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AI Chat & Analysis Guide

Complete guide to interactive chat, codebase analysis, and session management

Overview

The Lovelace CLI provides powerful AI-powered development assistance through interactive chat sessions and intelligent codebase analysis. This guide covers chat operations, analysis features, and session management.

Interactive AI Chat

Starting Chat Sessions

bash
# Basic chat session
lovelace chat

# Chat with specific provider
lovelace chat --provider anthropic
lovelace chat --provider openai
lovelace chat --provider google

# Chat with specific model
lovelace chat --model claude-3-5-sonnet
lovelace chat --model gpt-4

# Chat with workspace context
lovelace chat --context workspace

Chat Features

Context Awareness

  • Workspace Context: Chat understands your current workspace and projects
  • Project Structure: Automatically analyzes project files and dependencies
  • Recent Changes: Incorporates recent git commits and modifications
  • Team Knowledge: Access to shared team knowledge and conversations

AI Provider Options

  • Anthropic Claude: Advanced reasoning and code understanding
  • OpenAI GPT: General development assistance and code generation
  • Google Gemini: Multi-modal analysis and broad knowledge
  • Local Models: Privacy-focused local AI models (Ollama)

Chat Interface

Interactive Commands

  • /help - Show available commands
  • /clear - Clear chat history
  • /context - Show current context
  • /provider - Switch AI provider
  • /export - Export conversation
  • /quit - Exit chat session

Context Commands

  • /analyze - Run codebase analysis
  • /workspace - Show workspace information
  • /files <pattern> - List files matching pattern
  • /git - Show recent git activity

Example Chat Session

You: Analyze the authentication flow in this codebase

AI: I can see this is a Next.js application with authentication. Let me analyze the auth flow:

1. **Login Component** (components/auth/LoginForm.tsx)
   - Uses React Hook Form for validation
   - Calls auth API endpoint on submission
   - Handles both email/password and OAuth flows

2. **Authentication API** (pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].js)
   - NextAuth.js configuration
   - Multiple providers: Google, GitHub, Email
   - JWT token handling with secure cookies

3. **Proxy** (proxy.ts)
   - Protects routes requiring authentication
   - Redirects unauthenticated users to login
   - Handles token refresh automatically

Would you like me to suggest improvements to any specific part?

You: What security improvements would you recommend?

AI: Based on the current implementation, here are key security improvements:

1. **Rate Limiting**
   - Add rate limiting to login endpoints
   - Implement progressive delays for failed attempts
   - Use libraries like `express-rate-limit`

2. **CSRF Protection**
   - Enable CSRF tokens in NextAuth config
   - Add custom CSRF validation for API routes
   - Configure secure cookie settings

3. **Session Security**
   - Implement session rotation on privilege changes
   - Add session invalidation on password changes
   - Use secure session storage

Would you like me to show code examples for any of these improvements?

Codebase Analysis

Analysis Commands

bash
# Full codebase analysis
lovelace analyze

# Analyze specific aspects
lovelace analyze --symbols
lovelace analyze --dependencies
lovelace analyze --architecture
lovelace analyze --security

# Analyze specific files or directories
lovelace analyze src/components/
lovelace analyze --files "*.ts,*.tsx"

# Analyze recent changes
lovelace analyze --diff
lovelace analyze --since "1 week ago"

Analysis Types

Symbol Analysis

bash
lovelace analyze --symbols

Provides:

  • Function and class definitions
  • Import/export relationships
  • Type definitions and interfaces
  • Component hierarchies
  • API endpoint mappings

Dependency Analysis

bash
lovelace analyze --dependencies

Provides:

  • Package dependency tree
  • Outdated packages identification
  • Security vulnerability scan
  • Bundle size analysis
  • Circular dependency detection

Architecture Analysis

bash
lovelace analyze --architecture

Provides:

  • Project structure overview
  • Design pattern identification
  • Component relationships
  • Data flow analysis
  • Architecture recommendations

Security Analysis

bash
lovelace analyze --security

Provides:

  • Security vulnerability detection
  • Code security best practices
  • Authentication flow analysis
  • Data handling security review
  • OWASP compliance check

Analysis Output

bash
# Different output formats
lovelace analyze --output table
lovelace analyze --output json
lovelace analyze --output summary

# Save analysis to file
lovelace analyze --output-file analysis-report.json

# Generate visual reports
lovelace analyze --visual --output-dir ./reports/

Integration with Chat

Analysis results are automatically available in chat context:

You: Based on the analysis, what are the main issues?

AI: From the recent codebase analysis, I identified several key areas for improvement:

**High Priority:**
1. **Security**: 3 dependencies with known vulnerabilities
2. **Performance**: Large bundle size (2.3MB) due to unused dependencies
3. **Architecture**: Circular dependencies in auth module

**Medium Priority:**
1. **Code Quality**: 12 functions exceeding complexity threshold
2. **Testing**: 45% code coverage, missing tests for critical paths
3. **Documentation**: API endpoints lack OpenAPI documentation

Would you like me to prioritize these issues or dive deeper into any specific area?

Session Management

Session Operations

bash
# List all chat sessions
lovelace sessions

# List recent sessions
lovelace sessions --recent

# Search sessions
lovelace sessions search "authentication"
lovelace sessions search --tag security

# Browse sessions interactively
lovelace sessions browse

Resume Sessions

bash
# Resume most recent session
lovelace sessions resume

# Resume specific session
lovelace sessions resume session_12345

# Resume with different provider
lovelace sessions resume session_12345 --provider openai

Session Export

bash
# Export session to file
lovelace sessions export session_12345

# Export in different formats
lovelace sessions export session_12345 --format markdown
lovelace sessions export session_12345 --format json
lovelace sessions export session_12345 --format pdf

# Export multiple sessions
lovelace sessions export --tag security --format zip

Session Organization

bash
# Tag sessions
lovelace sessions tag session_12345 "authentication,security"

# Create session collections
lovelace sessions collection create "Security Review"
lovelace sessions collection add "Security Review" session_12345

# Share sessions with team
lovelace sessions share session_12345 --team development

Advanced Chat Features

Context Management

bash
# Add files to context
lovelace chat --files "src/auth/*"

# Add specific context types
lovelace chat --context workspace,git,issues

# Include external documentation
lovelace chat --docs "https://docs.example.com/api"

# Set context scope
lovelace chat --scope current-branch

Multi-Session Workflows

bash
# Start chat with session inheritance
lovelace chat --inherit session_12345

# Merge session contexts
lovelace chat --merge session_12345,session_67890

# Create session templates
lovelace sessions template create security-review
lovelace chat --template security-review

Collaborative Chat

bash
# Start team chat session
lovelace chat --team development

# Join existing team session
lovelace chat --join team_session_123

# Share live session
lovelace chat --share --real-time

Integration with Development Workflow

Git Integration

bash
# Chat with git context
lovelace chat --git-context

# Analyze specific commits
lovelace analyze --commit abc123

# Review pull request
lovelace chat --pr 456

Example Git Integration:

You: Review the changes in the latest commit

AI: I've analyzed commit abc123 "Add user authentication". Here's my review:

**Changes Overview:**
- Added UserAuth component (128 lines)
- Updated API routes for login/logout
- Added middleware for protected routes
- Updated tests for auth functionality

**Code Quality:**
✅ Good: Proper error handling and validation
✅ Good: Comprehensive test coverage
⚠️  Consider: Password hashing strength (current: bcrypt rounds 10, recommend 12+)
⚠️  Consider: Rate limiting on auth endpoints

**Security Review:**
✅ Secure: Proper JWT token handling
✅ Secure: HTTPS-only cookie configuration
🔴 Issue: Missing CSRF protection on auth endpoints

Would you like me to suggest fixes for the identified issues?

Issue Tracking Integration

bash
# Link chat to issues
lovelace chat --issue PROJ-123

# Create issues from chat
lovelace chat --create-issue "Security improvements needed"

# Update issues based on chat
lovelace sessions update-issue session_12345 PROJ-123

Documentation Generation

bash
# Generate docs from chat
lovelace sessions generate-docs session_12345

# Create API documentation
lovelace chat --generate-api-docs

# Generate team knowledge base
lovelace sessions knowledge-base --tag architecture

Performance Optimization

Chat Performance

bash
# Optimize chat for speed
lovelace config set chat.optimization speed

# Reduce context size
lovelace config set chat.context_limit 100

# Enable response caching
lovelace config set chat.cache_responses true

# Use faster models for quick questions
lovelace config set chat.quick_model claude-3-haiku

Analysis Performance

bash
# Incremental analysis
lovelace analyze --incremental

# Parallel analysis
lovelace analyze --parallel

# Cache analysis results
lovelace config set analysis.cache_results true

# Limit analysis scope
lovelace analyze --scope changed-files

Troubleshooting

Chat Issues

Connection Problems

bash
# Test AI provider connectivity
lovelace config test ai.anthropic.api_key

# Switch providers
lovelace chat --provider openai

# Check quota limits
lovelace billing usage

Context Issues

bash
# Clear chat context
lovelace chat --clear-context

# Rebuild workspace context
lovelace workspace sync --rebuild-context

# Check context size
lovelace chat --context-info

Analysis Issues

Analysis Failures

bash
# Check analysis logs
lovelace analyze --logs

# Run with debugging
lovelace analyze --debug

# Reset analysis cache
lovelace analyze --reset-cache

Performance Issues

bash
# Optimize analysis performance
lovelace analyze --optimize

# Exclude large files
lovelace config set analysis.exclude_patterns "*.log,*.tmp,node_modules"

# Limit analysis depth
lovelace config set analysis.max_depth 5

Session Issues

Session Recovery

bash
# Recover corrupted sessions
lovelace sessions recover

# Migrate old sessions
lovelace sessions migrate --from-version 1.0

# Rebuild session index
lovelace sessions reindex

Best Practices

Effective Chat Usage

  1. Be specific - Provide clear context and specific questions
  2. Use workspace context - Enable workspace context for better understanding
  3. Iterate - Build on previous conversations for complex problems
  4. Export important sessions - Save valuable conversations for future reference

Analysis Optimization

  1. Regular analysis - Run analysis after significant changes
  2. Focus analysis - Use specific analysis types for targeted insights
  3. Track changes - Use diff analysis to monitor code evolution
  4. Automate analysis - Integrate analysis into CI/CD pipelines

Session Management

  1. Organize sessions - Use tags and collections to organize conversations
  2. Share knowledge - Export and share valuable sessions with team
  3. Clean up regularly - Remove old or irrelevant sessions
  4. Use templates - Create session templates for common workflows

Next Steps: