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Serena

Gives a coding agent symbol-level code search, editing and refactoring tools backed by language servers

Install with uv

uv tool install -p 3.13 serena-agent

Copied from the project's docs at github.com/oraios/serena

Why you'd want it

Serena exposes IDE-style tools over MCP, such as find symbol, find referencing symbols, rename and replace symbol body, so the agent works with code structure instead of line numbers and text search. The default backend uses language servers, and the README lists support for over 40 programming languages. An optional paid JetBrains plugin backend adds moves, inlining, type hierarchy and searches in project dependencies.

Best for

  • Navigating and refactoring large codebases
  • Cross-file renames and reference lookups
  • Multi-language repositories

Use it when

Your agent spends many steps on grep and line-based edits in a large codebase and you want it to look up symbols and references the way an IDE does.

Skip it if

Your projects are small and the agent's built-in search and edit tools already cope. It reports anonymous usage data on startup unless SERENA_USAGE_REPORTING is set to false, and its docs assume a trusted machine and repository and recommend a sandbox. The app moved from MIT to GPL-3.0-or-later in v2.

Editor's note

The install step does not connect a client; for Claude Code the docs then run serena setup claude-code (oraios.github.io/serena, Clients page).

Related tools

Same category or shared tags.

  1. GitHub MCP Server

    MCP server Standard

    Connects agents to GitHub repos, issues, pull requests, Actions runs and security alerts

    • 33.6k stars
    • 57 stars/day since creation
    • pushed
    • v2.0.2 on
    • MIT

    Add the remote server to Claude Code

    claude mcp add-json github '{"type":"http","url":"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp","headers":{"Authorization":"Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"}}'
    Use it when, skip it if, stats for GitHub MCP Server

    Why you'd want it

    GitHub's official MCP server lets an agent browse and search code, manage issues and pull requests, monitor Actions runs and review code scanning and Dependabot alerts. GitHub hosts a remote version at api.githubcopilot.com/mcp with OAuth or personal access token auth, and the same server runs locally from a Docker image or a Go binary. Tools are grouped into toolsets you can enable selectively, and a read-only mode removes every tool that makes changes.

    Best for

    • Agents that triage issues or review pull requests
    • Investigating CI failures from the editor
    • Teams that want a hosted server with OAuth

    Use it when

    Your agent needs to read or act on GitHub repositories, issues, pull requests or workflows as part of its task.

    Skip it if

    You do not use GitHub. Remote OAuth depends on each host configuring a GitHub App or OAuth App, so some clients need a personal access token, and GitHub Enterprise Server needs extra setup.

    Stats

    Stars
    33,623
    Last push
    Release
    v2.0.2,
    License
    MIT
    Pricing
    Open source
    Works with
    Any MCP client, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, VS Code, JetBrains, Windsurf, Zed, Docker
    Stars per day, since repo creation
    57
    Tier
    Standard, not ranked

    Full stat block for GitHub MCP Server

  2. Context7

    MCP server Standard

    Pulls current, version-specific library docs and code examples into your agent's context

    • 63.1k stars
    • 111 stars/day since creation
    • pushed
    • @upstash/[email protected] on
    • MIT

    Run the setup CLI

    npx ctx7 setup
    Use it when, skip it if, stats for Context7

    Why you'd want it

    Context7 targets outdated training data and hallucinated APIs by fetching documentation and code examples for the library and version you name in the prompt. Its MCP server has two tools: resolve-library-id maps a library name to a Context7 ID, and query-docs returns docs relevant to a question. It can also run without MCP as the ctx7 CLI plus an agent skill, and npx ctx7 setup configures either mode for Cursor, Claude Code or OpenCode.

    Best for

    • Coding agents working with fast-moving libraries
    • Pinning answers to a specific library version
    • Cursor and Claude Code users

    Use it when

    Your agent keeps writing code against outdated or nonexistent APIs for the libraries you depend on.

    Skip it if

    You need a fully self-hosted setup: only the MCP server and CLI are in the repo, and requests go to the hosted Context7 API, with low rate limits unless you add an API key. Library docs are community-contributed and Context7 does not guarantee their accuracy.

    Stats

    Stars
    63,053
    Last push
    Release
    @upstash/[email protected],
    License
    MIT
    Pricing
    Free tier + paid
    Works with
    Any MCP client, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, VS Code, JetBrains, Zed, Docker
    Stars per day, since repo creation
    111
    Tier
    Standard, not ranked

    Full stat block for Context7

  3. Playwright MCP

    MCP server Standard

    Lets an agent drive a real browser with Playwright using accessibility snapshots, not screenshots

    • 38.2k stars
    • 66.7 stars/day since creation
    • pushed
    • v0.0.83 on
    • Apache-2.0

    Add to Claude Code

    claude mcp add playwright npx @playwright/mcp@latest
    Use it when, skip it if, stats for Playwright MCP

    Why you'd want it

    Microsoft's MCP server exposes Playwright browser automation as tools that act on structured accessibility snapshots, so no vision model is needed and actions avoid the ambiguity of screenshot-based clicking. It runs Chrome, Firefox, WebKit or Edge, headed or headless, can attach to your logged-in browser through the Playwright extension, and has opt-in capabilities for network, storage, DevTools, PDF, vision and test assertions. The README positions MCP for long-running loops that need persistent browser state, and points coding agents to the more token-efficient Playwright CLI with skills.

    Best for

    • Exploratory web automation by agents
    • Self-healing tests and long-running browser workflows
    • MCP clients without built-in browser control

    Use it when

    Your agent needs to navigate, fill forms and inspect pages across many steps while keeping the same browser session.

    Skip it if

    You use a coding agent and care about context size; Microsoft suggests Playwright CLI with skills for that. It is not a security boundary, so keep it away from sessions or data you would not hand to the model.

    Stats

    Stars
    38,158
    Last push
    Release
    v0.0.83,
    License
    Apache-2.0
    Pricing
    Open source
    Works with
    Any MCP client, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, VS Code, Windsurf, Docker
    Stars per day, since repo creation
    66.7
    Tier
    Standard, not ranked

    Full stat block for Playwright MCP

For agents

The same entry, as files an agent can read without scraping this page. 

# read one entry
curl -s https://agenttooldrop.com/tools/serena.md

# list the MCP servers in the catalog
curl -s https://agenttooldrop.com/tools.json \
  | jq -r '.tools[] | select(.category=="mcp-server") | .slug'