Tool selection guide
When C# semantic tools help
Glider provides compiler-backed C# and .NET facts through MCP. It complements text search, build commands, and runtime tools.
Use semantic tools when symbol identity or code relationships matter. Use text search when the question is about raw text.
Choose Glider from the question
Resolve a symbol
Identify the declaration before you follow or change it.
find_codesearch_symbolsresolve_symbolget_symbol_at_position- Results carry an opaque
symbolKeyfor later relationship queries. - This distinguishes overloads, aliases, similarly named types, and text matches.
Follow code relationships
Ask about references, implementations, overrides, callers, or outgoing calls.
find_referencesfind_implementationsfind_overridesfind_callersget_outgoing_calls- These tools start from compiler-resolved symbol identity.
- Use them when a matching word does not prove a code relationship.
Inspect diagnostics
Read file, project, or solution diagnostics in a structured form.
get_diagnosticsdiagnostic_hotspots- Filter and page diagnostic results.
- Group diagnostic hotspots before you inspect individual messages.
Map impact and dependencies
Collect direct or bounded transitive evidence before a change.
analyze_change_impactget_cascade_impactget_project_graphget_type_dependencies- Impact summaries combine references, callers, implementations, and overrides.
- Project and type graphs expose declared dependency relationships.
Preview a refactor
Inspect proposed symbol or source changes before writing them.
rename_symbolmove_typemove_memberwrite_file- Use
applyChanges: falsewhen the tool supports a preview. - Inspect the affected files and diff before you apply the change.
Inspect external APIs and packages
Connect referenced assemblies and packages to their local use.
view_external_definitionfind_external_dependency_usagesfind_package_usages- Inspect external definitions without claiming that documentation matches local use.
- Map a package or assembly to concrete source references before changing it.
Use another tool when
- Use Scout for repository-wide lexical, fuzzy, semantic, hybrid, or structural retrieval.
- Use the .NET CLI for build, test, pack, and release commands.
- Use GliderTrace when a question needs runtime sessions, failures, counters, traces, or artifacts.
- Glider needs a loaded C# solution or project. Its initial load is an architectural cost, not a published performance result.
About comparisons
This page describes tool boundaries and returned evidence. It does not estimate calls, tokens, correctness, or task time.
Any future performance or agent-workflow claim must link to a reproducible method and result set.