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Serena MCP

Semantic code retrieval and editing for coding agents

Developer ToolsFreeClaude CodeCursorClaude DesktopWindsurfClineModerate
Visit Tool29,869 stars

Last verified: September 6, 2026

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Maintenance status

Active
Last code update: September 24, 2026Checked September 28, 2026

How to Install Serena MCP

$uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server

Compatible with: Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, Cline.

Setup by client

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json)

{
  "servers": {
    "serena-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (terminal)

claude mcp add serena-mcp -- uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server

Add any API keys or environment variables the server's README lists.

About Serena MCP

Serena is an open-source MCP toolkit that gives coding agents IDE-grade understanding of a codebase. Instead of treating source as plain text, it uses language servers to extract code at the symbol level, so an agent can find and edit the right function by name and relationship rather than by string matching. This makes it markedly more reliable on large repositories.

Serena MCP is a Developer Tools MCP server designed for professional engineers and engineering teams. It enables wiring AI assistants into the inner loop of writing and shipping code by exposing Git, package, build, and CLI operations as MCP tools. Key capabilities include git and github operations (status, blame, prs), package and dependency inspection, build and test runner integration, and structured tool calls that work cleanly inside an LLM context. It integrates with Git, GitHub, GitLab, npm, pnpm, Docker, and common build systems, and is best suited for professional engineers and engineering teams who need reviewing diffs and opening prs from chat.

Key Features

  • open-source
  • code-search
  • semantic
  • language-server
  • coding-agent

Pricing

Free: from Free (open source)

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Acts more like a pair programmer with real tools
  • Tight scoping (one repo, dry-run) limits blast radius
  • Keeps flow inside the editor

Cons

  • Write operations require explicit guardrails
  • Quality of output depends on repo hygiene
  • Larger monorepos may need extra filtering

Best For

  • Reviewing diffs and opening PRs from chat
  • Triaging CI failures
  • Scaffolding new packages or modules
  • Repo-wide refactors with verification

Our Take on Serena MCP

The standout choice for agents working in large codebases: semantic symbol-level retrieval avoids the context bloat and wrong-file edits that plague text-based tools. Requires no API key.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tags

#Developer Tools#open-source#code-search#semantic#language-server#coding-agent