IDE Index MCP Server

A JetBrains IDE plugin that exposes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, enabling AI coding assistants like Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf to leverage the IDE's powerful indexing and refactoring capabilities.

Fully tested: IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, Android Studio May work (untested): PhpStorm, RubyMine, CLion, DataGrip

IDE Index MCP Server provides AI coding assistants with access to the IDE's powerful code intelligence features through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Features

Multi-Language Support Advanced tools work across multiple languages based on available plugins:

Java & Kotlin - IntelliJ IDEA, Android Studio
Python - PyCharm (all editions), IntelliJ with Python plugin
JavaScript & TypeScript - WebStorm, IntelliJ Ultimate, PhpStorm
Go - GoLand, IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate with Go plugin

Universal Tools (All JetBrains IDEs)

Find References - Locate all usages of any symbol across the project
Go to Definition - Navigate to symbol declarations
Code Diagnostics - Access errors, warnings, and quick fixes
Index Status - Check if code intelligence is ready

Extended Tools (Language-Aware) These tools activate based on installed language plugins:

Type Hierarchy - Explore class inheritance chains
Call Hierarchy - Trace method/function call relationships
Find Implementations - Discover interface/abstract implementations
Symbol Search - Find by name with fuzzy/camelCase matching
Find Super Methods - Navigate method override hierarchies

Refactoring Tools

Rename Refactoring - Safe renaming with automatic related element renaming (getters/setters, overriding methods) - works across ALL languages, fully headless
Safe Delete - Remove code with usage checking (Java/Kotlin only)

Why Use This Plugin?

Unlike simple text-based code analysis, this plugin gives AI assistants access to:

True semantic understanding through the IDE's AST and index
Cross-project reference resolution that works across files and modules
Multi-language support - automatically detects and uses language-specific handlers
Safe refactoring operations with automatic reference updates and undo support

Perfect for AI-assisted development workflows where accuracy and safety matter.

Installation

Using the IDE built-in plugin system

Settings/Preferences > Plugins > Marketplace > Search for "IDE Index MCP Server" > Install

Using JetBrains Marketplace

Go to JetBrains Marketplace and install it by clicking the Install to ... button.

Manual Installation

Download the latest release and install it manually: Settings/Preferences > Plugins > ⚙️ > Install plugin from disk...

Quick Start

Install the plugin and restart IntelliJ IDEA
Open a project - the MCP server starts automatically
Find your IDE port: Settings > Build, Execution, Deployment > Debugger > Built-in Server Port (default: 63342)
Configure your AI assistant with the server URL: http://localhost:{PORT}/index-mcp/sse
Use the tool window (bottom panel: "Index MCP Server") to copy configuration or monitor commands

Using the "Install on Coding Agents" Button

The easiest way to configure your AI assistant:

Open the "Index MCP Server" tool window (bottom panel)
Click the prominent "Install on Coding Agents" button on the right side of the toolbar
A popup appears with two sections:
- Install Now - For Claude Code CLI: Runs the installation command automatically
- Copy Configuration - For other clients: Copies the JSON config to your clipboard
For "Copy Configuration" clients, paste the config into the appropriate config file

Client Configuration

Claude Code (CLI)

Run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http jetbrains-index http://localhost:63342/index-mcp/sse --scope user

Options:

--scope user - Adds globally for all projects
--scope project - Adds to current project only

To remove: claude mcp remove jetbrains-index

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root or ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jetbrains-index": {
      "url": "http://localhost:63342/index-mcp/sse"
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jetbrains-index": {
      "serverUrl": "http://localhost:63342/index-mcp/sse"
    }
  }
}

VS Code (Generic MCP)

{
  "mcp.servers": {
    "jetbrains-index": {
      "transport": "sse",
      "url": "http://localhost:63342/index-mcp/sse"
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace 63342 with your actual IDE port if different. Check Settings > Debugger > Built-in Server Port.

Available Tools

The plugin provides MCP tools organized by availability:

Universal Tools

These tools work in all supported JetBrains IDEs.

Tool	Description
`ide_find_references`	Find all references to a symbol across the entire project
`ide_find_definition`	Find the definition/declaration location of a symbol
`ide_diagnostics`	Analyze a file for problems (errors, warnings) and available intentions
`ide_index_status`	Check if the IDE is in dumb mode or smart mode

Extended Tools (Language-Aware)

These tools activate based on available language plugins:

Tool	Description	Languages
`ide_type_hierarchy`	Get the complete type hierarchy (supertypes and subtypes)	Java, Kotlin, Python, JS/TS, Go
`ide_call_hierarchy`	Analyze method call relationships (callers or callees)	Java, Kotlin, Python, JS/TS, Go
`ide_find_implementations`	Find all implementations of an interface or abstract method	Java, Kotlin, Python, JS/TS, Go
`ide_find_symbol`	Search for symbols (classes, methods, fields) by name with fuzzy/camelCase matching	Java, Kotlin, Python, JS/TS, Go
`ide_find_super_methods`	Find the full inheritance hierarchy of methods that a method overrides/implements	Java, Kotlin, Python, JS/TS, Go

Refactoring Tools

Tool	Description	Languages
`ide_refactor_rename`	Rename a symbol and update all references	All languages
`ide_refactor_safe_delete`	Safely delete an element, checking for usages first	Java/Kotlin only

Note: Refactoring tools modify source files. All changes support undo via Ctrl/Cmd+Z.

Tool Availability by IDE

Fully Tested:

IDE	Universal	Navigation	Refactoring
IntelliJ IDEA	✓ 4 tools	✓ 5 tools	✓ 2 tools (rename + safe delete)
Android Studio	✓ 4 tools	✓ 5 tools	✓ 2 tools (rename + safe delete)
PyCharm	✓ 4 tools	✓ 5 tools	✓ 1 tool (rename)
WebStorm	✓ 4 tools	✓ 5 tools	✓ 1 tool (rename)
GoLand	✓ 4 tools	✓ 5 tools	✓ 1 tool (rename)

May Work (Untested):

IDE	Universal	Navigation	Refactoring
PhpStorm	✓ 4 tools	-	✓ 1 tool (rename)
RubyMine	✓ 4 tools	-	✓ 1 tool (rename)
CLion	✓ 4 tools	-	✓ 1 tool (rename)
DataGrip	✓ 4 tools	-	✓ 1 tool (rename)

Note: Navigation tools (type hierarchy, call hierarchy, find implementations, symbol search, find super methods) are available when language plugins are present. The rename tool works across all languages.

For detailed tool documentation with parameters and examples, see USAGE.md.

Multi-Project Support

When multiple projects are open in a single IDE window, you must specify which project to use with the project_path parameter:

{
  "name": "ide_find_references",
  "arguments": {
    "project_path": "/Users/dev/myproject",
    "file": "src/Main.kt",
    "line": 10,
    "column": 5
  }
}

If project_path is omitted:

Single project open: That project is used automatically
Multiple projects open: An error is returned with the list of available projects

Tool Window

The plugin adds an "Index MCP Server" tool window (bottom panel) that shows:

Server Status: Running indicator with server URL and port
Project Name: Currently active project
Command History: Log of all MCP tool calls with:
- Timestamp
- Tool name
- Status (Success/Error/Pending)
- Parameters and results (expandable)
- Execution duration

Tool Window Actions

Action	Description
Refresh	Refresh server status and command history
Copy URL	Copy the MCP server URL to clipboard
Clear History	Clear the command history
Export History	Export history to JSON or CSV file
Install on Coding Agents	Install MCP server on AI assistants (prominent button on right)

Error Codes

JSON-RPC Standard Errors

Code	Name	Description
-32700	Parse Error	Failed to parse JSON-RPC request
-32600	Invalid Request	Invalid JSON-RPC request format
-32601	Method Not Found	Unknown method name
-32602	Invalid Params	Invalid or missing parameters
-32603	Internal Error	Unexpected internal error

Custom MCP Errors

Code	Name	Description
-32001	Index Not Ready	IDE is in dumb mode (indexing in progress)
-32002	File Not Found	Specified file does not exist
-32003	Symbol Not Found	No symbol found at the specified position
-32004	Refactoring Conflict	Refactoring cannot be completed (e.g., name conflict)

Settings

Configure the plugin at Settings > Tools > Index MCP Server:

Setting	Default	Description
Max History Size	100	Maximum number of commands to keep in history
Sync External Changes	false	Sync external file changes before operations

Requirements

JetBrains IDE 2025.1 or later (any IDE based on IntelliJ Platform)
JVM 21 or later
MCP Protocol 2024-11-05

Supported IDEs

Fully Tested:

IntelliJ IDEA (Community/Ultimate)
Android Studio
PyCharm (Community/Professional)
WebStorm
GoLand

May Work (Untested):

PhpStorm
RubyMine
CLion
DataGrip

The plugin uses standard IntelliJ Platform APIs and should work on any IntelliJ-based IDE, but has only been tested on the IDEs listed above.

Architecture

The plugin supports dual MCP transports on the IDE's built-in web server:

SSE Transport (MCP Inspector, spec-compliant clients)

AI Assistant ──────► GET /index-mcp/sse              (establish SSE stream)
                     ◄── event: endpoint             (receive POST URL with sessionId)
             ──────► POST /index-mcp?sessionId=x     (JSON-RPC requests)
                     ◄── HTTP 202 Accepted
                     ◄── event: message              (JSON-RPC response via SSE)

Streamable HTTP Transport (Claude Code, simple clients)

AI Assistant ──────► POST /index-mcp                 (JSON-RPC requests)
                     ◄── JSON-RPC response           (immediate HTTP response)

This dual approach:

MCP Inspector compatible - Full SSE transport per MCP spec (2024-11-05)
Claude Code compatible - Streamable HTTP for simple request/response
Requires no additional ports or processes
Works with any MCP-compatible client
Automatically adapts to the IDE's server port

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes
Run tests: ./gradlew test
Submit a pull request

Development Setup

# Build the plugin
./gradlew build

# Run IDE with plugin installed
./gradlew runIde

# Run tests
./gradlew test

# Run plugin verification
./gradlew runPluginVerifier

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Plugin based on the IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 91 Commits
.github		.github
.idea		.idea
.run		.run
gradle		gradle
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
USAGE.md		USAGE.md
build.gradle.kts		build.gradle.kts
codecov.yml		codecov.yml
gradle.properties		gradle.properties
gradlew		gradlew
gradlew.bat		gradlew.bat
qodana.yml		qodana.yml
settings.gradle.kts		settings.gradle.kts

License

hechtcarmel/jetbrains-index-mcp-plugin

Folders and files

Latest commit

History

Repository files navigation

IDE Index MCP Server

Features

Why Use This Plugin?

Table of Contents

Installation

Using the IDE built-in plugin system

Using JetBrains Marketplace

Manual Installation

Quick Start

Using the "Install on Coding Agents" Button

Client Configuration

Claude Code (CLI)

Cursor

Windsurf

VS Code (Generic MCP)

Available Tools

Universal Tools

Extended Tools (Language-Aware)

Refactoring Tools

Tool Availability by IDE

Multi-Project Support

Tool Window

Tool Window Actions

Error Codes

JSON-RPC Standard Errors

Custom MCP Errors

Settings

Requirements

Supported IDEs

Architecture

SSE Transport (MCP Inspector, spec-compliant clients)

Streamable HTTP Transport (Claude Code, simple clients)

Contributing

Development Setup

License

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