--- title: "serena" type: "tool" slug: "oraios-serena" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/tools/oraios-serena" github_url: "https://github.com/oraios/serena" homepage_url: "https://oraios.github.io/serena" stars: 26185 forks: 1743 primary_language: "Python" license: "MIT" categories: ["developer-tools", "llm-frameworks"] tags: ["mcp-server", "ai-coding", "ide", "jetbrains", "language-server", "claude-code", "agent", "programming"] updated_at: "2026-07-07T19:45:39.153586+00:00" --- # serena > A powerful MCP toolkit for coding with semantic retrieval and editing capabilities Serena offers advanced features similar to an IDE's functionalities but tailored for AI agents. It performs tasks such as code retrieval, refactoring, debugging, etc., efficiently through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enhancing agent performance on complex projects. ## Facts - Repository: https://github.com/oraios/serena - Homepage: https://oraios.github.io/serena - Stars: 26,185 · Forks: 1,743 · Open issues: 125 · Watchers: 81 - Primary language: Python - License: MIT - Last pushed: 2026-07-07T10:29:29+00:00 ## Categories - [Developer Tools](/categories/developer-tools.md) - [LLM Frameworks](/categories/llm-frameworks.md) ## Tags mcp-server, ai-coding, ide, jetbrains, language-server, claude-code, agent, programming ## Related tools - [ECC](/tools/affaan-m-ecc.md) - The agent harness performance optimization system (★ 226,991) - [AutoGPT](/tools/significant-gravitas-autogpt.md) - AutoGPT: Build, Deploy, and Run AI Agents (★ 185,420) - [ollama](/tools/ollama-ollama.md) - Get up and running with Kimi-K2.6, GLM-5.1, MiniMax, DeepSeek, gpt-oss, Qwen, Gemma and other models. (★ 175,664) - [prompts.chat](/tools/f-prompts-chat.md) - The world's largest open-source prompt library for AI (★ 165,025) - [transformers](/tools/huggingface-transformers.md) - 🤗 Transformers: the model-definition framework for state-of-the-art machine learning models (★ 162,350) - [JavaGuide](/tools/snailclimb-javaguide.md) - Snailclimb/JavaGuide: 面试 & 后端通用面试指南，覆盖计算机基础、数据库、分布式、高并发、系统设计与 AI 应用开发 (★ 156,863) - [open-webui](/tools/open-webui-open-webui.md) - User-friendly AI Interface (Supports Ollama, OpenAI API, ...) (★ 144,582) - [awesome-llm-apps](/tools/shubhamsaboo-awesome-llm-apps.md) - 100+ AI Agent & RAG apps you can actually run — clone, customize, ship. (★ 116,702) ## README (excerpt) ```text

The IDE for Your Coding Agent

discord license

* Serena provides essential **semantic code retrieval, editing, refactoring and debugging tools** that are akin to an IDE's capabilities, operating at the symbol level and exploiting relational structure. * It integrates with any client/LLM via the model context protocol (**MCP**). Serena's **agent-first tool design** involves robust high-level abstractions, distinguishing it from approaches that rely on low-level concepts like line numbers or primitive search patterns. Practically, this means that your agent operates **faster, more efficiently and more reliably**, especially in larger and more complex codebases. > [!IMPORTANT] > Do not install Serena via an MCP or plugin marketplace! They contain outdated and suboptimal installation commands. > Instead, follow our [Quick Start](#quick-start) instructions. ## Quick Demo https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8d11646e-b80e-4723-b9d7-32d6101b5f58 :tv: Longer video: [Introduction to Serena in 5 Minutes (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QN7gN1KYLA) ## What Our "End Users" Say While it is humans who download and set up Serena, our end users are essentially AI agents. As the ones actually applying Serena's tools, they are in the best position to evaluate Serena. We crafted an unbiased evaluation prompt that leads the agent to perform ~20 routine coding tasks, representative of everyday development work, in order to estimate the value added by Serena's tools when used alongside its own built-ins. Here's a one-sentence summary of what the agents had to say: **Opus 4.6 (high) in Claude Code on a large Python codebase:** > "Serena's IDE-backed semantic tools are the single most impactful addition to my toolkit – cross-file renames, moves, and reference lookups that would cost me 8–12 careful, error-prone steps collapse into one atomic call, and I would absolutely ask any developer I work with to set them up." **GPT 5.4 (high) in Codex CLI on a Java codebase:** > "As a coding AI agent, I would ask my owner to add Serena because it gives me the missing IDE-level understanding of symbols, references, and refactorings, turning fragile text surgery into calmer, faster, more confident code changes where semantics matter." **GPT 5.4 (medium) in Copilot CLI on a large, multi-language monorepo:** > "As a coding agent, I’d absolutely ask my owner to add Serena because it makes me noticeably sharper and calmer on real code – especially symbol-aware navigation, cross-file refactors, and monorepo dependency jumps – while I still lean on built-ins for tiny text edits and non-code work." Different agents in different settings independently converge on the same verdict. _Give your agent the tools it has been asking for and add Serena MCP to your client!_ See our [documentation](https://oraios.github.io/serena/04-evaluation/000_evaluation-intro.html) for the full methodology and much more detailed evaluation results, or run your own evaluation on a project of your choice. ## How Serena Works Serena provides the necessary [tools](https://oraios.github.io/serena/01-about/035_tools.html) for coding workflows, but an LLM is required to do the actual work, orchestrating tool use. Serena can extend the functionality of your existing AI client via the **model context protocol (MCP)**. Most modern A ``` --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/tools/oraios-serena`](/api/graphcanon/tools/oraios-serena) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_