CodeAlive MCP server for AI agents

CodeAlive MCP is a server that connects AI assistants to CodeAlive's code understanding platform, enabling semantic code search and full project context for large codebases. It works with Claude Code, Cursor, Continue, VS Code, Claude Desktop, and Cline to help AI assistants provide better answers with comprehensive codebase understanding.

Getting Started

Get Your API Key

Sign up at https://app.codealive.ai/
Navigate to API Keys (under Organization)
Click "+ Create API Key"
Copy your API key immediately - you won't see it again!

Remote Setup (Quickest Method)

Use the remote MCP server at https://mcp.codealive.ai/api/ for instant access. Choose your AI client below.

AI Client Setup

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http codealive https://mcp.codealive.ai/api/ --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"

Cursor

Open Cursor → Settings (Cmd+, or Ctrl+,)
Navigate to "MCP" in the left panel
Click "Add new MCP server"
Paste this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codealive": {
      "url": "https://mcp.codealive.ai/api/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save and restart Cursor

Continue

Create/edit .continue/config.yaml in your project or ~/.continue/config.yaml
Add this configuration:

mcpServers:
  - name: CodeAlive
    type: streamable-http
    url: https://mcp.codealive.ai/api/
    requestOptions:
      headers:
        Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"

Restart VS Code

Visual Studio Code with GitHub Copilot

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P)
Run "MCP: Add Server"
Choose "HTTP" server type
Enter this configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "codealive": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.codealive.ai/api/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart VS Code

Cline

Open Cline extension in VS Code
Click the MCP Servers icon to configure
Add this configuration to your MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codealive": {
      "url": "https://mcp.codealive.ai/api/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save and restart VS Code

Docker Setup

If you prefer using Docker instead of the remote service:

Claude Desktop with Docker

Edit your config file:
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codealive": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-e", "CODEALIVE_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:main"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop

Cursor with Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codealive": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-e", "CODEALIVE_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:main"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Continue with Docker

mcpServers:
  - name: CodeAlive
    type: stdio
    command: docker
    args:
      - run
      - --rm
      - -i
      - -e
      - CODEALIVE_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY_HERE
      - ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:main

VS Code with Docker

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "codealive": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-e", "CODEALIVE_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "ghcr.io/codealive-ai/codealive-mcp:main"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Using CodeAlive Tools

Once connected, you'll have access to these powerful tools:

get_data_sources - List your indexed repositories and workspaces
search_code - Semantic code search across your codebase
chat_completions - AI chat with full project context

Example Commands

Try these prompts with your AI assistant:

"Show me all available repositories" → Uses get_data_sources
"Find authentication code in the user service" → Uses search_code
"Explain how the payment flow works in this codebase" → Uses chat_completions

Troubleshooting

Quick Diagnostics

Test the hosted service:
```
curl https://mcp.codealive.ai/health
```

Check your API key:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" https://app.codealive.ai/api/v1/data_sources

Common Issues

"Connection refused" → Check internet connection
"401 Unauthorized" → Verify your API key
"No repositories found" → Check API key permissions in CodeAlive dashboard

For additional help, contact [email protected]

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "codealive" '{"command":"python","args":["/path/to/your/codealive-mcp/src/codealive_mcp_server.py","--debug"],"env":{"CODEALIVE_API_KEY":"YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"}}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "codealive": {
            "command": "python",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/your/codealive-mcp/src/codealive_mcp_server.py",
                "--debug"
            ],
            "env": {
                "CODEALIVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
            }
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "codealive": {
            "command": "python",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/your/codealive-mcp/src/codealive_mcp_server.py",
                "--debug"
            ],
            "env": {
                "CODEALIVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect