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Synaptic Code Intelligence

Official registry Developer tools

Code intelligence for repository graphs, change impact, test selection, and engineering memory.

Source code Website Documentation

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

Remote (streamable-http)
Claude Code 
claude mcp add --transport http synaptic-code-intelligence 'https://synapticgraph.com/api/mcp/projects/{project_id}' --header 'Authorization: <Bearer token from the Synaptic MCP dashboard, including the Bearer prefix>'
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "synaptic-code-intelligence": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://synapticgraph.com/api/mcp/projects/{project_id}",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "<Bearer token from the Synaptic MCP dashboard, including the Bearer prefix>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents
  1. Synaptic
  2. Get started
  3. Connect your coding assistant
  4. What it does
  5. See the architecture
  6. Built to save context
  7. Common commands
  8. Pick a workflow
  9. Documentation
  10. Build from source
  11. Community and license

Synaptic

Give your coding assistant a map of the codebase, not a pile of files.

Synaptic maps a repository once so you and your coding assistant do not have to rediscover it every session. Ask how a system works, what depends on a symbol, or what a change may break. The answers come from a persistent, source-grounded knowledge graph, available from the CLI or through MCP. Synaptic can also remember past changes and plan small, reviewable API and dependency repairs.

Code extraction is local and deterministic. Synaptic ships as a single Rust binary with no runtime, database, account, or API key required.

Documentation | Quickstart | Benchmarks | Discord

Get started

Install the latest checksummed release:

# macOS / Linux
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ColinVaughn/Synaptic/main/install.sh | sh

# Windows PowerShell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ColinVaughn/Synaptic/main/install.ps1 | iex

Then run Synaptic from a repository:

synaptic extract .                         # build synaptic-out/graph.json
synaptic query "how does authentication work?"
synaptic affected parse_config             # what could this change break?

Extraction honors .gitignore and .synapticignore, skips common secret files, and stays offline unless you explicitly enable a network-backed feature.

Connect your coding assistant

synaptic install claude                    # Claude Code
synaptic install codex                     # Codex CLI
synaptic install codex --global            # Codex desktop app

Claude and Codex load only a small set of tools at startup, then find the rest on demand. This keeps prompts smaller without hiding capabilities. Gemini, Cursor, Copilot, OpenCode, Kilo, and generic AGENTS.md clients are supported too. See Assistant Integration.

What it does

NeedWhat Synaptic provides
Understand the codeSymbols, calls, imports, inheritance, resources, SQL, and cross-language boundaries in one graph
Find impactCallers, references, reverse dependencies, dynamic-dispatch hazards, and affected tests
Change code safelyChange forecasts, refactor plans, architecture diffs, and optional verification in an isolated worktree
Remember the pastSource-linked history from commits, decisions, incidents, reviews, CI, and previous attempts
Maintain dependenciesAPI contract tracking and vulnerability evidence with small, reviewable repair workflows

Synaptic supports dozens of languages, incremental updates, multi-repository federation, structural search, SQL auditing, graph-aware PR review, and exports for GraphML, Cypher, Graphviz, Obsidian, and Markdown. Detailed capabilities live in the documentation, keeping this page focused on getting started.

See the architecture

synaptic chart

This creates a self-contained architecture map from the graph. Open a subsystem, select a symbol, and follow its real incoming and outgoing relationships without a server.

Built to save context

Synaptic returns the relevant slice of a graph instead of loading whole source files into an assistant's context. In the checked-in token benchmark, full graph answers used 27-38x fewer tokens than reading the source files referenced by those answers. That is a context-compression measurement, not a promise about total task cost. The methodology and raw results are in BENCHMARKS.md.

Common commands

CommandPurpose
synaptic extract .Build the graph
synaptic update / synaptic watchKeep it current
synaptic query "..."Find the relevant subgraph for a question
synaptic affected <symbol>Trace reverse impact
synaptic predict <files>Forecast risk and select tests
synaptic speculate <files>Verify a change in a throwaway worktree
synaptic memory search "..."Find relevant repository history
synaptic serveRun the MCP server

Run synaptic <command> --help for flags or use the complete command reference.

Pick a workflow

  • CLI: the fastest path for local extraction, queries, automation, and MCP.
  • Desktop: run synaptic-ui for visual repository setup, federation, assistant connection, updates, and the complete command catalog.
  • Hosted: Synaptic Cloud provides a managed MCP service. See the GitHub automation guide for commit-triggered graph sync and verified repair workflows.

Update a release installation with synaptic self-update.

Documentation

Build from source

The repository pins Rust 1.97.1.

cargo install --path bin/synaptic
cargo install --path bin/synaptic-ui       # optional desktop app

For development and architecture notes, see the development guide.

Community and license

Questions, ideas, or something you built? Join the Discord community.

Synaptic is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later; see LICENSE and NOTICE. If you modify Synaptic and make it available over a network, you must offer those users the corresponding source. The separately maintained Synaptic Cloud service is proprietary and is not covered by this repository's license.

Frequently asked questions

What is Synaptic Code Intelligence?

Code intelligence for repository graphs, change impact, test selection, and engineering memory.

How do I install Synaptic Code Intelligence?

It runs as a remote server. In Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http synaptic-code-intelligence 'https://synapticgraph.com/api/mcp/projects/{project_id}' --header 'Authorization: <Bearer token from the Synaptic MCP dashboard, including the Bearer prefix>'. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does Synaptic Code Intelligence need an API key?

Yes. It expects Authorization, which you set in its configuration.

Is Synaptic Code Intelligence open source?

Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 license.

Who maintains Synaptic Code Intelligence?

It is published by ColinVaughn. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.