CodeMCP acts as an MCP-backed backend for Code Knowledge environments, enabling AI-assisted development workflows by exposing an API to query and reason about your codebase. The Code Knowledge Backend (CKB) integrates with CLI tools, HTTP API access, and MCP-enabled AI assistants, allowing you to perform tasks such as semantic search, impact analysis, ownership lookups, dead code detection, and security scans. With CodeMCP, you can connect Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, and other assistants to your repository to obtain guided insights, navigate architecture, and generate actionable recommendations. Typical usage involves indexing your codebase, initializing a local MCP session, and then leveraging the provided tools to run queries like “What’s the blast radius if I change UserService?” or “Who owns this module?” via the MCP interface or CLI.

To use the MCP-powered capabilities, start the CodeMCP server, then interact through the included CLI commands (e.g., index, mcp, setup) or via the HTTP API. The system supports multiple interfaces and toolchains, so you can embed it in CI pipelines, IDE plugins, or custom scripts. The workflow generally starts with installing or building CodeMCP, wiring it to your project, indexing, and then querying through your preferred interface. The MCP integration also supports creating SCIP/indexed knowledge graphs to enable cross-file references, blast radius calculations, and ownership mapping.

Prerequisites:

• Git
• Go (for building from source)
• (Optional) Node.js or a package manager if you plan to use the npm/npx surface for other tooling in your workflow

Install from source (recommended for Go-based CodeMCP):

1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/SimplyLiz/CodeMCP.git
2. Build the MCP server binary: cd CodeMCP go build -o codemcp ./cmd/ckb

   If your repository uses a different entrypoint, adjust the path accordingly

3. Run the server locally: ./codemcp
4. Verify the server is up (e.g., via HTTP API or CLI integration in your environment).

If you prefer an alternative setup, you can explore using the CLI bootstrap and MCP integration flows described in the repository’s wiki and documentation for Node, Python, Go, and shell script examples. For CI/CD, you can invoke the server binary within your workflow steps to index, refresh, and query your codebase.

Tips and common issues:

• Ensure you have a recent Go toolchain installed when building from source. Use go version to verify.
• If you encounter indexing issues, run ckb doctor or equivalent health checks described in the docs to verify language tooling and indexer readiness.
• The MCP workflow supports multiple interfaces (CLI, HTTP API, and MCP), so you can tailor integration to your stack (CI/CD, IDE plugins, or chat-assisted workflows).
• When running in CI, consider using the CI webhook approach (POST /api/v1/refresh) to trigger index refreshes automatically.
• For large monorepos or multi-language projects, incremental indexing may vary by language; monitor indexing status via ckb status or the equivalent status endpoint.
• If you are configuring environment variables, typical placeholders may include MCP_PORT, MCP_HOST, and authentication tokens if your deployment requires security controls.