get_env_graph

Overview

The get_env_graph tool analyzes relationships between environment variables and returns a dependency graph. It shows:

Which variables cluster together (used in the same files)
Load-bearing variables (used across most of the codebase)
Isolated variables (not related to others)
Connection strength between variables

Parameters

projectPath

string

Path to the project directory. Defaults to current working directory.

Response

graph

object

required

The environment variable dependency graph

Show properties

nodes

array

Graph nodes (limited to first 50)

Show node object

name

string

Variable name

usageCount

number

Number of times this variable is used

fileCount

number

Number of files using this variable

cluster

string

Cluster name (Database, API, Authentication, etc.)

isLoadBearing

boolean

Whether this is a load-bearing variable

connections

number

Number of connections to other variables

edges

array

Graph edges showing relationships (limited to first 100)

Show edge object

from

string

Source variable name

string

Target variable name

weight

number

Connection strength (number of shared files)

sharedFiles

string[]

Files where both variables are used (limited to first 3)

adjacencyList

object

Map of variable names to their connected neighbors

clusters

array

required

Array of detected variable clusters

Show cluster object

name

string

Cluster name (e.g., Database, API, Authentication)

variables

string[]

Variable names in this cluster

size

number

Number of variables in the cluster

loadBearingVars

string[]

required

Array of load-bearing variable names (used in many files)

isolatedVars

string[]

required

Array of isolated variable names (not connected to others)

stats

object

required

Graph statistics

Show properties

totalNodes

number

Total number of variables in the graph

totalEdges

number

Total number of connections

totalClusters

number

Number of detected clusters

avgConnections

number

Average connections per variable

metadata

object

required

Scan metadata

Show properties

projectPath

string

Absolute path to the scanned project

scannedFiles

number

Number of files scanned

cacheHit

boolean

Whether the scan used cached results

duration

number

Scan duration in milliseconds

Example Response

{
  "graph": {
    "nodes": [
      {
        "name": "DATABASE_URL",
        "usageCount": 12,
        "fileCount": 8,
        "cluster": "Database",
        "isLoadBearing": true,
        "connections": 5
      },
      {
        "name": "DB_HOST",
        "usageCount": 4,
        "fileCount": 3,
        "cluster": "Database",
        "isLoadBearing": false,
        "connections": 3
      },
      {
        "name": "API_KEY",
        "usageCount": 8,
        "fileCount": 6,
        "cluster": "API",
        "isLoadBearing": true,
        "connections": 2
      },
      {
        "name": "JWT_SECRET",
        "usageCount": 6,
        "fileCount": 4,
        "cluster": "Authentication",
        "isLoadBearing": false,
        "connections": 2
      },
      {
        "name": "SESSION_SECRET",
        "usageCount": 5,
        "fileCount": 4,
        "cluster": "Authentication",
        "isLoadBearing": false,
        "connections": 3
      }
    ],
    "edges": [
      {
        "from": "DATABASE_URL",
        "to": "DB_HOST",
        "weight": 2,
        "sharedFiles": [
          "src/db/connection.ts",
          "src/config/database.ts"
        ]
      },
      {
        "from": "JWT_SECRET",
        "to": "SESSION_SECRET",
        "weight": 3,
        "sharedFiles": [
          "src/auth/jwt.ts",
          "src/middleware/session.ts",
          "src/config/auth.ts"
        ]
      },
      {
        "from": "API_KEY",
        "to": "API_SECRET",
        "weight": 4,
        "sharedFiles": [
          "src/api/client.ts",
          "src/services/external-api.ts",
          "src/config/api.ts"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "adjacencyList": {
      "DATABASE_URL": ["DB_HOST", "DB_PORT", "DB_NAME", "DB_USER", "DB_PASSWORD"],
      "DB_HOST": ["DATABASE_URL", "DB_PORT", "DB_NAME"],
      "API_KEY": ["API_SECRET", "API_ENDPOINT"],
      "JWT_SECRET": ["SESSION_SECRET", "AUTH_EXPIRY"],
      "SESSION_SECRET": ["JWT_SECRET", "COOKIE_SECRET", "AUTH_EXPIRY"]
    }
  },
  "clusters": [
    {
      "name": "Database",
      "variables": ["DATABASE_URL", "DB_HOST", "DB_PORT", "DB_USER", "DB_PASSWORD", "DB_NAME"],
      "size": 6
    },
    {
      "name": "Authentication",
      "variables": ["JWT_SECRET", "SESSION_SECRET", "COOKIE_SECRET", "AUTH_EXPIRY"],
      "size": 4
    },
    {
      "name": "API",
      "variables": ["API_KEY", "API_SECRET", "API_ENDPOINT"],
      "size": 3
    }
  ],
  "loadBearingVars": [
    "DATABASE_URL",
    "API_KEY",
    "NODE_ENV"
  ],
  "isolatedVars": [
    "LEGACY_FEATURE_FLAG",
    "TEMP_DEBUG_MODE"
  ],
  "stats": {
    "totalNodes": 42,
    "totalEdges": 87,
    "totalClusters": 8,
    "avgConnections": 4.14
  },
  "metadata": {
    "projectPath": "/Users/dev/my-project",
    "scannedFiles": 156,
    "cacheHit": false,
    "duration": 298
  }
}

Usage Example

Get the dependency graph:

{
  "name": "get_env_graph",
  "arguments": {
    "projectPath": "/path/to/project"
  }
}

Minimal call:

{
  "name": "get_env_graph",
  "arguments": {}
}

Graph Concepts

Nodes

Each node represents an environment variable with:

usageCount: How many times it appears in code
fileCount: How many files use it
cluster: The functional group it belongs to
isLoadBearing: Whether it’s used across many files
connections: Number of related variables

Edges

Edges represent relationships between variables:

weight: Number of files where both variables are used together
sharedFiles: Specific files creating the connection

Higher weight = stronger relationship = variables likely related functionally.

Load-Bearing Variables

Variables used across a significant portion of the codebase. These are:

Critical to application functionality
High-impact if misconfigured
Should be carefully documented and validated

Typically includes:

Database connection strings
API keys used throughout the app
Environment indicators (NODE_ENV)
Base URLs and core configuration

Isolated Variables

Variables with no connections to others. They:

Are used in isolation (single file or feature)
May be feature flags or legacy code
Could be candidates for removal if unused

Clusters

Groups of related variables detected by:

Co-occurrence: Used in the same files
Naming patterns: Similar prefixes (DB_, AWS_, etc.)
Functional grouping: Related purpose

Common clusters:

Database: DB_, DATABASE_, POSTGRES_, MYSQL_
Authentication: JWT_, SESSION_, AUTH_*
API: API_*, *_API_KEY, *_API_SECRET
Caching: REDIS_, MEMCACHED_
Email: SMTP_, SENDGRID_, MAILGUN_*
Monitoring: SENTRY_, DATADOG_
Cloud: AWS_, GCP_, AZURE_*

Use Cases

Architecture Understanding: Visualize how configuration is organized
Impact Analysis: Understand which variables are related before making changes
Refactoring: Identify clusters that should be migrated together
Documentation: Group related variables in documentation
Dependency Tracking: See which variables depend on each other
Migration Planning: Plan environment migrations by cluster
Code Organization: Understand configuration structure

Visualization

The graph data can be visualized using:

Force-directed graph layouts (D3.js, Cytoscape)
Network diagrams
Cluster maps
Adjacency matrices

Nodes can be sized by usageCount and colored by cluster.

MCP Tools

Overview

Parameters

Response

Example Response

Usage Example

Graph Concepts

Nodes

Edges

Load-Bearing Variables

Isolated Variables

Clusters

Use Cases

Visualization

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

MCP Tools

​Overview

​Parameters

​Response

​Example Response

​Usage Example

​Graph Concepts

​Nodes

​Edges

​Load-Bearing Variables

​Isolated Variables

​Clusters

​Use Cases

​Visualization

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Parameters

Response

Example Response

Usage Example

Graph Concepts

Nodes

Edges

Load-Bearing Variables

Isolated Variables

Clusters

Use Cases

Visualization