code-search-mcp

<div align="center"> <h1>Code Search MCP</h1> <p>Universal MCP server for intelligent code search across any programming language</p> </div> <p align="center"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Node.js-18%2B-green?style=for-the-badge&logo=node.js&logoColor=white" alt="Node.js 18+"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-blue?style=for-the-badge" alt="License: MIT"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Platforms-Win%20%7C%20macOS%20%7C%20Linux-blue?style=for-the-badge" alt="Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux"> </p> <div align="center"> <h2>Overview</h2> </div> <div align="center">

Code Search MCP is a high-performance Model Context Protocol server that enables LLMs to intelligently search and analyze codebases across 12 programming languages with comprehensive AST search support for 15 languages. Built on our universal-ctags wrapper, ripgrep, and ast-grep, it provides fast symbol search, structural AST pattern matching, text search, file search, and dependency analysis with persistent caching for 80%+ faster startup times.

</div> <div align="center"> <h2>Core Features</h2> </div> <div align="center"> <table> <tr> <th>Feature</th> <th>Description</th> <th>Performance</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Symbol Search</td> <td>Find classes, functions, methods, and variables with intelligent filtering</td> <td>Fast (indexed)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>AST Search</td> <td>Structural code search using Abstract Syntax Trees with metavariables and relational rules</td> <td>Fast</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Text Search</td> <td>Regex-powered code search using ripgrep</td> <td>Very Fast</td> </tr> <tr> <td>File Search</td> <td>Locate files by name, pattern, or extension with glob support</td> <td>Very Fast</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Stack Detection</td> <td>Automatically detect technology stacks and frameworks in projects</td> <td>Fast</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Dependency Analysis</td> <td>Analyze project dependencies across multiple ecosystems</td> <td>Fast</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Index Caching</td> <td>Persistent symbol indices with automatic invalidation</td> <td>80%+ faster startup</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"> <h2>Language Support</h2> </div> <div align="center">

Code Search MCP supports 12 programming languages with full symbol indexing and intelligent search capabilities.

</div> <div align="center"> <table> <tr> <th>Language</th> <th>Symbol Search</th> <th>Text Search</th> <th>Dependency Analysis</th> </tr> <tr> <td>JavaScript</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full (npm)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>TypeScript</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full (npm)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Python</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full (pip)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Java</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full (Maven/Gradle)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>C#</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Full (NuGet)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Go</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Limited</td> <td>Full (go.mod)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rust</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Limited</td> <td>Full (Cargo)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>C / C++</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Limited</td> <td>Limited</td> </tr> <tr> <td>PHP</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Limited</td> <td>Full (Composer)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ruby</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Limited</td> <td>Full (Bundler)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kotlin</td> <td>Full</td> <td>Limited</td> <td>Full (Gradle)</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"> <h2>MCP Tools</h2> </div> <div align="center">

The server exposes the following tools through the Model Context Protocol interface.

</div> <div align="center"> <table> <tr> <th>Tool</th> <th>Description</th> <th>Key Parameters</th> </tr> <tr> <td><code>search_symbols</code></td> <td>Search for code symbols with filters</td> <td>path, language, name, match, kinds, scope</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>search_text</code></td> <td>Search code using regex patterns</td> <td>path, pattern, language, case_insensitive, literal, limit, paths</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>search_files</code></td> <td>Find files by name, pattern, or extension</td> <td>path, pattern, name, extension, directory</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>detect_stacks</code></td> <td>Detect technology stacks in a directory</td> <td>path, scan_mode (fast/thorough)</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>analyze_dependencies</code></td> <td>Analyze project dependencies</td> <td>path, include_transitive, check_outdated</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>refresh_index</code></td> <td>Rebuild the symbol index</td> <td>path, force_rebuild</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>cache_stats</code></td> <td>View cache statistics</td> <td>path (optional)</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>clear_cache</code></td> <td>Clear cached indices</td> <td>path (optional)</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>search_ast_pattern</code></td> <td>Search using AST patterns with metavariables</td> <td>path, language, pattern, paths, limit</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>search_ast_rule</code></td> <td>Search using complex AST rules with relational and composite operators</td> <td>path, language, rule, paths, limit, debug</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>check_ast_grep</code></td> <td>Check ast-grep availability and version</td> <td>None</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"> <h2>Search Capabilities</h2> </div> <div align="center"> <table> <tr> <th>Search Type</th> <th>Match Modes</th> <th>Filter Options</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Symbol Search</td> <td>exact, prefix, substring, regex</td> <td>kind, scope (class/namespace/module), language</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Text Search</td> <td>regex, literal</td> <td>language, case sensitivity, result limit</td> </tr> <tr> <td>File Search</td> <td>glob patterns, wildcards</td> <td>extension, directory, case sensitivity</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"> <h2>AST Search</h2> </div> <div align="center">

Search code using Abstract Syntax Tree analysis for structural pattern matching that goes beyond simple text search.

</div> <div align="center"> <table> <tr> <th>Capability</th> <th>Description</th> <th>Example Pattern</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Metavariables</td> <td>Capture and match code elements</td> <td><code>$VAR</code> (named), <code>$$VAR</code> (anonymous), <code>$$$VAR</code> (multiple)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Relational Rules</td> <td>Context-aware matching</td> <td><code>inside</code>, <code>has</code>, <code>precedes</code>, <code>follows</code></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Composite Rules</td> <td>Logical combinations</td> <td><code>all</code> (AND), <code>any</code> (OR), <code>not</code> (negation)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kind Matching</td> <td>Match specific AST node types</td> <td><code>function_declaration</code>, <code>class_declaration</code>, etc.</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center">

AST Search Examples:

</div>

// Find async functions without await
{
  "rule": {
    "all": [
      { "pattern": "async function $NAME($$$) { $$$ }" },
      { "not": { "has": { "pattern": "await $$$", "stopBy": "end" } } }
    ]
  }
}

// Find React components using useEffect without dependencies
{
  "rule": {
    "all": [
      { "pattern": "useEffect($$$)" },
      { "not": { "pattern": "useEffect($CALLBACK, [$$$DEPS])" } }
    ]
  }
}

// Find functions with console.log inside
{
  "rule": {
    "pattern": "console.log($$$)",
    "inside": {
      "pattern": "function $NAME($$$) { $$$ }",
      "stopBy": "end"
    }
  }
}

<div align="center">

Supported Languages (15 Total):

</div> <div align="center"> <table> <tr> <th>Language</th> <th>File Extensions</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Bash</td> <td>.sh, .bash</td> </tr> <tr> <td>C</td> <td>.c, .h</td> </tr> <tr> <td>C++</td> <td>.cpp, .cc, .cxx, .hpp, .hxx</td> </tr> <tr> <td>C#</td> <td>.cs</td> </tr> <tr> <td>CSS</td> <td>.css</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Go</td> <td>.go</td> </tr> <tr> <td>HTML</td> <td>.html, .htm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Java</td> <td>.java</td> </tr> <tr> <td>JavaScript</td> <td>.js, .jsx, .mjs</td> </tr> <tr> <td>JSON</td> <td>.json</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kotlin</td> <td>.kt, .kts</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Python</td> <td>.py</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rust</td> <td>.rs</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Scala</td> <td>.scala</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Swift</td> <td>.swift</td> </tr> <tr> <td>TypeScript</td> <td>.ts, .tsx</td> </tr> <tr> <td>YAML</td> <td>.yml, .yaml</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center">

All AST language packages are bundled with the server - no additional installation required!

</div> <div align="center"> <h2>Tech Stack Detection</h2> </div> <div align="center">

Automatically identify technologies, frameworks, and tools used in your projects with intelligent file-based detection.

</div> <div align="center"> <table> <tr> <th>Category</th> <th>Technologies Detected</th> <th>Detection Method</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Languages</td> <td>JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C#, Go, Rust, C/C++, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, Swift</td> <td>File extensions & patterns</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Build Tools</td> <td>Webpack, Vite, Rollup, Parcel, Gradle, Maven, Make, CMake, MSBuild</td> <td>Config files</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Package Managers</td> <td>npm, Yarn, pnpm, pip, Poetry, Cargo, Go modules, NuGet, Composer, Bundler</td> <td>Lock files & manifests</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Frameworks</td> <td>React, Vue, Angular, Next.js, Svelte, Django, Flask, FastAPI, Spring Boot, .NET Core</td> <td>Dependencies & configs</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Testing</td> <td>Jest, Mocha, Vitest, Pytest, JUnit, NUnit, Go Test, Cargo Test</td> <td>Config files & dependencies</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Databases</td> <td>PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, SQLite, Prisma, TypeORM, Sequelize</td> <td>Config files & dependencies</td> </tr> <tr> <td>DevOps</td> <td>Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI, Jenkins, Terraform</td> <td>Config files & manifests</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Code Quality</td> <td>ESLint, Prettier, Black, Pylint, Flake8, RuboCop, Clippy, TSLint</td> <td>Config files</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center">

Scan Modes: Fast (config files only) • Thorough (includes dependency analysis)

</div> <div align="center"> <h2>Performance</h2> </div> <div align="center">

The persistent caching system delivers dramatic performance improvements for repeated searches.

</div> <div align="center"> <table> <tr> <th>Repository</th> <th>Cold Start</th> <th>Cached Start</th> <th>Improvement</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Express.js (8,234 symbols)</td> <td>2,453ms</td> <td>127ms</td> <td>19.3x faster</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lodash (12,456 symbols)</td> <td>1,876ms</td> <td>89ms</td> <td>21.1x faster</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Large Codebase (5,000 symbols)</td> <td>3,124ms</td> <td>145ms</td> <td>21.5x faster</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center">

Average improvement: 94.5% time saved

</div> <div align="center"> <h2>Installation</h2> </div> <div align="center">

Prerequisites

</div>

Install the required dependencies:

# Install universal-ctags (requi