jCodeMunch

At a glance

Coding agents burn much of their context opening whole files to find one function. jCodeMunch, by J. Gravelle, parses a repository once with tree-sitter (70-odd languages) and stores every function, class and method with its exact location. The agent can then search for a symbol and pull back just its source, an outline of a file, or a bundle of related code sized to a token budget.

On top of plain lookup it answers structural questions: who imports a module, what calls a function, what might break if you change it, and which code looks dead. To keep its own context cost down it starts with six small tools, a menu, an order call and a router, that reach its 90-plus actions on demand. Indexes stay on your machine under ~/.code-index. It is free for personal use, but commercial use needs a paid licence.

Made by

jgravelle (jMunch LLC)

Licence

LicenseRef-jCodeMunch-Dual-Use-1

Latest version

1.108.399 (26 Oct 2026)

PyPI package

jcodemunch-mcp

GitHub stars

2.8K

Downloads

20.5K a week

Last commit

26 Oct 2026

Tools

6

Runs on

Your computer

Our check: We ran this exact config on 27 Oct 2026: it started and answered with 6 tools.

What's in the pod: its tools

We found 6 tools when we started it on 27 Oct 2026. 2 only read. The rest can change things, so keep your app's "ask before each tool call" setting on for them.

Tool groups

Front door (default)

The six tools above. The full catalogue is reached through menu, order and route, which keeps the schema cost small.

Retrieval

Index a folder, search symbols, read a symbol's source, file outlines and token-budgeted context bundles.

Structure

Importers, call hierarchies, class hierarchies, blast radius, dead code, hotspots and changed symbols.

Safety checks

check_edit_safe, check_delete_safe, PR risk profiles and refactoring plans.

Grouped and described by us. The README on GitHub lists the inputs each tool takes.

Set it up

Pick your app for the exact snippet and where it goes.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jcodemunch": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "jcodemunch-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add-json jcodemunch '{"command":"uvx","args":["jcodemunch-mcp"]}'

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jcodemunch": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "jcodemunch-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "jcodemunch": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "jcodemunch-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jcodemunch": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "jcodemunch-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Running "jcodemunch-mcp init" after "uv tool install jcodemunch-mcp" detects your clients and writes their configs, and can add hooks that re-index after edits. Agents use it more reliably when your instructions file tells them to.

New to this? See the setup guides for Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop and ChatGPT.

Settings

Names are exactly as the project spells them. Required ones are marked.

What it can touch

Safer setup: order is read-only by default; actions that change state or files need allow_state_change. Set share_savings to false if you want no network traffic at all.

Before you start

• uv, for uvx
• A commercial licence if you use it for paid work

If it does not work

The agent keeps reading whole files anyway

Add a line to CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md telling it to call jcodemunch_guide and follow it, or ask for jcodemunch by name.

Results miss recent edits

Re-index, or let init install the hooks and watch mode that re-index after edits.

pip install is refused on Ubuntu or Debian

Use uv tool install jcodemunch-mcp or uvx, which avoid the system Python.

Peas in a pod: similar servers

How jCodeMunch lines up against other developer tools servers on the shelf.

Questions

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.