Local Search
This server does not currently have a deployable release on Glama. Follow the repository's setup instructions to install and configure it for your MCP client, including any required credentials and local dependencies.
Local Search
A macOS app and local MCP service for searching your code, documents and images with natural language, using the EmbeddingGemma 2 model. Indexing and search run on your Mac; one background service shares the model across folders and assistants.
Install
Requires Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer. To let Claude Code or Codex do it for you, paste:
Install Local Search by following the Install section of https://github.com/btroussel/SemanticSearchMCP#install, then connect it to yourself as an MCP server. Ask me whenever a step needs me in macOS or in the app.Download
Local-Search-<version>.dmgfrom the latest release and drag Local Search to Applications.Open it. The app is not notarized, so macOS blocks the first launch: choose Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
Click Install. The app downloads Python with its libraries (about 1.7 GB) and the model (1.5 GB) once, or uses a model folder you already have.
Add the folders to index in the app. Nothing is indexed by default.
Connect an assistant, then start a new session:
# Claude Code claude mcp add --scope user --transport stdio local-search -- \ "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Local Search/runtime/venv/bin/code-search" mcp --general \ --url http://127.0.0.1:8766 \ --token-file "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Local Search/access.key" # Codex codex mcp add local-search -- \ "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Local Search/runtime/venv/bin/code-search" mcp --general \ --url http://127.0.0.1:8766 \ --token-file "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Local Search/access.key"The app's Connect an assistant panel shows the same commands. By default, an assistant can only search its own project folder; see MCP.
Everything the app installs or stores lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Local Search/. To uninstall, delete the app and that folder.
The network is used only during setup. Snippets and image previews that a cloud assistant requests are sent to its provider like any other tool output; see privacy.
Related MCP server: Apple Tools MCP
Build from source
Requires uv and the Xcode command-line tools.
uv sync --extra dev
.venv/bin/python scripts/build-mac-app.py # standalone app, same first-launch setup
open '.code-search/Local Search.app'See development for the --dev build linked to this checkout, the CLI and tests.
Documentation
Topic | Guide |
Using the app, settings, supported files and limits | |
Connecting assistants, project access, tools and API | |
What is accessed, stored and sent | |
How it works, code map, builds, CLI and checks |
Coding agents working on this repository should read AGENTS.md.
License
Apache-2.0. The EmbeddingGemma 2 checkpoint is downloaded separately and is also distributed under Apache-2.0.
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