# Claude Instructions for WLED Screen Controller

## Code Search

**If `ast-index` is available, use it as the PRIMARY code search tool.** It is significantly faster than grep and returns structured, accurate results. Fall back to grep/Glob only when ast-index is not installed, returns empty results, or when searching regex patterns/string literals/comments.

**IMPORTANT for subagents:** When spawning Agent subagents (Plan, Explore, general-purpose, etc.), always instruct them to use `ast-index` via Bash for code search instead of grep/Glob. Example: include "Use `ast-index search`, `ast-index class`, `ast-index usages` etc. via Bash for code search" in the agent prompt.

```bash
ast-index search "Query"                  # Universal search
ast-index class "ClassName"               # Find class/struct/interface definitions
ast-index usages "SymbolName"             # Find all usage sites
ast-index symbol "FunctionName"           # Find any symbol
ast-index callers "FunctionName"          # Find all call sites
ast-index outline "path/to/File.py"       # Show all symbols in a file
ast-index changed --base master           # Show symbols changed in current branch
```

## Git Commit and Push Policy

**NEVER commit or push without explicit user approval.** Wait for the user to review changes and explicitly say "commit" or "push". Completing a task, "looks good", or "thanks" do NOT count as approval. See the system-level instructions for the full commit workflow.

## Auto-Restart and Rebuild Policy

- **Python code changes** (`server/src/` excluding `static/`): Auto-restart the server. See [contexts/server-operations.md](contexts/server-operations.md) for the restart procedure.
- **Frontend changes** (`static/js/`, `static/css/`): Run `cd server && npm run build` to rebuild the bundle. No server restart needed.

## Project Structure

- `/server` — Python FastAPI backend (see [server/CLAUDE.md](server/CLAUDE.md))
- `/contexts` — Context files for Claude (frontend conventions, graph editor, Chrome tools, server ops, demo mode)

## Context Files

| File | When to read |
| ---- | ------------ |
| [contexts/frontend.md](contexts/frontend.md) | HTML, CSS, JS/TS, i18n, modals, icons, bundling |
| [contexts/graph-editor.md](contexts/graph-editor.md) | Visual graph editor changes |
| [contexts/server-operations.md](contexts/server-operations.md) | Server restart, startup modes, demo mode |
| [contexts/chrome-tools.md](contexts/chrome-tools.md) | Chrome MCP tool usage for testing |
| [server/CLAUDE.md](server/CLAUDE.md) | Backend architecture, API patterns, common tasks |

## Task Tracking via TODO.md

Use `TODO.md` in the project root as the primary task tracker. **Do NOT use the TodoWrite tool** — all progress tracking goes through `TODO.md`.

## Documentation Lookup

**Use context7 MCP tools for library/framework documentation lookups** (FastAPI, OpenCV, Pydantic, yt-dlp, etc.) instead of relying on potentially outdated training data.

## General Guidelines

- Always test changes before marking as complete
- Follow existing code style and patterns
- Update documentation when changing behavior
- Never make commits or pushes without explicit user approval
