MCP Quick - Codanna

Codanna is a local code intelligence MCP server and CLI for AI coding agents. One-shot CLI mode executes any MCP tool directly from the shell — no daemon, no protocol handshake.

Usage

codanna mcp <tool> [arguments]

No server process needed. Each command spawns, executes, and exits.

Examples

# Find a symbol
codanna mcp find_symbol main

# Semantic search
codanna mcp semantic_search_docs query:"error handling" limit:5

# Search with context
codanna mcp semantic_search_with_context query:"authentication" limit:3

# Trace relationships
codanna mcp get_calls symbol_id:567
codanna mcp find_callers process_file
codanna mcp analyze_impact Parser

# JSON output for piping
codanna mcp search_symbols query:parse --json | jq '.data[].name'

When to Use

Use Case	Recommendation
One-off queries	MCP Quick
Scripting and automation	MCP Quick with `--json`
Continuous AI assistant use	MCP Persistent
Multiple clients	MCP Network

Flags

Flag	Description
`--json`	Output in JSON format
`--fields <fields>`	Filter JSON output to specific data fields
`--watch`	Check for file changes and reindex before running
`--args <json>`	Pass arguments as a JSON string

Available Tools

See CLI Reference for the complete tool list.