Example: Serena

Serena is a semantic code search MCP server powered by LSP. It's a great example of a server that benefits from mcpx + daemon mode.

Why Serena + mcpx

Serena exposes 21 tools with complex schemas. Loading them natively costs ~20K tokens of context. With mcpx, the AI calls tools on demand — zero upfront cost.

Serena also has slow startup (LSP initialization, indexing). Daemon mode keeps it warm.

Config

# .mcpx/config.yml
servers:
  serena:
    command: uvx
    args:
      - --from
      - git+https://github.com/oraios/serena
      - serena
      - start-mcp-server
      - --project
      - "$(mcpx.project_root)"
    transport: stdio
    daemon: true
    startup_timeout: "120s"

First Run

# Import if you have .mcp.json
mcpx init

# Or create config manually (above)

# Verify
mcpx ping serena
# serena: ok (21 tools, 2847ms)  ← first run: slow (LSP init)

# Second call
mcpx ping serena
# serena: ok (21 tools, 12ms)    ← daemon warm: fast

Common Operations

Discover tools

mcpx list serena -v

Search for symbols

mcpx serena find_symbol --name_path_pattern "UserAuth" --include_body true

Get file overview

mcpx serena get_symbols_overview --relative_path "src/auth/service.go"

Find references

mcpx serena find_referencing_symbols --name_path "handleLogin" --relative_path "src/auth/handler.go"

Search for patterns

mcpx serena search_for_pattern --substring_pattern "TODO|FIXME" --restrict_search_to_code_files true

List directory

mcpx serena list_dir --relative_path "src/" --recursive true

AI Agent Integration

Add to your CLAUDE.md:

## Code Navigation

Use mcpx for semantic code search:
- `mcpx serena find_symbol --name_path_pattern "ClassName" --include_body true`
- `mcpx serena get_symbols_overview --relative_path "path/to/file.go"`
- `mcpx serena find_referencing_symbols --name_path "funcName" --relative_path "file.go"`
- `mcpx serena search_for_pattern --substring_pattern "pattern"`

Run `mcpx serena <tool> --help` for full flag details.

Generate Reference

Create a compact reference for your CLAUDE.md:

mcpx serena generate

This outputs all tools and flags in a format optimized for AI agent context.