Codebase Memory

codebase-memory-mcp: local code intelligence for AI agents via MCP

Understand your repository, from source code to the systems around it. codebase-memory-mcp is an MCP server that connects code, documentation, configuration, and infrastructure in a persistent local knowledge graph. Use it to find an unfamiliar feature, follow a call across services, trace a deployment back to its source, or assess which parts of a project a change could affect.

Give your coding agent structural context through Model Context Protocol (MCP), or query the graph directly from the CLI. The MCP server is the core of the project. Its optional visual companion, CBM Lens, is in open beta (v0.0.1), with a source reader, architecture maps, the Galaxy graph, coverage diagnostics, architecture decisions, and local code chat.

The native C backend exposes 17 MCP tools, parses languages and file formats with vendored grammars, and adds Hybrid LSP type resolution for supported languages. The installer supports 45 automatic or conditional client integrations, including client configuration, skills, agent profiles, and applicable hooks. Indexing and graph queries need no hosted service or API key. Focused graph queries can reduce repeated file reads and token use; see the measured results.

Quick start · Capabilities · Documentation · Infrastructure · Smart CI · Explore CBM Lens · Agent setup · MCP tools

Local processing: Source analysis and graph storage run on your machine. CBM Lens can optionally download a model for browser AI after you enable it; inference stays on the device. The installer writes agent configuration for the clients you select. See Security for release verification and SECURITY.md for reporting issues.

See the graph with CBM Lens (open beta v0.0.1). Folders become nested platforms, files and symbols become selectable blocks, and arrows show indexed relationships. The recording opens src/foundation in the map of this repository, selects arena.c and opens its source. Height can show source size; hotspot gravity reflects static fan-in. Still image.

Galaxy. Explore the code knowledge graph in 3D. The recording follows the outgoing relationships of cbm_arena_alloc one layer further, switches to the hierarchy and shows the two-hop call path to cbm_alloc. Edge pulses show relationship direction; they do not represent live execution. Still: two dependency layers around cbm_max_file_bytes.

Explore. Browse files in an IDE-style workspace, read syntax-highlighted source in Monaco, and keep the code graph alongside it. File impact shows what depends on the open file, and Code details shows the callers and calls of the symbol under the caret. Select code to ask the local chat about it.

More views: system structure and behavior

System structure groups symbols into components and lets you inspect their dependencies.

Behavior shows possible calls from a selected operation and the source evidence behind them.

The high-resolution GIFs show CBM Lens Beta on 20 October 2026; the still images were captured on 12–13 October. All show public source from this repository. See capture details for each capture's build, indexed scope and recording setup.

Why codebase-memory-mcp

• Find the right code with context: combine symbol, text, and semantic search with callers, dependencies, source snippets, and file outlines. Targeted queries and compact, paged results can reduce token use and repeated file reads; see Performance for scoped measurements.
• Connect documentation to implementation: index document sections, PDF text pages, architecture decisions, and supported references into code. Find the explanation alongside the symbol.
• Follow the system beyond source files: trace supported relationships through Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Kustomize, Terraform/OpenTofu, Terragrunt, Ansible, scripts, Make, and CI configuration.
• Understand a change before running it: inspect affected symbols, compare indexed snapshots, and find related tests. Experimental Smart CI combines static relationships and per-test coverage for supported C/C++ test harnesses, falling back to broader runs when evidence is insufficient.
• Explore visually with CBM Lens Beta: read source, follow call paths, inspect architecture and coverage gaps, manage architecture decisions, and ask a local model about selected code.
• Equip your coding agents: install sets up supported client configuration, durable guidance, skills, Scout/Verify/Auditor profiles, and applicable context hooks. Support varies by client; see the integration matrix.
• Keep context local and reusable: indexes persist between sessions, eligible active MCP sessions can keep them synchronized, and optional graph artifacts let a team share a baseline.
• Run a native tool on your machine: standard releases include CBM Lens for macOS, Linux, and Windows. The native runtime needs no Docker or language runtime; parser grammars are included.

Quick Start

Install the latest release (macOS / Linux):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/main/install.sh | bash

The standard native release includes CBM Lens. Start it after installation with codebase-memory-mcp daemon start --open --port=9749. The Nix packages and source builds also offer builds without the UI.

Windows (PowerShell):

# 1. Download the installer

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/main/install.ps1 -OutFile install.ps1

2. (Optional but recommended) Inspect the script

notepad install.ps1

3. Unblock the downloaded file (removes Mark-of-the-Web restriction added by browsers/Invoke-WebRequest)

Unblock-File .\install.ps1

4. Run it

.\install.ps1

Note: If you see a script execution policy error, run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass first, or invoke with PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1.

Options: --skip-config (binary only, no agent setup), --dir= (custom location).

Antivirus note: Microsoft Defender may flag a release binary as

Trojan:Script/Wacatac.B!ml. This is a known false positive; typically 61 of

~62 engines return clean, and the same detection family hits gh, llama.cpp,

Godot and Microsoft's own Go toolchain. See

Antivirus False Positives for the

evidence, how to verify the artifacts yourself, and how to report it if you

think we are wrong.

Restart your coding agent. Say "Index this project": done.

Manual install

1. Download the archive for your platform from the latest release:

• codebase-memory-mcp- - .tar.gz (macOS/Linux) or .zip (Windows)

1. Extract and install (each archive includes install.sh or install.ps1):

macOS / Linux:

   tar xzf codebase-memory-mcp-*.tar.gz

./install.sh

Windows (PowerShell):

   Expand-Archive codebase-memory-mcp-windows-amd64.zip -DestinationPath .

Unblock-File .\install.ps1 .\install.ps1

1. Restart your coding agent.

The install command automatically strips macOS quarantine attributes and ad-hoc signs the binary; no manual xattr/codesign needed.

Agent setup: skills, profiles, and hooks

Installation also equips supported coding agents to use the graph in daily work. The native install command detects clients and installs the integration pieces their documented formats support:

Hook augmentation is context-only and fail-open: it does not replace or block the reque