One binary. Zero dependencies.
Cortex builds a local call graph of your repository and exposes it over MCP for AI assistants.
Key capabilities
Local code intelligence built for AI agents.
Languages
29languages
Tree-sitter call graphs with incremental re-parse.
MCP tools
325 in smart mode
Navigation, graph, security, memory, federation. Smart ask routing picks the right tool.
- Structural10
- Memory5
- Security3
- Search2
- HTTP2
- Analysis9
Indexing
Native file watchers. Incremental updates in milliseconds.
0ms
Security
Taint flow analysis, OWASP Top 10 patterns, SBOM export.
- Taint flow analysis
- OWASP Top 10
- SBOM export
Memory
Cross-session context linked to symbols. Staleness when code changes.
Federation
Attach multiple repos into one queryable graph.
Hybrid search
FTS5 BM25 plus optional local ONNX embeddings.
Keyword + structural FTS5 search
CI gates
Configurable quality thresholds and exit codes for pipelines.
Exit code 1 below threshold
3D visualization
Interactive call-graph viewer from cortex viz.
Single binary
~15MB
No Node, Python, or Docker required.
Git intelligence
Hotspots, churn metrics, and branch call-graph diffs.
How Cortex compares
Based on each project's public documentation.
| Feature | Cortex | codebase-memory-mcp | Srclight | Serena | mcp-codebase-index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Rust + SQLite | C + SQLite | Python + SQLite | Python + LSP | Python + SQLite |
| Languages | 29 | 66 | 10 | 40+ | 4 |
| MCP tools | 32 (5 smart) | 14 | 42 | ~20 | 17 |
| Smart tool routing | |||||
| Call graph depth | Function-level | Full chains | Callers/callees | LSP-precise | Cross-file |
| Hybrid search | FTS5 + vectors | Graph only | RRF fusion | Keyword | Structural |
| Token reduction | 10-100x | 121x avg | N/A | N/A | 87% |
| Incremental update | 13ms | ms-scale | Git hooks | LSP live | Hash-based |
| Security (taint/OWASP/SBOM) | |||||
| Cross-session memory | Staleness-aware | ||||
| Multi-repo federation | SQLite ATTACH | ||||
| Document ingestion | |||||
| Build system awareness | |||||
| Git intelligence | Blame | ||||
| Community detection | |||||
| Coverage gap analysis | |||||
| CI quality gates | |||||
| Single binary, zero deps | |||||
| Auto IDE config | |||||
| 3D visualization | |||||
| Air-gap compatible |
Architecture ▼
Languages ▼
MCP tools ▼
Smart tool routing ▼
Call graph depth ▼
Hybrid search ▼
Token reduction ▼
Incremental update ▼
Security (taint/OWASP/SBOM) ▼
Cross-session memory ▼
Multi-repo federation ▼
Document ingestion ▼
Build system awareness ▼
Git intelligence ▼
Community detection ▼
Coverage gap analysis ▼
CI quality gates ▼
Single binary, zero deps ▼
Auto IDE config ▼
3D visualization ▼
Air-gap compatible ▼
Partial = limited support. N/A = not documented.
Install
npx @1337xcode/cortex install