Guru: AI Assistant

What is Guru?

Guru is Guardian's built-in AI assistant. It provides context-aware explanations of code issues, suggests fixes, and helps you understand your codebase better.

Key Features

Feature	Description
Context-Aware Analysis	Understands your codebase structure
Fix Suggestions	Provides actionable code changes
Explanations	Describes why an issue matters
Web Search	Can search the web for additional context

Using Guru

Opening the Chat

The Guru chat panel is accessible from the main interface. Simply type your question in the chat input at the bottom of the screen.

Asking Questions

Guru understands natural language queries:

"Why is this function flagged as a security issue?"
"How can I fix the N+1 query problem here?"
"What's the best way to refactor this class?"
"Explain the architectural impact of this change"

Web Search

Enable web search by adding @web to your query or enabling it in Settings:

"@web What are the latest React best practices?"
"Explain the latest TypeScript 5 features @web"

Applying Fixes

When Guru suggests a fix:

1. Review: Read the suggested code changes
2. Apply: Click Apply Fix to implement
3. Reject: Click Reject to dismiss the suggestion

Tip: Always review fixes before applying. Guru is helpful but suggestions should be verified.

Guru Capabilities

Code Analysis

Guru can analyze code for:

• Security vulnerabilities
• Architectural patterns
• Performance issues
• Code style problems

Explanations

Ask Guru to explain:

• Why a pattern is problematic
• The impact of an issue
• Alternative approaches
• Best practices for your stack

Refactoring

Guru can suggest:

• Function extraction
• Interface improvements
• Dependency patterns
• Test structure improvements

Configuration

Provider Settings

Navigate to Settings to configure Guru:

Setting	Description
Provider	AI model provider (Ollama, OpenAI, etc.)
Model	Specific model version
API Key	Your provider API key

Web Search Settings

In Settings, you can configure Tavily for web search:

Setting	Description
Tavily API Key	Enable web search capabilities

Chat History

Guru maintains conversation history per project:

• Conversations persist across sessions
• Use Clear Chat to start fresh
• History helps Guru understand context

Best Practices

Effective Prompting

Good prompts are specific:

"Explain why the useEffect in UserProfile.tsx causes a memory leak"

Avoid vague prompts:

"What's wrong with my code?"

Workflow Integration

1. Review Phase: Use Guru to understand issues
2. Fix Phase: Apply suggested fixes or use as reference
3. Verify Phase: Check if the fix resolves the issue

Learning from Guru

Guru explanations are educational:

• Read the "why" explanations
• Understand the principles behind suggestions
• Apply learnings to new code proactively

Limitations

Guru is powerful but has limits:

Limitation	Workaround
Large files may be truncated	Focus on specific sections
May not know proprietary patterns	Provide context in prompts
Suggestions need review	Always verify before applying
Rate limits apply	Configure provider limits

Privacy Considerations

When using Guru:

• Code snippets are sent to your configured AI provider
• Choose providers with appropriate data policies
• Avoid sending secrets or PII in prompts
• Review provider terms for your compliance needs

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
No response	Check API key in Settings
Generic answers	Include more context in your question
Slow responses	Try a faster model
Incorrect suggestions	Provide more specific context