Quick start

Get SigMap running in under two minutes.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later — check with node --version
• A git repository to generate context for

Install methods

npm global install

The simplest way for most developers.

npm install -g sigmap
sigmap

npx (no install)

Run directly without installing.

npx sigmap

curl single file

Download the single self-contained file and run it directly. Zero npm install.

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/manojmallick/sigmap/main/gen-context.js
node gen-context.js

Binary download

Pre-built binaries are available on the GitHub releases page for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

VS Code extension

Install from the VS Code Marketplace or search for SigMap in the Extensions panel.

The extension adds:

• A status bar item showing health grade and time since last regeneration
• Regenerate Context and Open Context File commands
• A stale-context warning after 24 hours

JetBrains plugin

Install from the JetBrains Marketplace or search for SigMap inside IntelliJ IDEA, WebStorm, GoLand, PyCharm, Rider, CLion, RubyMine, PhpStorm, DataGrip, AppCode, Android Studio, Aqua, DataSpell, Fleet, or any other JetBrains IDE.

4-step workflow

Step 1 — Run once to generate

sigmap
# or: node gen-context.js

This writes .github/copilot-instructions.md (and CLAUDE.md if configured).

Step 2 — Set up automation

Run --setup once to install a git post-commit hook and start the file watcher:

sigmap --setup

[sigmap] ✓ detected .claude/settings.json
[sigmap] ✓ added MCP server entry → .claude/settings.json
[sigmap] ✓ detected .cursor/mcp.json
[sigmap] ✓ added MCP server entry → .cursor/mcp.json
[sigmap] ✓ installed .git/hooks/post-commit
[sigmap] ✓ watcher started on src/ app/ lib/

Step 3 — Open your AI coding tool

GitHub Copilot reads .github/copilot-instructions.md automatically. Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md. Cursor and Windsurf pick up the context file based on the output path in your config.

Step 4 — Keep it fresh

From this point, every git commit regenerates the context file automatically. Use --watch for sub-second updates during active coding:

sigmap --watch

Verify it's working

sigmap --health

Expected output:

[sigmap] score: 94  grade: A
[sigmap] context: .github/copilot-instructions.md
[sigmap] last generated: 2m ago
[sigmap] token reduction: 95.3%

Next steps

• CLI reference — all flags with examples
• Config reference — all 21 config keys
• MCP server setup — wire up 8 on-demand tools for Claude Code and Cursor
• Strategies — choose full, per-module, or hot-cold

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Made in Amsterdam, Netherlands 🇳🇱