CodeGraphContext vs Serena

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

	CodeGraphContext Index local code into a graph database to give AI assistants deep, queryable code context. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Python	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	Python	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	None
GitHub stars	3.8k	12k
Last commit	7 days ago	15 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`pip install codegraphcontext`	`uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick CodeGraphContext if you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Serena if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a verified, documented setup.

Add CodeGraphContext

Install / run

pip install codegraphcontext

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codegraphcontext": {
      "command": "codegraphcontext",
      "args": [
        "mcp",
        "start"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NEO4J_URI": "YOUR_NEO4J_URI",
        "NEO4J_USERNAME": "YOUR_NEO4J_USERNAME",
        "NEO4J_PASSWORD": "YOUR_NEO4J_PASSWORD"
      }
    }
  }
}

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

CodeGraphContext or Serena — which is better?

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

Can I use both CodeGraphContext 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 CodeGraphContext and Serena work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View CodeGraphContext →View Serena →More comparisons →