Communities

Communities are functional groupings of code that work together. Unlike directories or modules, communities are detected algorithmically based on actual code relationships.

What is a Community?

A community is a cluster of code symbols (functions, classes, methods) that:

Frequently call each other
Share common purposes
Have higher internal cohesion than external connections

Think of communities as the natural boundaries in your codebase - the groups of code that "belong together" based on how they're actually used.

How Communities Are Detected

noodlbox uses modularity optimization algorithms to identify communities:

Build the call graph

Map all function calls in your codebase

Calculate modularity

Find groupings that maximize internal connections

Detect boundaries

Identify where one community ends and another begins

Label communities

Generate meaningful names based on symbols

Community Properties

Cohesion Score

A measure from 0 to 1 of how tightly connected the community is:

High cohesion (0.8+): Well-defined, focused responsibility
Medium cohesion (0.5 to 0.8): Reasonable grouping, some external dependencies
Low cohesion (below 0.5): May indicate code that should be split

Entry Points

Functions that are called from outside the community. These are the community's "API" - how other code interacts with it.

Key Symbols

The most central symbols in the community, based on how many other symbols depend on them.

Example Community

{
  "label": "Authentication",
  "cohesion": 0.92,
  "symbol_count": 85,
  "entry_points": [
    { "name": "login", "calls": 156 },
    { "name": "logout", "calls": 89 },
    { "name": "validateToken", "calls": 234 }
  ],
  "key_symbols": [
    { "name": "authenticateUser", "centrality": 0.95 },
    { "name": "createSession", "centrality": 0.87 }
  ]
}

Communities vs. Files

Aspect	File-based	Community-based
Grouping	Directory structure	Actual relationships
Boundaries	Developer choice	Algorithm detected
Refactoring	Move files	Understand connections
Discovery	Browse folders	Follow functionality

Working with Communities

Exploring Communities

Use the Codebase Map to see all communities:

GET map://{repository}

Deep Diving

Get details about a specific community:

GET map://{repository}/community/{id}

Querying with Cypher

Find symbols in a community:

MATCH (s:CodeSymbol)-[:MEMBER_OF]->(c:Community)
WHERE c.label = "Authentication"
RETURN s.name, s.symbol_type

Find cross-community calls:

MATCH (s1:CodeSymbol)-[:MEMBER_OF]->(c1:Community),
      (s2:CodeSymbol)-[:MEMBER_OF]->(c2:Community),
      (s1)-[:CALLS]->(s2)
WHERE c1 <> c2
RETURN c1.label, c2.label, s1.name, s2.name

Use Cases

Understanding Codebase Structure

Communities reveal the actual architecture of your code, beyond what's documented or intended.

Impact Analysis

Changes to a community's key symbols affect the entire community. Changes to entry points may affect external code.

Refactoring Planning

Low cohesion communities may need to be split. Frequently cross-communicating communities may need to be merged.

Onboarding

New developers can understand the codebase by exploring communities instead of navigating file trees.

Learn More

Codebase Map - See all communities
Community Detail - Explore a specific community
Processes - Execution flows within and across communities

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