Ganglia

Ganglia — code-graph MCP server

Ganglia is an MCP server that gives AI coding agents a real understanding of your codebase — not file contents, but structure: who calls what, what breaks if you touch X, where a route ends up in the database.

It indexes your project into a call graph and exposes semantic tools that replace Read / Grep / Glob and slash token usage on real codebases. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Continue, Cline, Goose — any MCP-compatible client.

What you get

Category	Tools
Reading	code_get, code_signature, code_files, code_toc, code_overview, code_summary, code_structure, code_search, code_grep, code_quick
Navigation	code_callers, code_callees, code_context, code_related, code_trace, code_imports
Analysis	code_impact, code_hotspots, code_dead, code_cycles, code_duplicates, code_breaking_changes, code_diff_context, code_changelog, code_map
Refactor (transactional)	code_propagate, code_apply_batch, code_revert, code_history, code_rename_symbol, code_safe_move, code_slice, code_verify_edit
Schema & routing	code_route, code_route_trace, code_schema, code_env, code_type, code_type_usages
Memory & knowledge	code_memory, code_knowledge, code_annotate, code_checkpoint, code_config
Build / test / lint	code_build, code_test, code_lint, code_exec
Deliberation	deliberation_start, deliberation_opinion, deliberation_status, deliberation_result
Smart (LLM-backed)	code_smart_read, code_smart_grep, code_smart_diff, code_smart_context
Doc graph	doc_index, doc_list, doc_toc, doc_query, doc_get

Full reference: ganglia.dev/tools · Docs: ganglia.dev/docs

Install

Claude Code (plugin marketplace)

/plugin marketplace add ganglia-tools/marketplace
/plugin install ganglia@ganglia

Includes 5 slash commands and an auto-triggered safe-refactor skill.

Cursor

~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ganglia": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "-p", "@ganglia/cli", "gng", "mcp", "-p", "."]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ganglia": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "-p", "@ganglia/cli", "gng", "mcp", "-p", "."]
    }
  }
}

Continue / Cline / Goose / any MCP client

Same shape — point at the gng mcp -p . command:

npx -y -p @ganglia/cli gng mcp -p .

Direct binary install

npm install -g @ganglia/cli
gng register                 # wires Claude Code automatically

Or grab a platform binary from npm or the download page.

Activation

Free during public beta. One-time setup:

1. Sign up: https://ganglia.dev/signup (30 seconds, name + email)
2. Copy your key from https://ganglia.dev/dashboard
3. gng login <your-key>

Verify: gng whoami shows your tier.

Why use it

Without Ganglia	With Ganglia
AI reads whole files to find one function	code_get("functionName") — 40 lines instead of 800
AI greps blindly across the tree	code_grep("pattern", max_results=5) — ranked, structured
AI guesses what breaks if it changes a function	code_impact(name, depth=2) — severity-scored dependents
Cross-file rename = 47 individual Edit() calls	code_propagate → code_apply_batch — one transaction, one revert
Every session starts from scratch	code_memory — persistent context across conversations

Token savings on a real codebase: 80–95% vs raw file-reading patterns.

Languages

TypeScript · JavaScript · Rust · Python · Go · PHP

Repo layout

.claude-plugin/
├── marketplace.json   # Marketplace declaration (one plugin: "ganglia")
├── plugin.json        # Plugin manifest, points at mcp.json
└── mcp.json           # MCP server: npx -y -p @ganglia/cli gng mcp -p .
commands/              # 5 Claude Code slash commands
skills/                # gng-safe-refactor skill
smithery.yaml          # Smithery.ai auto-discovery manifest

Links

• Site: https://ganglia.dev
• Docs: https://ganglia.dev/docs
• Tools reference: https://ganglia.dev/tools
• npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@ganglia/cli
• AI install recipe: https://ganglia.dev/INSTALL.md

The Ganglia source lives in a private repo. This repo is the public-facing distribution — manifests, install instructions, and integration glue. Issues and feature requests welcome here.