or the fallback openai.api_key, depending on the provider).
requires base_url	Set distill.base_url. The fastest path is --config-ui.
MCP client does not detect the server	Confirm the binary path is absolute, has execute permissions, and transport is stdio.
Server fails on config validation	Run --config-ui for initial setup, then start normally.
CLI command returns non-zero exit code	Check required flags are present and non-empty (distill_batch: --question; distill_watch: --question, --previous-cycle, --current-cycle; search_code: --query, --mode, --question).
search_code fails with query is required despite passing values	You likely used MCP-style args (mode=text query=...) in shell. Use CLI flags: context-distill search_code --mode text --query "..." --question "...".
Agent ignores SKILL.md	Ensure the file is placed inside the correct agent skills directory (e.g. .claude/skills/context-distill/SKILL.md). See the Skill Setup table for all paths.

Security

• Never commit real API keys to public repositories.
• Prefer environment-based secrets in shared or CI environments.

License

Copyright © 2026 jcastilloa. All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.