Mode & Rules

Mode

The mode field determines how Synapses operates:

Mode	Description
`"full"`	Full code graph + memory. Parses AST, builds graph, serves context. Default.
`"knowledge"`	Memory-only. No code parsing or graph. For non-code domains (design docs, research).

{
  "mode": "full"
}

In knowledge mode, code-graph tools like get_context and search(mode="exact") are unavailable. Memory tools (memory(action="save"), memory(action="search")), task management, and knowledge tools work normally.

Rules

Architectural rules enforce constraints on your codebase. They’re checked in real-time and violations surface in validate(phase="list") and get_context.

{
  "rules": [
    {
      "id": "no-handler-db",
      "description": "Handlers must not call database directly",
      "severity": "error",
      "edge_type": "CALLS",
      "from_file_pattern": "*/handlers/*",
      "to_file_pattern": "*/db/*"
    }
  ]
}

Rule Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
`id`	`string`	Yes	Unique identifier
`description`	`string`	Yes	Human-readable explanation
`severity`	`string`	Yes	`"error"` or `"warning"`
`edge_type`	`string`	No	Edge type to check (CALLS, IMPORTS, etc.)
`from_file_pattern`	`string`	No	Glob pattern for source file
`to_file_pattern`	`string`	No	Glob pattern for target file
`to_name_pattern`	`string`	No	Substring match on target entity name
`path_pattern`	`string`	No	Multi-hop path: `"CALLS,CALLS,IMPORTS"` (up to 8 hops)

Rules can also be created dynamically via the rules(action="upsert") MCP tool.

Path Patterns

Path patterns check multi-hop sequences through the graph:

{
  "id": "no-handler-db-indirect",
  "description": "No handler-to-database path without service layer",
  "severity": "warning",
  "path_pattern": "CALLS,CALLS",
  "from_file_pattern": "*/handlers/*",
  "to_file_pattern": "*/db/*"
}

This catches handler → X → database patterns up to 2 hops deep.