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Scantool - File Scanner MCP

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Scantool: Code Analysis MCP Server for Claude

PyPI version License: MIT

MCP server for analyzing source code structure across 20+ languages. Works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and any Model Context Protocol client. Powered by tree-sitter. Extracts classes, functions, methods, imports, call graphs, and hot functions with precise line numbers.

Quick Start

Requires (provides the uvx command). Install it first if you don't have it — without it, scantool will silently fail to start:

# macOS / Linux / WSL curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Claude Code

claude mcp add scantool -- uvx scantool

That's it. Restart Claude Code and you're ready to go.

Claude Desktop

Add to config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{ "mcpServers": { "scantool": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["scantool"] } } }

Restart Claude Desktop after configuration.

Troubleshooting: uvx not found

uvx comes with uv, the Python package manager. Install it first:

# macOS / Linux / WSL curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh # Windows (PowerShell) powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

After installing uv, restart your terminal (or open a new one) so uvx is on your PATH. Then re-run the setup command above.

If uvx still isn't found after restarting the terminal, add it to your PATH manually:

# Linux / WSL - add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc: export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" # macOS - usually works out of the box, but if not: export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Alternative: Install from source

git clone https://github.com/mariusei/file-scanner-mcp.git cd file-scanner-mcp uv sync # Claude Code claude mcp add --transport stdio scantool -- uv run --directory /path/to/file-scanner-mcp scantool # Claude Desktop # Use command: "uv", args: ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/file-scanner-mcp", "scantool"]

Share with your team (.mcp.json)

Add a .mcp.json file to your project root to share the config with your team:

{ "mcpServers": { "scantool": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["scantool"] } } }

Claude Code will prompt team members for approval on first use.

Features

Multi-language Support

Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Rust, Go, C/C++, Java, PHP, C#, Ruby, Zig, Swift, SQL (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite), HTML, CSS, SCSS, Markdown, Plain Text, Images

Structure Extraction

  • Classes, methods, functions, imports

  • Function signatures with type annotations

  • Decorators and attributes

  • Docstrings and JSDoc comments

  • Precise line numbers (from-to ranges)

Analysis Tools

  • preview_directory: Intelligent codebase analysis with entry points, import graph, call graph, and hot functions (5-10s)

  • scan_file: Detailed file structure with signatures and metadata

  • scan_directory: Compact directory tree with inline function/class names

  • search_structures: Filter by type, name pattern, decorator, or complexity

  • list_directories: Directory tree (folders only)

Output Formats

  • Tree format with box-drawing characters

  • JSON format for programmatic use

  • Configurable display options

Usage

preview_directory - Code analysis (primary tool)

Analyzes codebase structure including entry points, import graph, call graph, and hot functions.

preview_directory( directory=".", depth="deep", # "quick", "normal", or "deep" (default: "deep") max_files=10000, # Safety limit (default: 10000) max_entries=20, # Entries per section (default: 20) respect_gitignore=True # Honor .gitignore (default: True) )

Depth levels:

  • "quick": Metadata only (0.5s) - file counts, sizes, types

  • "normal": Architecture analysis (2-5s) - imports, entry points, clusters

  • "deep": Full analysis (5-10s) - includes hot functions and call graph (default)

Example output (depth="deep"):

project/ --- ENTRY POINTS --- main.py:main() @1 backend/application.py:Flask app @15 frontend/index.ts:export default --- CORE FILES (by centrality) --- backend/database.py: imports 0, used by 15 files backend/auth.py: imports 1, used by 8 files shared/utils.py: imports 2, used by 12 files --- ARCHITECTURE --- Entry Points: 25 files Core Logic: 68 files Plugins: 15 files Tests: 42 files --- HOT FUNCTIONS (most called) --- get_database() (function): called by 41, calls 1 @backend/database.py authenticate() (function): called by 23, calls 5 @backend/auth.py validate_input() (function): called by 15, calls 2 @shared/utils.py Analysis: 486 files in 4.82s (layer1+layer2)

Use cases:

  • First-time codebase exploration

  • Understanding multi-modality projects (frontend/backend/database)

  • Finding critical functions (hot spots)

  • Identifying entry points

scan_file - Detailed file analysis

scan_file( file_path="path/to/file.py", show_signatures=True, # Include function signatures with types show_decorators=True, # Include @decorator annotations show_docstrings=True, # Include first line of docstrings show_complexity=False, # Show complexity metrics output_format="tree" # "tree" or "json" )

Example output:

example.py (1-57) ├─ file-info: 1.4KB modified: 2 hours ago ├─ imports: import statements (3-5) ├─ class: DatabaseManager (8-26) │ "Manages database connections and queries." │ ├─ method: __init__ (self, connection_string: str) (11-13) │ ├─ method: connect (self) (15-17) │ │ "Establish database connection." │ └─ method: query (self, sql: str) -> list (24-26) │ "Execute a SQL query." └─ function: main () (53-57) "Main entry point."

scan_file_content - Analyze content directly

Scan content without requiring a file path. Works with remote files, APIs, or in-memory content.

scan_file_content( content="def hello(): pass\n\nclass MyClass:\n pass", filename="example.py", # Extension determines parser show_signatures=True, show_decorators=True, show_docstrings=True, show_complexity=False, output_format="tree" )

scan_directory - Compact overview

Shows directory tree with inline class/function names.

scan_directory( directory="./src", pattern="**/*", # Glob pattern max_files=None, # File limit respect_gitignore=True, # Honor .gitignore exclude_patterns=None, # Additional exclusions output_format="tree" # "tree" or "json" )

Example output:

src/ (22 files, 15 classes, 127 functions, 89 methods) ├─ languages/ │ ├─ python.py (1-329) [11.9KB, 2 hours ago] - PythonLanguage │ ├─ typescript.py (1-505) [18.9KB, 1 day ago] - TypeScriptLanguage │ └─ rust.py (1-481) [17.6KB, 3 days ago] - RustLanguage ├─ scanner.py (1-232) [8.8KB, 5 mins ago] - FileScanner └─ server.py (1-735) [27.2KB, just now] - scan_file, scan_directory, ...

Pattern examples:

# Specific file types scan_directory("./src", pattern="**/*.py") # Multiple types scan_directory("./src", pattern="**/*.{py,ts,js}") # Shallow scan (1 level deep) scan_directory(".", pattern="*/*") # Exclude directories scan_directory(".", exclude_patterns=["tests/**", "docs/**"])

search_structures - Find and filter

# Find test functions search_structures( directory="./tests", type_filter="function", name_pattern="^test_" ) # Find classes ending in "Manager" search_structures( directory="./src", type_filter="class", name_pattern=".*Manager$" ) # Find functions with @staticmethod search_structures( directory="./src", has_decorator="@staticmethod" ) # Find complex functions (>100 lines) search_structures( directory="./src", type_filter="function", min_complexity=100 )

list_directories - Folder structure

Shows directory tree without files.

list_directories( directory=".", max_depth=3, # Maximum depth (default: 3) respect_gitignore=True # Honor .gitignore (default: True) )

Example output:

/Users/user/project/ ├─ src/ │ ├─ components/ │ ├─ services/ │ └─ utils/ ├─ tests/ │ ├─ unit/ │ └─ integration/ └─ docs/

Supported Languages

Extension

Language

Extracted Elements

.py, .pyw

Python

classes, methods, functions, imports, decorators, docstrings

.js, .jsx, .mjs, .cjs

JavaScript

classes, methods, functions, imports, JSDoc comments

.ts, .tsx, .mts, .cts

TypeScript

classes, methods, functions, imports, type annotations, JSDoc

.rs

Rust

structs, enums, traits, impl blocks, functions, use statements

.go

Go

types, structs, interfaces, functions, methods, imports

.c, .h

C

functions, structs, enums, includes

.cpp, .hpp, .cc, .hh

C++

classes, functions, namespaces, templates, includes

.java

Java

classes, methods, interfaces, enums, annotations, imports

.php

PHP

classes, methods, functions, traits, interfaces, namespaces

.cs

C#

classes, methods, properties, structs, enums, namespaces

.rb

Ruby

modules, classes, methods, singleton methods

.zig

Zig

functions, structs, enums, unions, tests

.swift

Swift

classes, structs, enums, protocols, functions, extensions

.sql

SQL

tables, views, functions, procedures, indexes, columns

.html

HTML

document structure, elements, attributes

.css

CSS

selectors, properties, media queries

.scss

SCSS

selectors, mixins, variables, nesting

.md

Markdown

headings (h1-h6), code blocks with hierarchy

.txt

Plain Text

sections, paragraphs

.png, .jpg, .gif, .webp

Images

format, dimensions, colors, content type

All files include metadata (size, modified date, permissions) automatically.

Use Cases

Code Navigation

  • Structural overview of unfamiliar codebases

  • File organization understanding

  • Navigation using precise line ranges

Refactoring

  • Identify class and function boundaries for safe splitting

  • Find implementations of specific patterns

  • Locate functions above complexity thresholds

Code Review

  • Generate structural diffs

  • Find functions with specific decorators

  • Identify test coverage gaps

Documentation

  • Auto-generate table of contents with line numbers

  • Extract API signatures

  • Feed structured data to analysis tools (JSON output)

AI Code Assistance

  • Primary exploration tool (replaces ls/grep/find workflows)

  • Partition large files intelligently for LLM context windows

  • Extract code sections with exact boundaries

  • Search patterns across codebases

  • Reduce token usage: get structure first, read content only when needed

Architecture

scantool/ ├── server.py # FastMCP server (stdio + HTTP entry points) ├── scanner.py # Core scanning logic using tree-sitter ├── formatter.py # Tree formatting with box-drawing characters ├── code_map.py # Architecture analysis (Layer 1 + 2) ├── call_graph.py # Hot functions, centrality analysis ├── preview.py # Quick directory preview └── languages/ # Unified language system (one file per language) ├── base.py # BaseLanguage - all languages inherit from this ├── models.py # StructureNode, CallInfo, ImportInfo, etc. ├── python.py # PythonLanguage ├── typescript.py ├── rust.py └── ... # 20+ languages

HTTP Transport (advanced)

For environments where stdio doesn't work, or when sharing a server across multiple clients:

# Start the HTTP server uvx --from scantool scantool-http # Listens on port 8080 by default (set PORT env var to change) # Connect Claude Code to it claude mcp add --transport http scantool http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp

Note: The HTTP server must be started separately and kept running. For most users, the stdio transport (default) is simpler and recommended.

Testing

# Run all tests uv run pytest # Run specific tests uv run pytest tests/languages/ uv run pytest tests/python/ uv run pytest tests/typescript/ # Run with coverage uv run pytest --cov=src/scantool # Run with verbose output uv run pytest -v

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for details on adding language support.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Dependencies

Known Limitations

MCP Tool Response Size Limit

Claude Desktop enforces a 25,000 token limit on MCP tool responses. Claude Code has a configurable limit (set MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_TOKENS env var to adjust).

Built-in mitigations:

  • scan_directory() uses compact inline format

  • Respects .gitignore by default (excludes node_modules, .venv, etc.)

  • Shows file metadata with relative timestamps

Manual controls:

  • Use pattern to limit scope: "**/*.py" vs "*/*" (shallow)

  • Use max_files to cap number of files processed

  • Use exclude_patterns for additional exclusions

  • Scan specific subdirectories instead of entire codebase

For large codebases:

# Scan specific areas scan_directory("./src", pattern="**/*.py") scan_directory("./tests", pattern="**/*.py")

Agent Delegation

When using Claude Code, asking to "explore the codebase" may delegate to the Explore agent which doesn't have access to MCP tools. Be explicit: "use scantool to scan the codebase" to ensure the MCP tool is used directly.

Support

Install Server
A
security – no known vulnerabilities
A
license - permissive license
A
quality - confirmed to work

How are these scores calculated?

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