What is Constellation?
Constellation is a centralized code intelligence platform that transforms how development teams work with AI assistants. By maintaining a living, breathing knowledge graph of your entire codebase that updates on demand, Constellation enables AI assistants to truly understand your team's code, patterns, and decisions.
Think of it as a "shared brain" for your team's AI tools; one source of truth that gets smarter with every merge, every refactor, and every architectural decision.
The Problem
You need to change the signature of the calculateDiscount() method, so you ask your AI assistant where that symbol is used.
AI searches your codebase, reads 6 files, burns 10,000+ tokens, and then returns a convincing report including a references list that looks complete.
You proceed to make the changes (or task AI to do it). The tests pass. The resulting PR gets merged.
Tuesday morning comes around and production reporting is broken! Turns out there was a dynamic import in the reporting module that AI missed when searching with grep...
This is the fundamental problem: AI assistants generally understand your code by reading it on demand. They search for text patterns, not code structure. They miss things. Not to mention that each AI assistant of every developer on your team has a slightly different understanding of the same codebase, even varying session by session.
The Solution
Constellation gives your AI a pre-indexed map of your codebase. A knowledge graph that knows what symbols exist, where they're defined, and how everything connects.
Instead of searching text, it queries Constellation:
You: "What could break if I change calculateDiscount?"
- AI querying Constellation impact analysis for symbol calculateDiscount...
AI:
Direct callers: OrderService.finalizeOrder, CartController.getTotal
Indirect impact: ReportGenerator (via OrderService), EmailNotifier
Test coverage: 3 tests directly cover this function
Risk level: MEDIUM - used in 2 critical paths
No file reading. No grep. No missed references. Just rapid, accurate answers.
What Constellation Does
Impact Analysis
"What breaks if I change this?"
Before you refactor, rename, or delete anything, you can know exactly what depends on it.
| Without Constellation | With Constellation |
|---|---|
| Grep for text matches | Query the code graph |
| Read files to understand context | See direct and indirect callers instantly |
| Hope you found everything | Know you found everything |
| 20 minutes of investigation | 2 seconds |
The real value: Ship refactors with confidence. No burden to prove the negative "I believe there are no broken references."
Code Discovery
"Where is this defined?"
You're debugging unfamiliar code with your AI assistant. You need to find where handlePayment is defined and all of it's references.
| Without Constellation | With Constellation |
|---|---|
| AI greps files, reads 5-6 candidates | Instant: src/payments/handler.ts:42 |
| ~10,000 tokens consumed | ~50 tokens consumed |
| 30 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Misses valid references | Returns the definition with all references |
The real value: Less waiting for your AI to read files. Get accurate answers rapidly.
Dead Code Detection
"Is this safe to delete?"
Tech debt accumulates in part because deleting code is intimidating. What if something uses it dynamically? What if a test depends on it?
| Without Constellation | With Constellation |
|---|---|
| Grep shows no results... probably safe? | "Exported but never imported. Zero references." |
| Fear of breaking something | Confidence to clean up |
| Dead code persists forever | Dead or orphaned code can confidently be removed |
The real value: Finally clean up that legacy code you've been afraid to touch.
ℹ️ See the MCP Tools page section for details regarding all tools provided to the AI coding assistants.
How It Works
- Parse and Analyze: The CLI tool analyzes source code in your environment, extracting structural metadata (functions, classes, variables, imports, calls, references, etc.)
- Upload: Only the metadata is securely sent to Constellation, never raw source code
- Query: AI assistants use the Constellation MCP tool to send complex queries, and get rapid answers derived from the knowledge graph
What Gets Indexed vs. What Stays Local
| Indexed ⬆️ | NOT Indexed 🔒 |
|---|---|
| Function and class names | Function bodies and implementations |
| File paths and locations | File contents |
| Import/export relationships | Business logic |
| Call graphs | Actual source code |
| Type signatures | Comments and strings |
This is the key insight: your AI usually needs to know about your code, not read your code.
E.g. Answering "Where is handlePayment defined?" doesn't require reading the function, just knowing it exists at src/payments/handler.ts:42.
Why This Matters for Teams
When every developer's AI assistant shares the same code knowledge graph:
- Same answers: Ask "what uses AuthService?" and everyone gets identical, accurate results
- No drift: Context doesn't vary based on which files were read or how long ago they were read
- Instant onboarding: New team members' AI assistants understand the codebase immediately
Privacy and Security
Your source code never leaves your environment. Constellation transmits only structural metadata (what exists and how things connect) not the implementations.
What stays local:
...
function calculateDiscount(customer, order) {
const loyaltyMultiplier = customer.yearsActive * 0.02;
const baseDiscount = order.total > 1000 ? 0.15 : 0.05;
return Math.min(loyaltyMultiplier + baseDiscount, 0.25);
}
...
What Constellation sees:
- Function:
calculateDiscount - Parameters:
customer,order - Returns:
number - Location:
src/pricing/discounts.js:42 - Calls:
Math.min
Constellation knows the calculateDiscount function exists, where to find it, and everywhere it is referenced. It doesn't know your pricing formula.
This means Constellation can be used with proprietary codebases, security-sensitive projects, and in compliance-restricted environments.
Who Should Use Constellation
- Developers who are tired of AI constantly reading files and missing references
- Teams who want consistent AI code context and behavior across all members
- Organizations who can't transmit source code to external services or vendors
- Anyone who's ever taken down prod because they missed a reference in a refactor
Get Started
Ready to try it?
- Getting Started — Install and configure in under 5 minutes
- CLI Documentation — Learn how to index your codebase
- MCP Server — Connect your AI assistant