#55th of 9 in MCP servers for developers
serena
MCP server giving coding agents symbol-level code search, editing and refactoring
- Stars
- 30.2k
- License
- custom license
- Last commit
- Oct 2026
- Last release
- Oct 2026
- Language
- Python
Checked on GitHub.
Overview
Serena is an MCP server that gives a coding agent IDE-style tools: find symbol, find references, replace symbol body, rename, and a memory system. It uses language servers (over 40 languages) by default, or a paid JetBrains plugin that adds move, inline, type hierarchy and a debugger. It plugs into MCP clients such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and VSCode.
Who it is for: Developers who want their coding agent to navigate and refactor large codebases
Strengths
- Symbol-level retrieval and editing instead of line numbers or text search
- Language server backend is free and covers over 40 languages
- Works with any MCP client, launched by command or run in HTTP mode
- Layered YAML configuration: global, per-project, per-client contexts and modes
Weaknesses
- Move, inline, type hierarchy and debugging need the paid JetBrains plugin
- Language server rename covers symbols only; some languages need extra installs
- Application is GPL-3.0-or-later; only the SolidLSP component is MIT
- Contributions require accepting a CLA
What it needs
- Docker + Compose
- Needs uv, language servers (per language), JetBrains IDE plugin (optional, paid)
- Models: Any LLM through MCP clients (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini-CLI, OpenCode, Cursor, VSCode, Claude Desktop)
Also in MCP servers for developers
See all 9| Rank | Project | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | codegraphLocal code knowledge graph served to coding agents over MCP | 81 out of 100 |
| 2 | chrome-devtools-mcpMCP server that lets coding agents drive and debug a live Chrome | 67 out of 100 |
| 3 | codebase-memory-mcpMCP server that indexes codebases into a queryable knowledge graph | 67 out of 100 |
| #4 | github-mcp-serverMCP server exposing GitHub repos, issues, PRs and Actions to AI tools | 65 out of 100 |
| #6 | code-review-graphLocal Tree-sitter code graph served over MCP so agents read only affected files | 64 out of 100 |