Leveraging Context Mentions

Context mentions represent a powerful enhancement to your interactions with Thunderflow AI, providing targeted information about your project that enables more precise and efficient task execution. These specialized references allow you to direct Thunderflow AI's attention to specific files, folders, problems, and Git commits. All context mentions are initiated with the @ symbol.

The context mentions interface displays an intelligent dropdown menu when you type the @ symbol in the chat.

Context Mention Types

File mentions incorporate actual code content directly into the conversation for immediate reference and analysis.

Mention Type	Format	Description	Example Usage
File	@/path/to/file.ts	Incorporates complete file contents into the request context	"Explain the function in @/src/utils.ts"
Folder	@/path/to/folder	Includes contents of all files directly in the specified folder (non-recursive)	"Analyze the code structure in @/src/components"
Problems	@problems	Imports all diagnostics from VS Code's Problems panel	"@problems Fix all syntax errors in my code"
Terminal	@terminal	Captures recent terminal commands and their output	"Debug the error shown in @terminal"
Git Commit	@a1b2c3d	References a specific commit by its hash identifier	"What changes were introduced in commit @a1b2c3d?"
Git Changes	@git-changes	Displays currently uncommitted changes	"Suggest a commit message for @git-changes"
URL	@https://example.com	Imports and processes external website content	"Summarize the documentation at @https://docusaurus.io/"

File Mentions

File mentions incorporate source code with line numbers for precise reference and navigation.

Capability	Details
Format	@/path/to/file.ts (always begin with / from workspace root)
Provides	Complete file contents with line numbers for easy reference
Supports	Text files, PDFs, and DOCX files (with automatic text extraction)
Works in	Initial requests, feedback responses, and follow-up messages
Limitations	Very large files may be truncated; binary files are not supported

Folder Mentions

Folder mentions aggregate the content of all files within the specified directory for comprehensive analysis.

Capability	Details
Format	@/path/to/folder (without trailing slash)
Provides	Consolidated contents of all files within the specified directory
Includes	Contents of non-binary text files directly within the folder (not recursive)
Best for	Providing comprehensive context from multiple related files in a directory
Tip	Consider context window limitations when mentioning directories with numerous files

Problems Mention

Problems mentions import diagnostic information directly from VS Code's problems panel for immediate resolution.

Capability	Details
Format	@problems
Provides	Comprehensive list of errors and warnings from VS Code's problems panel
Includes	File paths, line numbers, and detailed diagnostic messages
Groups	Problems organized by file location for improved clarity
Best for	Efficiently addressing errors without manual copying or transcription

Terminal Mention

Terminal mentions capture recent command execution output for debugging and analysis purposes.

Capability	Details
Format	@terminal
Captures	Most recent command and its complete output
Preserves	Terminal state (non-destructive operation)
Limitation	Content limited to visible terminal buffer
Best for	Debugging build errors or analyzing command execution results

Git Mentions

Git mentions provide detailed commit information and diffs for context-aware version analysis.

Type	Format	Provides	Limitations
Commit	@a1b2c3d	Commit message, author information, date, and complete diff	Only functional within Git repositories
Working Changes	@git-changes	git status output and comprehensive diff of uncommitted changes	Only functional within Git repositories

URL Mentions

URL mentions import external web content and transform it into readable Markdown format for analysis.

Capability	Details
Format	@https://example.com
Processing	Utilizes headless browser technology to fetch content
Cleaning	Automatically removes scripts, styles, and navigation elements
Output	Converts web content to Markdown format for improved readability
Limitation	Complex page structures may not convert with perfect fidelity

Utilizing Context Mentions

1. Type @ in the chat input field to activate the suggestions dropdown
2. Continue typing to filter available suggestions or use arrow keys to navigate options
3. Select your desired mention with the Enter key or mouse click
4. Combine multiple mentions in a single request: "Fix @problems in @/src/component.ts"

The intelligent dropdown automatically suggests:

• Recently accessed files
• Visible folders in your workspace
• Recent Git commits
• Special keywords (problems, terminal, git-changes)
• All currently open files (regardless of ignore settings or directory filters)

The dropdown intelligently filters out common directories like node_modules, .git, dist, and out to reduce visual clutter, though their content can still be included if manually typed.

Important Behavioral Considerations

Ignore File Interactions

Behavior	Description
.thunderflowignore bypass	File and folder @mentions bypass .thunderflowignore checks when retrieving content for context. Content from ignored files will be included when directly mentioned.
.gitignore bypass	Similarly, file and folder @mentions do not adhere to .gitignore rules when retrieving content.
Git command respect	Git-related mentions (@git-changes, @commit-hash) do respect .gitignore settings since they rely on underlying Git commands.