Code Index MCP

Overview

Code Index MCP is a Model Context Protocol server that bridges the gap between AI models and complex codebases. It provides intelligent indexing, advanced search capabilities, and detailed code analysis to help AI assistants understand and navigate your projects effectively.

Perfect for: Code review, refactoring, documentation generation, debugging assistance, and architectural analysis.

Quick Start

🚀 Recommended Setup (Most Users)

The easiest way to get started with any MCP-compatible application:

Prerequisites: Python 3.10+ and uv

1. Add to your MCP configuration (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.claude.json): json { "mcpServers": { "code-index": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["code-index-mcp"] } } }

2. Restart your application – uvx automatically handles installation and execution

3. Start using (give these prompts to your AI assistant): Set the project path to /Users/dev/my-react-app Find all TypeScript files in this project Search for "authentication" functions Analyze the main App.tsx file

Typical Use Cases

Code Review: "Find all places using the old API"
Refactoring Help: "Where is this function called?"
Learning Projects: "Show me the main components of this React project"
Debugging: "Search for all error handling related code"

Key Features

🔍 Intelligent Search & Analysis

• Dual-Strategy Architecture: Specialized tree-sitter parsing for 7 core languages, fallback strategy for 50+ file types
• Direct Tree-sitter Integration: No regex fallbacks for specialized languages - fail fast with clear errors
• Advanced Search: Auto-detects and uses the best available tool (ugrep, ripgrep, ag, or grep)
• Universal File Support: Comprehensive coverage from advanced AST parsing to basic file indexing
• File Analysis: Deep insights into structure, imports, classes, methods, and complexity metrics after running build_deep_index

🗂️ Multi-Language Support

• 7 Languages with Tree-sitter AST Parsing: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, Go, Objective-C, Zig
• 50+ File Types with Fallback Strategy: C/C++, Rust, Ruby, PHP, and all other programming languages
• Document & Config Files: Markdown, JSON, YAML, XML with appropriate handling
• Web Frontend: Vue, React, Svelte, HTML, CSS, SCSS
• Database: SQL variants, NoSQL, stored procedures, migrations
• Configuration: JSON, YAML, XML, Markdown
• View complete list

⚡ Real-time Monitoring & Auto-refresh

• File Watcher: Automatic index updates when files change
• Cross-platform: Native OS file system monitoring
• Smart Processing: Batches rapid changes to prevent excessive rebuilds
• Shallow Index Refresh: Watches file changes and keeps the file list current; run a deep rebuild when you need symbol metadata

⚡ Performance & Efficiency

• Tree-sitter AST Parsing: Native syntax parsing for accurate symbol extraction
• Persistent Caching: Stores indexes for lightning-fast subsequent access
• Smart Filtering: Intelligent exclusion of build directories and temporary files
• Memory Efficient: Optimized for large codebases
• Direct Dependencies: No fallback mechanisms - fail fast with clear error messages

Supported File Types

🛠️ Development Setup

For contributing or local development:

1. Clone and install: bash git clone https://github.com/johnhuang316/code-index-mcp.git cd code-index-mcp uv sync

2. Configure for local development: json { "mcpServers": { "code-index": { "command": "uv", "args": ["run", "code-index-mcp"] } } }

3. Debug with MCP Inspector: bash npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv run code-index-mcp

pip install code-index-mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "code-index": {
      "command": "code-index-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

🏗️ Project Management

Run build_deep_index when you need symbol-level data; the default shallow index powers quick file discovery.

🔍 Search & Discovery

🔄 Monitoring & Auto-refresh

🛠️ System & Maintenance

Usage Examples

🎯 Quick Start Workflow

1. Initialize Your Project

Set the project path to /Users/dev/my-react-app

Automatically indexes your codebase and creates searchable cache

2. Explore Project Structure

Find all TypeScript component files in src/components

Uses: find_files with pattern src/components/**/*.tsx

3. Analyze Key Files

Give me a summary of src/api/userService.ts

Uses: get_file_summary to show functions, imports, and complexity Tip: run build_deep_index first if you get a needs_deep_index response.

🔍 Advanced Search Examples

Search for all function calls matching "get.*Data" using regex

Find authentication-related functions with fuzzy search for 'authUser'

Search for "API_ENDPOINT" only in Python files

Configure automatic index updates when files change

I added new components, please refresh the project index

Troubleshooting

🔄 Auto-refresh Not Working

If automatic index updates aren't working when files change, try: - pip install watchdog (may resolve environment isolation issues) - Use manual refresh: Call the refresh_index tool after making file changes - Check file watcher status: Use get_file_watcher_status to verify monitoring is active

Development & Contributing

🔧 Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/johnhuang316/code-index-mcp.git
cd code-index-mcp
uv sync
uv run code-index-mcp

🐛 Debugging

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx code-index-mcp

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📜 License

MIT License

🌐 Translations

• 繁體中文
• 日本語