Sephera
Fast local-first Rust CLI for codebase metrics, AST-compressed LLM context bundles, and built-in MCP server.
What is Sephera?
Sephera is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to fast local-first rust cli for codebase metrics, ast-compressed llm context bundles, and built-in mcp server.
Fast local-first Rust CLI for codebase metrics, AST-compressed LLM context bundles, and built-in MCP server.
This server falls under the Developer Tools category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Fast local-first Rust CLI for codebase metrics, AST-compress
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx sepheraConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Sephera
Sephera is a fast, local-first Rust CLI that gives AI agents precise, token-efficient views of any codebase. It counts lines with language awareness, builds AST-compressed context bundles (reducing token usage by 50–70% via Tree-sitter), analyzes dependency graphs, and exposes all of these capabilities through a built-in MCP server. Developers use it to give Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible agent accurate codebase context without pasting raw files or blowing through context windows.
Prerequisites
- Rust toolchain installed (cargo) if building from source, or a prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code with MCP support
- Git installed (for diff-based context packing features)
- Internet access if using URL mode to analyze remote GitHub/GitLab repositories without cloning
Install Sephera
Install via Cargo for the latest build, or download a prebuilt binary for your platform from the GitHub Releases page.
cargo install sephera
# Or download a prebuilt binary:
# https://github.com/Reim-developer/Sephera/releasesVerify the installation
Confirm the binary is accessible and try a quick line count on the current directory.
sephera --version
sephera loc --path .Create a .sephera.toml configuration file
Place a .sephera.toml in your repository root to set default context budgets, focus paths, and compression levels so you do not have to pass flags every time.
# .sephera.toml
[context]
focus = ["src"]
budget = "64k"
compress = "signatures"
[profiles.review.context]
diff = "origin/main"
budget = "32k"Start the built-in MCP server
Run sephera in MCP mode to expose all CLI capabilities as MCP tools to connected AI clients.
sephera mcpRegister with your MCP client
Add Sephera to your MCP client configuration so it starts automatically with each session.
# Claude Desktop: edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
# Cursor: edit .cursor/mcp.json in your project
# See next section for the full JSON blockAnalyze a dependency graph
Use the graph command to understand which files depend on a specific module, useful before refactoring.
# Full dependency graph in Markdown
sephera graph --path . --format markdown
# What depends on a specific file?
sephera graph --path . --what-depends-on src/core/parser.rs --depth 1Sephera Examples
Client configuration
Add Sephera's MCP server to Claude Desktop so it is available in every session:
{
"mcpServers": {
"sephera": {
"command": "sephera",
"args": ["mcp"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
With Sephera connected, ask your AI assistant to analyze your codebase:
- "Count lines of code in this repo broken down by language"
- "Build a compressed context bundle for the src/ directory with a 32k token budget"
- "Show the dependency graph for src/main.rs and what other files depend on it"
- "Create a diff-based context pack showing only changes since origin/main"
- "Analyze the GitHub repo at https://github.com/rust-lang/rust and give me a language breakdown"Troubleshooting Sephera
cargo install sephera fails with compilation errors
Ensure your Rust toolchain is up to date: run 'rustup update stable'. Sephera uses Tree-sitter bindings that require a recent stable Rust version. Alternatively, download a prebuilt binary from the Releases page.
MCP server starts but no tools appear in the client
Confirm the binary path in your config is absolute (e.g., /Users/you/.cargo/bin/sephera rather than just sephera). Run 'which sephera' to get the full path and update the command field accordingly.
Context bundles are larger than expected even with compression
Set an explicit budget in .sephera.toml or via --budget 32k. Use --compress signatures to strip function bodies and keep only signatures, which typically gives the largest token reduction.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sephera
What is Sephera?
Sephera is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that fast local-first rust cli for codebase metrics, ast-compressed llm context bundles, and built-in mcp server. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Sephera?
Follow the installation instructions on the Sephera GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Sephera?
Sephera works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Sephera free to use?
Yes, Sephera is open source and available under the GPL-3.0 license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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