What is Repo Explorer

Repo Explorer is a powerful MCP server designed for efficient exploration, searching, and analysis of Git repositories, featuring advanced caching mechanisms for improved performance.

Use cases

Use cases include managing and analyzing multiple codebases, searching for specific code patterns across repositories, and integrating with AI tools for enhanced code insights.

How to use

To use Repo Explorer, clone the repository from GitHub, install the necessary dependencies, build the project, and configure it according to your needs. Utilize various tools provided for repository management and code searching.

Key features

Key features include repository management, advanced code search, a caching system for efficient result storage, cross-repository analysis, customizable repository structures, and platform independence across macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Where to use

Repo Explorer can be used in software development environments, particularly for teams working with multiple Git repositories, code analysis, and pattern recognition across projects.

Repo Explorer

A powerful MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides tools for seamlessly exploring, searching, and analyzing Git repositories.

Features

• Repository Management: Clone, update, and manage reference repositories
• Advanced Code Search: Quickly find patterns across multiple files
• Caching System: Efficiently store search results to improve performance
• Cross-Repository Analysis: Compare code patterns across multiple projects
• Configurable Repository Structure: Easily customize your reference repositories
• Platform Independent: Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18.x or higher
• Git

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/DocNr/repo-explorer.git
cd repo-explorer

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the project:

npm run build

4. Add to your MCP configuration (see Setup and Configuration below)

Tools

The repo-explorer provides several MCP tools:

• repo_status: Get status of all repositories or a specific repository
• clone_repo: Clone a specific repository
• update_repo: Update (pull) a specific repository
• create_reference_repos: Create the reference repo structure
• search_code: Search for code across repositories

Configuration System

The repo-explorer uses a configuration system that allows you to:

• Customize the location of reference repositories
• Define your own repository categories and repositories
• Maintain settings across sessions

Default Configuration

On first run, repo-explorer creates a configuration file at ~/.repo-explorer.json with default settings. This includes a selection of popular repositories organized by category:

{
  "repoBaseDir": "~/referencerepos",
  "repositories": {
    "nostr": {
      "ndk": {
        "url": "https://github.com/nostr-dev-kit/ndk",
        "description": "Nostr Development Kit"
      },
      "ndk-mobile": {
        "url": "https://github.com/nostr-dev-kit/ndk-mobile",
        "description": "NDK for mobile platforms"
      },
      "nips": {
        "url": "https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips",
        "description": "Nostr Implementation Possibilities"
      }
    },
    "databases": {
      "watermelondb": {
        "url": "https://github.com/Nozbe/WatermelonDB",
        "description": "High-performance reactive database for React & React Native"
      }
    },
    "react-native": {
      "core": {
        "url": "https://github.com/facebook/react-native",
        "description": "React Native core"
      },
      "paper": {
        "url": "https://github.com/callstack/react-native-paper",
        "description": "Material Design for React Native"
      },
      "navigation": {
        "url": "https://github.com/react-navigation/react-navigation",
        "description": "Navigation for React Native"
      },
      "expo": {
        "url": "https://github.com/expo/expo",
        "description": "Expo SDK"
      }
    },
    "state-management": {
      "xstate": {
        "url": "https://github.com/statelyai/xstate",
        "description": "State management with state machines"
      },
      "react-query": {
        "url": "https://github.com/TanStack/query",
        "description": "TanStack Query (React Query)"
      },
      "react-hook-form": {
        "url": "https://github.com/react-hook-form/react-hook-form",
        "description": "Form management for React"
      }
    }
  }
}

Customizing Configuration

To customize your configuration:

1. Edit the ~/.repo-explorer.json file directly
2. Add, remove, or modify categories and repositories as needed
3. Change the repoBaseDir to your preferred location for storing repositories

Caching System

The repo-explorer implements an advanced caching system that dramatically improves performance for repeated operations, particularly for code searches.

Performance Benefits

• Search Result Caching: Stores results of previous searches to eliminate redundant file scanning
• Repository Structure Caching: Maintains an index of repository file structures to speed up pattern matching
• Intelligent Cache Invalidation: Automatically refreshes cache when repositories are updated
• Result Limiting Controls: Configure maximum results and context lines to prevent context window overflow

Efficiency Gains

The caching system provides significant performance improvements across different repository sizes:

*Testing performed on standard development machine with SSD storage

Implementation Details

The caching system uses a multi-level approach:

• Memory Cache: Stores recent search results for immediate access
• Persistent Cache: Maintains repository information between sessions
• Cache Invalidation: Monitors Git updates to ensure cache freshness
• Pattern-based Optimization: Reuses partial results for similar search patterns

Setup and Configuration

For Claude Desktop App

Add the repo-explorer to your MCP configuration file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or appropriate location for your OS:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "repo-explorer": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/repo-explorer/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {},
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

For Claude Developer Tool (VSCode Extension)

Add the repo-explorer to your MCP settings file at ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json (macOS) or appropriate location for your OS:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "repo-explorer": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/repo-explorer/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {},
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Usage Examples

Here are some examples of using the repo-explorer’s tools:

Getting Status of All Repositories

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>repo-explorer</server_name>
<tool_name>repo_status</tool_name>
<arguments>{}</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Creating the Repository Structure

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>repo-explorer</server_name>
<tool_name>create_reference_repos</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "cloneAll": false
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Cloning a Specific Repository

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>repo-explorer</server_name>
<tool_name>clone_repo</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "category": "databases",
  "repo": "watermelondb"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Searching for Code Patterns

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>repo-explorer</server_name>
<tool_name>search_code</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "pattern": "function\\s+\\w+\\s*\\(",
  "filePattern": "*.js",
  "category": "databases",
  "repo": "watermelondb",
  "maxResults": 30,
  "contextLines": 2
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Contributing

Contributions to the repo-explorer are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to your branch
5. Create a pull request

License

MIT - See LICENSE file for details.