MCP Serena Installer

This skill installs the Serena MCP server into the current project. Serena is a powerful coding agent toolkit that provides semantic code retrieval and editing capabilities.

Installation Procedure

When the user asks to install Serena MCP:

Step 1: Prerequisites

Ensure uv is installed:

# Windows
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

# Or via pip
pip install uv

Step 2: Add MCP Server to .mcp.json

Merge configuration - Add this server to mcpServers:

{
  "serena": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena", "serena", "start-mcp-server", "--context", "claude-code"]
  }
}

If .mcp.json doesn't exist, create it with the full structure:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena", "serena", "start-mcp-server", "--context", "claude-code"]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Project Configuration (Optional)

Serena auto-generates config files at:

• ~/.serena/serena_config.yml - Global config
• <project>/.serena/project.yml - Project-specific config

For security, keep read_only: true in configs and enable extra tools only when needed.

Alternative: With Project Path

If you want Serena configured for a specific project:

{
  "serena": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena", "serena", "start-mcp-server", "--context", "claude-code", "--project", "${PWD}"]
  }
}

Key Tools Provided

Serena provides powerful IDE-like capabilities:

• find_symbol - Locate specific symbols in codebase
• find_referencing_symbols - Discover where a symbol is used
• get_symbol_documentation - Retrieve documentation
• insert_after_symbol - Add code after a specific symbol
• Semantic code analysis at symbol level
• Multi-language support (Python, JavaScript, Java, and more)

Dashboard

Access the Serena dashboard at: http://localhost:24282/dashboard/index.html

Context Options

The --context flag controls which tools are enabled:

• claude-code - Disables tools that duplicate Claude Code's built-in capabilities
• ide-assistant - Full tool set for IDE integrations

Version Requirements

Use Claude Code v1.0.52 or later (earlier versions don't read MCP server system prompts).

Usage After Installation

Restart Claude Code to activate the MCP server.

Skill Chaining

• Input: User request to install Serena MCP
• Output: Configured .mcp.json with serena server
• Tools Used: Read, Edit, Write
• Chains With: TaskMaster MCP for project management

Troubleshooting

References

• GitHub - Serena
• Serena Documentation
• Serena MCP Setup Guide