A simpler alternative to Sourcegraph for codebase questions.
Sourcegraph is powerful for code search. But if you want to ask questions in plain English and get answers that anyone can understand, Critical Context is built exactly for that.
- Natural language questions, not regex patterns
- Works in Slack and Teams where your team already is
- Answers for everyone, not just developers
60% of codebase questions come from non-developers: PMs, executives, support, new hires. They need answers, not search results.
1.
app/services/cancellation_service.rb:23 - Calls Stripe to cancel2.
app/models/subscription.rb:67 - Sets status to 'cancelled'3.
app/mailers/subscription_mailer.rb:45 - Sends confirmation email4. Access continues until
current_period_end (no immediate cutoff)Different tools for different users.
Interface
Key differenceCritical Context: Natural language in Slack/Teams. "How does X work?"
Sourcegraph: Regex-based code search. Powerful but requires technical knowledge.
Audience
Key differenceCritical Context: Anyone who needs codebase context: PMs, executives, support, new hires.
Sourcegraph: Developers who need to search and navigate large codebases.
Answers vs Results
Key differenceCritical Context: Returns answers that explain what the code does, with citations.
Sourcegraph: Returns search results that you then need to understand yourself.
When to use Sourcegraph vs Critical Context.
Your developers need powerful code search across massive codebases. You want batch changes, code intelligence, and IDE-level features. Your users are technical.
You want non-developers to get codebase answers independently. You need answers in Slack where questions already happen. You want explanations, not just search results.
Sourcegraph for developer code search. Critical Context for cross-team codebase Q&A. Complementary tools for different users.
Give your whole team codebase answers.
Not just developers. Everyone who needs context.