How do I use cntx-ui?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@cntx-ui list all available bundles in my current project" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

cntx-ui

Semantic code analysis and context management for AI agents. Turns a codebase into searchable, structured context that agents can navigate efficiently.

What it does

Semantic analysis — parses your code at the function level using tree-sitter, extracts purpose, complexity, and relationships
Local vector search — embeds code chunks locally (all-MiniLM-L6-v2 via Transformers.js) for semantic similarity search with no external API calls
Bundle system — group files into logical bundles (by feature, layer, or pattern) for structured context delivery
MCP server — exposes 28+ tools to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or any MCP-compatible client
Web dashboard — visual interface at localhost:3333 for managing bundles, browsing semantic analysis, and editing agent rules
Real-time sync — watches for file changes and keeps analysis, bundles, and embeddings current

Install

npm install -g cntx-ui

Usage

cntx-ui init          # scaffold .cntx directory, generate .mcp.json
cntx-ui watch         # start web server on port 3333
cntx-ui mcp           # start MCP server on stdio
cntx-ui bundle <name> # regenerate a specific bundle
cntx-ui status        # show project health and bundle state
cntx-ui setup-mcp     # configure Claude Desktop integration

After cntx-ui init, agents discover tools automatically via .mcp.json. The .cntx/AGENT.md file provides an onboarding handshake with tool reference and project overview.

Agent interface

Agents interact through MCP tools or the HTTP API:

MCP Tool	What it does
`agent/discover`	Architectural overview of the codebase
`agent/query`	Semantic search — "where is auth handled?"
`agent/investigate`	Find integration points for a new feature
`agent/organize`	Audit and optimize bundle structure
`artifacts/list`	List normalized project artifacts (OpenAPI + Navigation)
`artifacts/get_openapi`	Return OpenAPI artifact summary and payload
`artifacts/get_navigation`	Return Navigation artifact summary and payload
`artifacts/summarize`	Compact cross-artifact summary for agents
`list_bundles`	List all bundles with metadata
`get_bundle`	Get full bundle content as XML
`get_semantic_chunks`	Get all analyzed code chunks
`read_file` / `write_file`	File operations with bundle context

Full tool reference with parameters is generated in .cntx/AGENT.md and .cntx/TOOLS.md.

Artifact HTTP endpoints:

GET /api/artifacts
GET /api/artifacts/openapi
GET /api/artifacts/navigation

How it works

tree-sitter parses source files into AST, extracts functions/types/interfaces
Heuristics engine classifies each chunk by purpose, business domain, and technical patterns based on file paths, imports, and naming conventions
Embeddings are generated locally and stored in SQLite for persistent vector search
Bundles group files by glob patterns — auto-suggested on init based on project structure
MCP server and HTTP API expose everything to agents with consistent response shapes