codebase-memory-mcp vs Serena

A side-by-side comparison of two Developer Tools servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	codebase-memory-mcp Code intelligence engine that indexes repos into a persistent knowledge graph for AI coding agents. Unverified stdio (local) No auth C	Serena LSP-powered coding agent toolkit: semantic symbol search, references and structural edits. Verified stdio (local) No auth Python
Category	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Language	C	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	None
GitHub stars	16k	12k
Last commit	12 hours ago	23 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/main/install.sh \| bash`	`uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick codebase-memory-mcp if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Serena if you want a verified, documented setup.

Add codebase-memory-mcp

Install / run

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/main/install.sh | bash

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codebase-memory-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/codebase-memory-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Add Serena

Install / run

uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

FAQ

codebase-memory-mcp or Serena — which is better?

Pick codebase-memory-mcp if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Serena if you want a verified, documented setup.

Can I use both codebase-memory-mcp and Serena?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do codebase-memory-mcp and Serena work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View codebase-memory-mcp →View Serena →More comparisons →