searching-context

Original：🇺🇸 English
Translated

Search memories and resource context from OpenViking, aka. ov. Trigger this tool when 1. sees keyword "ovs"; 2. is explicitly requested searching files or knowledge; 3. sees `search context` request

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Sourcevolcengine/openviking
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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add volcengine/openviking searching-context

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
openvikingcontext-searchcli-toolsearch-utilitiesagent-best-practices

SKILL.md Content

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OpenViking (OV) context searching

The 
ov search
command performs context-aware retrieval across all memories and resources in OpenViking — combining semantic understanding with directory recursive retrieval to find the most relevant context for any query.

Table of Content

  • When to Use
  • Search Modes
    • Context-Aware Search (
      ov search
      )
    • Content Pattern Search (
      ov grep
      )
    • File Glob Search (
      ov glob
      )
  • Search Options
    • Result Control
    • Scope Control
    • Session-Aware Search
  • Output
  • Other Utilities
    • List Contents (
      ov ls
      )
    • Tree View (
      ov tree
      )
    • Read File Content (
      ov read
      )
  • Agent Best Practices
    • Choosing Search Methods
    • Query Formulation
    • Combining with Other Commands
  • Prerequisite

When to Use

  • Finding specific information within imported resources or saved memories
  • Retrieving context about topics, APIs, or patterns previously added
  • Searching across project documentation, code, and learnings
  • When an agent needs to reference previously stored knowledge
note: cli command can be outdated, when sees error, use 
--help
to get latest usage

Search Modes

Context-Aware Search (
ov search
)

Primary search method with session context awareness:
bash
# Basic search across all context
ov search "how to handle API rate limits"

# Search within specific URI scope
ov search "authentication flow" --uri "viking://resources/my-project"

# Limit results and set threshold
ov search "error handling" --limit 5 --threshold 0.7

Content Pattern Search (
ov grep
)

Literal pattern matching:
bash
# Search for exact text pattern
ov grep "viking://resources" "TODO:"

# Case-insensitive search
ov grep "viking://resources" "API_KEY" --ignore-case

File Glob Search (
ov glob
)

File path pattern matching:
bash
# Find all markdown files
ov glob "**/*.md"

# Find Python files in specific directory
ov glob --uri="viking://user/" "**/*.md"

Search Options

Result Control

bash
# Limit number of results
ov search "authentication" --limit 5

# Set minimum relevance threshold (0.0-1.0)
ov search "deployment" --threshold 0.8

# Combine limit and threshold
ov search "monitoring" --limit 10 --threshold 0.7

Scope Control

bash
# Search specific directory
ov search "API design" --uri "viking://resources/xxx"

# Search within memories
ov search "user habits" --uri "viking://user/memories"

Session-Aware Search

bash
# Search with session context (uses conversation history for better retrieval)
ov search "previous decision" --session-id "session-abc123"

Output

Returns a ranked list of matching resources with relevance scores:
URI: viking://resources/docs/api.md
Score: 0.8523
Abstract: API endpoints for user authentication...

URI: viking://user/memories/preferences
Score: 0.7891
Abstract: User prefers dark mode and compact layout...

Other Utilities

List Contents (
ov ls
)

Browse directory structure:
bash
# List root directory
ov ls

# List specific directory
ov ls viking://resources/my-project

# Simple path output (for scripts)
ov ls viking://resources --simple

# Recursive listing
ov ls viking://resources --recursive

# Show hidden files
ov ls viking://resources --all

# Control output limits
ov ls viking://resources --node-limit 50 --abs-limit 128

Tree View (
ov tree
)

Visualize directory hierarchy:
bash
# Show tree structure
ov tree viking://resources

# Control depth and limits
ov tree viking://resources --node-limit 100 --abs-limit 128

# Show all files including hidden
ov tree viking://resources --all

Read File Content (
ov read
)

Retrieve full content (L2 layer):
bash
# Read full content
ov read viking://resources/docs/api.md

# Read abstract (L0 - quick summary)
ov abstract viking://resources/docs/api.md

# Read overview (L1 - key points)
ov overview viking://resources/docs/api.md

Agent Best Practices

Choosing Search Methods

  • ov search
     — Default choice. Context-aware, combines semantic + directory recursive retrieval
  • ov grep
     — Exact text pattern matching (like 
    grep
    command)
  • ov glob
     — File path pattern matching (like shell glob)

Query Formulation

Write specific, contextual queries:
bash
# Too vague
ov search "API"

# Better
ov search "REST API authentication with JWT tokens"

# Even better with scope
ov search "JWT token refresh flow" --uri "viking://resources/backend"

Combining with Other Commands

Use search results to guide further actions:
bash
ov ls viking://resources/

# Search for relevant files
ov search "authentication" --uri "viking://resources/xxx"

# Then read specific content
ov read viking://resources/backend/auth.md

# Or get overview for context
ov overview viking://resources/backend

Prerequisites

  • CLI configured: 
    ~/.openviking/ovcli.conf
  • Resources or memories previously added to OpenViking