setup-serena-mcp

Set up Serena MCP server for semantic code retrieval and symbol-based editing capabilities, enabling precise code manipulation in large codebases.

• Purpose - Enable intelligent code navigation and manipulation

• Output - Configured Serena integration with indexed project

/mcp:setup-serena-mcp [configuration preferences]

What is Serena?

Serena is an MCP server that provides semantic understanding of your codebase. Unlike text-based search (grep), Serena understands code structure - functions, classes, types, and their relationships.

Benefits:

• Find symbols by meaning, not just text matching

• Navigate complex codebases with symbol-based operations

• Make precise code changes without breaking references

• Understand code relationships and dependencies

• Refactor with confidence using semantic operations

Arguments

Optional configuration preferences or client type. The command adapts its setup guidance based on your development environment (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VSCode, etc.).

How It Works

1. Availability Check: Tests if Serena tools (find_symbol, list_symbols) are accessible

2. Documentation Loading: Fetches latest Serena documentation for setup guidance

3. Prerequisites Verification: Confirms uv is installed (required for running Serena)

4. Client Configuration: Provides setup instructions specific to your MCP client

5. Project Setup: Guides through project initialization and indexing

6. Connection Test: Verifies Serena tools are working correctly

7. CLAUDE.md Update: Adds semantic code analysis guidelines to your project

Usage Examples

# Standard setup with auto-detection
> /mcp:setup-serena-mcp

# Specify your client
> /mcp:setup-serena-mcp cursor

# With specific configuration needs
> /mcp:setup-serena-mcp claude-desktop

After setup, your CLAUDE.md will include:

### Use Serena MCP for Semantic Code Analysis

Serena MCP is available for advanced code retrieval and editing capabilities.

- Use Serena's tools for precise code manipulation in structured codebases
- Prefer symbol-based operations over file-based grep/sed operations

Key usage points:
- Use `find_symbol` to locate functions, classes, and types by name
- Use `list_symbols` to explore available symbols in a file or module
- Prefer semantic operations for refactoring over text replacement

Best Practices

• Set up Serena for large codebases where text search becomes unwieldy

• Use semantic operations for refactoring to ensure all references are updated

• Re-index the project after major structural changes

• Combine with Context7 for documentation + code understanding

• Prefer symbol-based navigation over grep for code exploration