RAG for Code: Why Chunking by Function Beats Chunking by Lines

📰 Dev.to · Pavel Espitia

Learn how to improve LLM-based code retrieval systems by chunking code by function instead of lines, enhancing question-answering capabilities

intermediate Published 30 Jun 2026
Action Steps
  1. Build a retrieval system over a codebase
  2. Configure the system to chunk code by function
  3. Test the system's question-answering capabilities
  4. Apply the results to improve code maintenance and updates
  5. Run experiments to compare chunking by function vs chunking by lines
Who Needs to Know This

Developers and AI engineers on a team can benefit from this approach to improve code understanding and retrieval, making it easier to maintain and update large codebases

Key Insight

💡 Chunking code by function improves the accuracy of LLM-based question answering

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💡 Chunking code by function beats chunking by lines for LLM-based retrieval systems
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