# codealive-mcp

Wires your AI agent into CodeAlive: semantic and regex search across indexed repos, file trees, file reads and artifact relationships.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 90
- Author: CodeAlive-AI
- License: MIT · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/codealive-mcp
- Updated: 2026-09-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/codealive-mcp

## What it does

The server exposes tools such as `semantic_search`, `grep_search`, `get_file_tree`, `read_file` and `get_artifact_relationships`. Instead of opening files blindly, the agent locates the right spot first and pulls the source in through `fetch_artifacts`. On a large codebase that changes how the whole session goes.

There is also `chat`, a stateless synthesized answer over the codebase. It runs slower than retrieval, and the README suggests calling it only when explicitly asked; the default path is `semantic_search` plus `grep_search`. If your agent supports subagents, delegating a focused search subagent is the recommended route.

You need a `CODEALIVE_API_KEY` from the CodeAlive dashboard, passed in as an environment variable — without it the server will not start. The local setup runs the Docker image `ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:3.0.3`, so Docker has to be installed. A separate CodeAlive skill sits alongside the server and teaches the agent which queries to use.

## Requirements
- Needs: Docker
- Environment variables: `CODEALIVE_API_KEY` — keys and tokens: ask the human for the values, never commit them or put them in shared files.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add --env CODEALIVE_API_KEY=<CODEALIVE_API_KEY> --transport stdio codealive-mcp -- docker run -i --rm -e CODEALIVE_API_KEY ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:3.0.3
```
Replace <…> with your own values

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add codealive-mcp --env CODEALIVE_API_KEY=<CODEALIVE_API_KEY> -- docker run -i --rm -e CODEALIVE_API_KEY ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:3.0.3
```
Replace <…> with your own values

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "codealive-mcp": {
            "command": "docker",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "-i",
                "--rm",
                "-e",
                "CODEALIVE_API_KEY",
                "ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:3.0.3"
            ],
            "env": {
                "CODEALIVE_API_KEY": "<CODEALIVE_API_KEY>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "codealive-mcp": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "docker",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "-i",
                "--rm",
                "-e",
                "CODEALIVE_API_KEY",
                "ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:3.0.3"
            ],
            "env": {
                "CODEALIVE_API_KEY": "<CODEALIVE_API_KEY>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add -e CODEALIVE_API_KEY=<CODEALIVE_API_KEY> codealive-mcp docker run -i --rm -e CODEALIVE_API_KEY ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:3.0.3
```
Replace <…> with your own values

## When to use it
- locate a piece of code in a large repo without reading files one by one
- tell semantic search apart from a literal regex search
- inspect the file tree of one selected repository
- read a repo-relative file with a line range
- expand the call graph and inheritance for a single artifact

## Example prompts
- Show me all available repositories
- Find authentication code in the user service
- Find the exact regex that matches JWT tokens

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NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md