# codescout
MCP server giving AI coding agents IDE-grade code intelligence — symbol navigation,
semantic search, persistent memory — optimized for token efficiency.
Works with Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and any MCP-capable agent.
## What it does
- **Symbol navigation** — `find_symbol`, `list_symbols`, `find_references`, `goto_definition`, `replace_symbol`, backed by LSP across 9 languages
- **Semantic search** — find code by concept using embeddings, not grep
- **Token efficiency** — compact by default, details on demand, never dumps full files
## Why not just read files?
| Agent reads full files to find one function | Navigates by symbol name — zero file reads |
| `grep` returns noise (comments, strings, docs) | `find_references` returns exact call sites |
| Context burns on navigation overhead | Token-efficient by design — compact by default |
| State lost between sessions | Persistent memory across sessions |
| Re-reads same modules from different entry points | Symbol index built once, queried instantly |
## Quick start
```bash
cargo install codescout
```
Then register as an MCP server. Example config:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"codescout": {
"command": "codescout",
"args": ["start"]
}
}
}
```
Config file locations:
- **Claude Code:** `~/.claude/settings.json`
- **Cursor:** `.cursor/mcp.json` (uses `"mcpServers"` key)
- **VS Code/Copilot:** `~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json` (uses `"servers"` key instead of `"mcpServers"`)
→ [Full installation guide](docs/manual/src/getting-started/installation.md)
## Agent integrations
| Claude Code | [docs/agents/claude-code.md](docs/agents/claude-code.md) |
| GitHub Copilot | [docs/agents/copilot.md](docs/agents/copilot.md) |
| Cursor | [docs/agents/cursor.md](docs/agents/cursor.md) |
## Multi-agent infrastructure
> codescout's design is informed by research on compound error in multi-agent systems — research and empirical evidence confirm failure rates of 41–87% in production pipelines. This finding drove the choice of single-session skill-based workflows over agent orchestration chains. [Read the analysis →](docs/research/multi-agent-context-loss.md)
## Tools (29)
`Symbol navigation (9)` · `File operations (6)` · `Semantic search (3)` · `Memory (1)` · `Library navigation (1)` · `Workflow (2)` · `Config (2)` · `GitHub (5)`
Supported languages: Rust, Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Go, Java, Kotlin, C/C++, C#, Ruby.
→ [Tool reference](docs/manual/src/tools/overview.md)
## Contributing
See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for how to get started. PRs from Claude Code are welcome!
## License
[MIT](LICENSE)