claude-context
Semantic code search server that lets Claude Code and other AI agents pull relevant code from a whole repo.
- Stars
- 12.7k
- Forks
- 939
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- TypeScript
- Last update
- 4 months ago
- Type
- Dev tool
What it is
Claude Context is an MCP plugin that adds semantic code search to Claude Code and other AI coding agents. It indexes your codebase into a vector database so the agent can find relevant code by meaning and load only that code into its context, instead of loading whole directories on every request. It uses an OpenAI embedding model and a Zilliz Cloud (Milvus) vector database.
- Ask an agent a question about a large codebase and have it retrieve the relevant functions and files via semantic search
- Reduce the amount of code sent to the model on each request to keep costs down, as the README describes
- Connect the same code search server to several MCP clients such as Claude Code, Cursor or Gemini CLI
Great for
- Developers working in large codebases where loading everything into an agent's context is impractical
- People already using Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI or similar MCP-compatible agents
- Teams comfortable creating OpenAI and Zilliz Cloud accounts and managing API keys
Not ideal for
- People who want a fully local setup, since the README describes OpenAI embeddings and a Zilliz Cloud vector database rather than a local option
- Small projects where the agent can already read all the code without search
- Anyone unwilling to send code embeddings to third-party services
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Node.js 20 or newer · OpenAI API key · Zilliz Cloud account and public endpoint with token
Add the MCP server to Claude Code
claude mcp add claude-context -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-openai-api-key -e MILVUS_ADDRESS=your-zilliz-cloud-public-endpoint -e MILVUS_TOKEN=your-zilliz-cloud-api-key -- npx @zilliz/claude-context-mcp@latest - 2
Run it
- Sign up for Zilliz Cloud and copy your Personal Key and public endpoint
- Get an OpenAI API key that starts with sk-
- Run the claude mcp add command with your keys filled in
- Restart your MCP client and ask it a question about your codebase
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the other client configurations in the README (Cursor, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Qwen Code, Claude Desktop, Windsurf) to share the same server across tools
- Set MILVUS_ADDRESS and MILVUS_TOKEN correctly, since the README's configs differ on which variables they include
- Check the docs folder linked from the homepage for further configuration details
Downloads
Strengths
- Uses semantic search, so it can find relevant code without the agent doing many rounds of file discovery
- Setup is a single configuration entry for each supported MCP client, documented in the README
- MIT licensed and actively maintained, with a large user base by star count
Trade-offs
- Requires paid-or-signup accounts for an OpenAI API key and a Zilliz Cloud vector database, so ongoing costs and a third-party dependency are involved
- Code is sent to external embedding and vector services; review your privacy requirements before use
- The README is truncated here, so details on indexing behavior, limits and pricing are not confirmed in this analysis
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| claude-context (this) | 12.7k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 months ago | Developers working in large codebases where loading everything into an agent's context is impractical |
| Prompt-Engineering-Guide | 79.8k | Learning resource | beginner | 8 months ago | People who are new to prompting and want structured lessons with examples |
| codebase-memory-mcp | 48k | Dev tool | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers who use an MCP-capable AI coding agent on a large codebase |
| agents | 42.1k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers who already use one of the listed AI coding tools and want ready-made specialist agents |
| code-review-graph | 32.6k | Dev tool | beginner | 8 days ago | Developers who use an MCP-compatible AI coding assistant on a large repository |
| botpress | 15k | Dev tool | intermediate | 6 days ago | Developers who want to write integrations and bots as TypeScript code using the Botpress CLI and SDK |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.