Code Assistant MCP Server

Developer ToolsRust

An LLM-powered autonomous coding assistant with file operations and codebase exploration

Available Tools

list_projects

Lists available projects configured in the projects.json file

list_files

Lists files in a specified project directory

read_file

Reads the content of a specified file

write_file

Writes content to a specified file

summarize_file

Creates a summary of a specified file

perplexity_ask

Queries Perplexity API (requires PERPLEXITY_API_KEY)

Code Assistant is a powerful CLI tool built in Rust that helps developers with code-related tasks. It offers intelligent codebase exploration, file management capabilities, and interactive communication features. The assistant can autonomously navigate through project structures, read and modify files, and maintain an efficient working memory of the codebase. It also provides a Model Context Protocol server mode, enabling integration with MCP clients like Claude Desktop.

Overview

Code Assistant is a powerful tool that helps developers interact with their codebase more efficiently. It can autonomously explore codebases, manage files, and provide intelligent assistance for coding tasks. The tool offers both an agent mode for direct interaction and an MCP server mode that integrates with MCP clients like Claude Desktop.

Installation

To install Code Assistant, you'll need to have Rust installed on your system. Follow these steps:

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/stippi/code-assistant

Navigate to the project directory:
```
cd code-assistant
```
Build the project:
```
cargo build --release
```
The executable will be available at target/release/code-assistant

Configuration

Project Configuration

To use Code Assistant in MCP server mode, you need to configure your projects. Create a file at ~/.config/code-assistant/projects.json with the following structure:

{
  "project-name": {
    "path": "/absolute/path/to/project"
  },
  "another-project": {
    "path": "/absolute/path/to/another/project"
  }
}

This configuration allows the tool to access your projects without exposing absolute paths to LLM providers. You can edit this file without restarting the MCP server.

MCP Server Configuration

To use Code Assistant with Claude Desktop:

Open Claude Desktop and go to Settings
Switch to the Developer tab
Click "Edit Config"
Add the Code Assistant configuration to the claude_desktop_config.json file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "code-assistant": {
      "command": "/path/to/code-assistant/target/release/code-assistant",
      "args": [
        "server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "pplx-...", 
        "SHELL": "/bin/zsh"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: The PERPLEXITY_API_KEY is optional and enables the perplexity_ask tool. The SHELL environment variable should be set to your login shell when configuring the env section.

Usage

Code Assistant can run in two different modes:

Agent Mode (Default)

Run Code Assistant directly from the command line:

code-assistant --task "Your task description" [OPTIONS]

Available options include:

--path <PATH>: Path to the code directory (default: current directory)
--task <TASK>: Task to perform on the codebase
--ui: Start with GUI interface
--continue-task: Continue from previous state
--verbose: Enable verbose logging
--provider <PROVIDER>: LLM provider to use
--model <MODEL>: Model name to use
--base-url <URL>: API base URL for the LLM provider

MCP Server Mode

Run Code Assistant as an MCP server:

code-assistant server

This mode allows Code Assistant to be used as a plugin in MCP clients like Claude Desktop, providing tools for file operations, codebase exploration, and more.