Serena

listing.by

Give coding agents IDE-like semantic code retrieval, editing and refactoring through language servers.

state.local.long (state.local.title)listing.badge.runs_with

listing.install

listing.local.explain

uvx -p 3.13 --from serena-agent serena start-mcp-server --context claude-code --project-from-cwd

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listing.share.h

listing.share.p_local

mcp.tc/i/serena

listing.about

Serena adds symbol-level code tools to an MCP client. Agents can find symbols and references, edit code and refactor across files without reading whole files or relying on line numbers. It also includes a memory system for long-running agent workflows.

It runs locally over stdio, started with uvx from the serena-agent PyPI package. By default it uses language servers (over 40 languages listed in the README). An optional paid JetBrains plugin can serve as the backend instead. No API key is documented for the server itself.

listing.can

  • Retrieve code at the symbol level, including references
  • Edit code by symbol instead of line numbers
  • Refactor across files, such as renames and moves
  • Work with over 40 languages via language servers
  • Optionally use the JetBrains plugin as the backend
  • Keep agent memory for long-lived workflows

listing.tools

listing.notools.local

listing.prompts

  • Find all references to the processOrder function in this project.

  • Rename the UserService class and update every usage across files.

  • Show me the symbol overview of src/api/client.py.

  • Replace the body of the parse_config function with this new version.

listing.setup.h

listing.setup.local

Claude Code

  1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:
claude mcp add --transport stdio serena -- uvx -p 3.13 --from serena-agent serena start-mcp-server --context claude-code --project-from-cwd
  1. Start Claude Code and type /mcp. serena should show as connected.

Add --scope user to make it available in every project.

Claude Desktop

  1. Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. It opens claude_desktop_config.json. Add:
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "-p",
        "3.13",
        "--from",
        "serena-agent",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server",
        "--context",
        "claude-code",
        "--project-from-cwd"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.

Needs uv (Python) on your computer. The file lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows.

Cursor

Add to Cursor a11y.new_tab

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):

mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "-p",
        "3.13",
        "--from",
        "serena-agent",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server",
        "--context",
        "claude-code",
        "--project-from-cwd"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

VS Code

Install in VS Code a11y.new_tab

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"serena","type":"stdio","command":"uvx","args":["-p","3.13","--from","serena-agent","serena","start-mcp-server","--context","claude-code","--project-from-cwd"]}'

Or commit it to the repo in .vscode/mcp.json:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "serena": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "-p",
        "3.13",
        "--from",
        "serena-agent",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server",
        "--context",
        "claude-code",
        "--project-from-cwd"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

Devin Desktop

  1. Add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json (macOS and Linux) or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json (Windows):
mcp_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "-p",
        "3.13",
        "--from",
        "serena-agent",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server",
        "--context",
        "claude-code",
        "--project-from-cwd"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.

Codex

codex mcp add serena -- uvx -p 3.13 --from serena-agent serena start-mcp-server --context claude-code --project-from-cwd

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

config.toml
[mcp_servers.serena]
command = "uvx"
args = ["-p", "3.13", "--from", "serena-agent", "serena", "start-mcp-server", "--context", "claude-code", "--project-from-cwd"]

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add serena uvx -- -p 3.13 --from serena-agent serena start-mcp-server --context claude-code --project-from-cwd

This adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.

Any client

Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "-p",
        "3.13",
        "--from",
        "serena-agent",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server",
        "--context",
        "claude-code",
        "--project-from-cwd"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings, with the same command, args and env fields.

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

listing.faq

Can I paste mcp.tc/i/serena into my MCP client?

No. Serena runs on your own computer, started by your client, so it has no web address to connect to. The quick link is the page to share; the install command is uvx -p 3.13 --from serena-agent serena start-mcp-server --context claude-code --project-from-cwd.

Does Serena need an API key?

No. It doesn't declare any keys or environment variables. It runs with your user account's permissions, so check what its tools can reach.

Is Serena a remote or a local server?

Local. Your client starts it as a process on your computer with uvx -p 3.13 --from serena-agent serena start-mcp-server --context claude-code --project-from-cwd, which needs uv (Python).

What can Serena do?

You can retrieve code at the symbol level, including references, edit code by symbol instead of line numbers and refactor across files, such as renames and moves.

Which clients can use it?

Any client that starts local servers: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Devin Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Zed and others. claude.ai and ChatGPT only connect to remote servers.

Who wrote this page?

mcp.tc's robot read Serena's public metadata (its package and repository pages), and an AI model drafted the text from it. A person reviews anything the checks can't confirm. The text can still be wrong, so if you spot a mistake, use Report this listing on this page.

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JSON

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https://mcp.tc/i/serena.json

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