tentra-mcp

Memory for AI coding agents. Persistent code graph + AI-generated architecture diagrams — MCP-native. Works in Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, and Windsurf.

Dogfood benchmark on our own monorepo: 99.4% token reduction (156.8× ratio) across 8 "where is X implemented?" queries — 114,644 tokens via file re-read vs 731 tokens via query_symbols. Full write-up →

Quick Start (60 seconds)

cd your-repo
npx tentra-mcp init --hook

One command:

1. Writes MCP config for Cursor / Claude Code / Codex / Windsurf (whichever are installed)
2. Installs a git post-commit hook so the code graph auto-refreshes after every commit — no manual re-indexing
3. Auto-derives your repo_id from the git remote and saves it to .tentra/metadata.json

Then grab your API key at trytentra.com/settings, replace YOUR_TENTRA_API_KEY in the generated config, reload your IDE, and ask your agent:

Index this codebase with Tentra and list the god-nodes

From here on, every git commit fires a background re-index. Your agents stay caught up automatically.

Skip the hook: drop --hook — just writes IDE configs. Manual stdio install: npx tentra-mcp (opens browser for GitHub device-flow auth on first tool call). API key instead: npx tentra-mcp --key YOUR_API_KEY.

What is Tentra?

Tentra is the persistent memory layer for AI coding agents. Describe a system — get a diagram and 14-framework code exports. Index your repo — agents query a structured graph of files, symbols, imports, and call edges instead of re-grepping source every session.

This MCP server gives your AI assistant 32 tools:

Architecture (9 tools)

Tool	Description
create_architecture	Design a new system from a description
update_architecture	Modify an existing architecture
get_architecture	Read architecture details
list_architectures	Browse all saved designs
analyze_codebase	Scan local code and generate diagram
lint_architecture	Quality checks (9 rules: orphans, SPOFs, god services)
sync_architecture	Detect drift between diagram and code
export_architecture	Export to 14 frameworks (Java, Python, Go, Rust, etc.)
create_flow	Create step-by-step flow visualization

Code Graph — Write (4 tools)

Tool	Description
index_code	Walk a repo, Tree-sitter locally, start a semantic indexing job
index_code_continue	Resume an in-progress indexing job
record_semantic_node	Persist an agent-extracted semantic annotation
get_index_job	Check status of an indexing job

Code Graph — Read (10 tools)

Tool	Description
query_symbols	Fuzzy trigram search across indexed symbols
get_symbol_neighbors	BFS traversal in the call/import graph
get_service_code_graph	Subgraph for a canvas service
explain_code_path	Shortest path between two symbols with semantic context
find_similar_code	pgvector cosine ANN over agent-generated embeddings
record_embedding	Persist an agent-generated embedding vector
list_god_nodes	Highest fan-in/out symbols (architectural smells)
get_quality_hotspots	Churn × complexity ranking
list_snapshots	Time-travel listing of indexed snapshots
diff_snapshots	Files / symbols / god-nodes added/removed between snapshots

Enrichment — Contracts, Decisions, Ownership, Domains (9 tools)

Tool	Description
set_service_mapping	Link an indexed file or symbol to a canvas service
set_domain_membership	Assign a service or file to a domain (bounded context)
record_contract	Store a parsed API contract payload (OpenAPI, GraphQL, Protobuf)
bind_contract	Link a contract to the symbol that implements it
record_decision	Create an Architecture Decision Record, optionally linking code
link_decision	Append a link from an ADR to another symbol, file, or service
get_ownership	Resolve the owner (team or person) for a file or service
get_decisions_for	List ADRs linked to a given entity
get_contracts	List contracts, optionally filtered by kind or service

Setup

Option 1: SSE (zero install)

Add to your IDE's MCP config — no local install needed:

Cursor (Settings > Features > MCP > Add Server):

{
  "tentra": {
    "type": "sse",
    "url": "https://trytentra.com/api/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY"
  }
}

Claude Code (.mcp.json in project root):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tentra": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "https://trytentra.com/api/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY"
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Local install (needed for codebase scanning)

npx tentra-mcp

Authenticates automatically via GitHub on first use. Credentials are saved to ~/.tentra/credentials.

Cursor config for local server:

{
  "tentra": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["tentra-mcp"]
  }
}

Claude Code (.mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tentra": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tentra-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Usage Examples

Once connected, just talk to your AI:

"Design a payment system with Stripe, Kafka, and PostgreSQL"
→ AI calls create_architecture → diagram at trytentra.com/arch/xxx

"Scan this codebase and generate the architecture"
→ AI calls analyze_codebase → detects services, DBs, queues

"Export this architecture to Java Spring Boot"
→ AI calls export_architecture → downloads zip with project scaffold

"What changed since last time? Is my diagram outdated?"
→ AI calls sync_architecture → drift report with accuracy score

Export Formats

Java (Spring Boot), Node.js (Fastify), Python (FastAPI), Go (chi), Rust (Axum), .NET (ASP.NET), Kotlin (Ktor), PHP (Laravel), Ruby (Rails), Elixir (Phoenix), Docker Compose, Mermaid, ADR, Terraform

Links

• Website: trytentra.com
• Documentation: trytentra.com/docs
• Setup Guide: trytentra.com/docs/setup
• Gallery: trytentra.com/gallery

Development

This repo contains the open-source MCP server. The Tentra API and web app are a separate hosted service at trytentra.com.

npm install --legacy-peer-deps
npm run build      # tsc --noEmit + esbuild bundle → dist/index.js
npm start          # run the bundled server
npm test           # vitest

The published npm package (tentra-mcp) ships only the bundled dist/ — source is here for auditability and community contributions.

License

MIT