Code Index vs Codebase Context MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the Code Index and Codebase Context MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

C

Choose Code Index when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: index_directory, search_code, list_indexes.

Explore Code Index Details

Choose Codebase Context MCP when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: index_codebase, search_symbols, search_code.

Explore Codebase Context MCP Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	C Code Index Developer Tools	Codebase Context MCP Developer Tools
Summary	Fast local source code searching using Zoekt trigram-based indexing	Codebase indexing and search via WASM tree-sitter. Works on ARM64 and x86_64.
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "code-index-3": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "code-index-3"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codebase-context-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "codebase-context-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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