CKB
Code intelligence for AI assistants - MCP server, CLI, and HTTP API with symbol navigation, impact analysis, and architecture mapping
What is CKB?
CKB is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to code intelligence for ai assistants - mcp server, cli, and http api with symbol navigation, impact analysis, and architecture mapping
Code intelligence for AI assistants - MCP server, CLI, and HTTP API with symbol navigation, impact analysis, and architecture mapping
This server falls under the Developer Tools category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Code intelligence for AI assistants - MCP server, CLI, and H
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx ckbConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use CKB
CKB (Code Knowledge Backend) is a code intelligence MCP server that transforms any codebase into a queryable knowledge graph accessible to AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf. It provides semantic code search, precise impact analysis (blast radius), call graph navigation, dead code detection, secret scanning, ownership lookup, and reviewer suggestions — answering questions that grep and file reading cannot, such as "what breaks if I change this function?" or "who owns this module?" CKB reduces AI tool call overhead by 60-70% through compound operations and token-optimized presets, and integrates with CI/CD pipelines via CLI, HTTP API, or MCP stdio transport.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18 or later, or Go 1.21+ if building from source
- The @tastehub/ckb npm package (or Homebrew on macOS)
- A Git repository to analyze
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Code CLI, Cursor, or Windsurf
- Optional: a SCIP-compatible language indexer for full cross-file reference support (e.g., scip-go, scip-typescript)
Install CKB globally
Install the CKB package globally via npm for repeated use, or use npx to run it without installation. On macOS you can also use Homebrew.
npm install -g @tastehub/ckb
# or with Homebrew on macOS/Linux:
brew tap SimplyLiz/ckb && brew install ckbInitialize CKB in your project
Run ckb init from the root of your codebase to create the CKB configuration. This sets up the project for analysis.
cd /path/to/your/project
ckb initGenerate a SCIP index (recommended)
Generate a language-specific SCIP index for full cross-file reference resolution. CKB auto-detects the language and runs the appropriate indexer. Without an index, CKB falls back to tree-sitter basic mode.
ckb indexConnect to Claude Code or another MCP client
Run ckb setup to automatically create the .mcp.json configuration file for Claude Code. For other clients, add the server manually.
ckb setup
# This creates .mcp.json with:
# claude mcp add --transport stdio ckb -- npx @tastehub/ckb mcpVerify the server is working
Run a quick sanity check from the CLI to confirm CKB can analyze your codebase before connecting your AI assistant.
ckb status
ckb hotspots --format=humanCKB Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop or .mcp.json configuration for the CKB MCP server using the globally installed package.
{
"mcpServers": {
"ckb": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@tastehub/ckb", "mcp"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Sample prompts that take advantage of CKB's code intelligence capabilities once the server is connected.
- "What calls the HandleRequest function in this codebase?"
- "What is the blast radius if I change the UserService class?"
- "Find all dead code in the internal/api module"
- "Who owns the payment processing code and who should review a PR touching it?"
- "Are there any exposed secrets or credentials in this repository?"
- "What tests would be affected if I modify the database connection pool logic?"Troubleshooting CKB
ckb index fails with a language not supported error
Check ckb status for the list of supported languages and their quality tier. Some languages require an external SCIP indexer to be installed separately (e.g., scip-go for Go, scip-typescript for TypeScript). CKB will fall back to tree-sitter basic mode if no indexer is found.
AI assistant shows only 14 tools instead of the full 76
CKB uses presets to limit active tools for token efficiency. The default 'core' preset activates a focused subset. You can change the preset by editing the CKB config or passing --preset=full when starting the MCP server.
Impact analysis returns no results for a function
Cross-file impact analysis requires a SCIP index. Run ckb index to generate one and then rerun your query. Check ckb status to confirm the index is fresh — it may need regeneration after significant code changes.
Frequently Asked Questions about CKB
What is CKB?
CKB is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that code intelligence for ai assistants - mcp server, cli, and http api with symbol navigation, impact analysis, and architecture mapping It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install CKB?
Follow the installation instructions on the CKB GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with CKB?
CKB works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is CKB free to use?
Yes, CKB is open source and available under the NOASSERTION license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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Set Up CKB in Your Editor
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Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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