codebase-memory-mcp (CBM)

CBM is a single static binary (macOS/Linux/Windows, MIT license, no Docker, no API key) that parses 158 languages via tree-sitter and builds a persistent SQLite knowledge graph of a codebase — functions, classes, call chains, imports, HTTP routes. An MCP client (or the CLI) queries that graph instead of reading files one at a time. It has no embedded LLM: your agent is the intelligence layer, CBM is the structural-analysis backend. Source: DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp.

Always prefer the CLI over MCP

Every one of CBM's tools is callable two ways — as an MCP tool over JSON-RPC, or as codebase-memory-mcp cli <tool_name> [flags]. Default to the CLI in every skill, agent, or prompt you author or edit. The CLI is a one-shot process (no daemon connection, no JSON-RPC envelope by default) and is far cheaper per call. Reserve the MCP path for interactive chat sessions where the client already manages an MCP connection for you.

codebase-memory-mcp cli list_projects
codebase-memory-mcp cli search_graph --project my-project --name-pattern '.*Handler.*' --label Function
codebase-memory-mcp cli trace_path --project my-project --function-name Search --direction both
codebase-memory-mcp cli <tool_name> --help   # flags are generated from that tool's schema

When authoring or editing an agent/skill/prompt

If the target operates on a codebase (reads code, answers "what calls X", maps a diff's blast radius, summarizes architecture, finds dead code, etc.), it must call CBM's CLI instead of grep/ripgrep/glob-and-read loops. It must first verify that CBM is installed and that the current project's index is ready; if the target is a squad, the orchestrator owns this preflight before delegating any codebase task. See references/integration-guide.md for the required readiness protocol, which tool to wire in at each stage, and why.

Quick Reference

Need	Do this
Is it installed?	command -v codebase-memory-mcp && codebase-memory-mcp --version
Install it	curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/main/install.sh | bash (see references/installation.md)
Is a project's index in sync?	codebase-memory-mcp cli index_status --project <name>
What tools exist?	references/tools.md — full 15-tool table
Which tool, which stage?	references/integration-guide.md

Reference Files

File	Load When
references/installation.md	Checking whether CBM is installed, installing/updating/uninstalling it, checking index freshness/sync, config and environment variables
references/tools.md	Needing the full list of the 15 MCP/CLI tools, the graph's node labels and edge types, the Cypher subset, and CLI invocation syntax
references/integration-guide.md	Wiring CBM into an agent/skill/prompt: which tool to call at each stage of a codebase task, and why it replaces grep/search