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Code Context Engine

Code Context Engine (CCE) is a local-first MCP server that gives Claude Code a persistent, searchable brain for your codebase. Instead of re-reading files every session, Claude queries an index — fetching only the chunks it actually needs.

Why CCE Exists

Every Claude Code session starts cold. Claude has no memory of your project. The typical workaround is pasting files manually, which is expensive and repetitive.

Without CCE	With CCE
Paste 3-4 files every session to set context	Claude queries the index on demand
Claude re-reads the same code over and over	Each chunk is fetched once
Decisions made last week have to be re-explained	Architectural decisions persist across sessions
Large repos burn tokens just to orient Claude	Only relevant chunks are retrieved
Silent result truncation when context is full	Overflow items listed as expandable references

The token cost:

Without CCE:  paste payments.py + shipping.py = 45,000 tokens
With CCE:     search "payment processing"      =    800 tokens

Over 30 queries in a typical project, that difference compounds into real API cost savings.

Quick Navigation

• Examples — real conversations showing what you type and what Claude does
• CCE In Practice — same scenarios with token counts and internals
• How It Works — deep dive into indexing, retrieval, graph expansion, compression
• CLI Reference — every command with examples and expected output
• Project Commands — rules, preferences, and per-project commands for Claude
• Tech Stack — every library: what it does, where it's used, why it was chosen
• Configuration — all config options, global and per-project

Getting Started in 3 Steps

Install:

uv tool install code-context-engine

Index your project:

cd /path/to/your/project
cce init

Restart Claude Code. Claude now has context_search and eight other MCP tools available automatically.

What Claude Gets

Once CCE is connected, Claude has access to these tools without any setup:

Tool	What it does
context_search	Semantic search across your indexed codebase
expand_chunk	Get full source for a compressed or overflow chunk
related_context	Find related code via graph edges (calls, imports)
session_recall	Recall past decisions and code area notes
record_decision	Save a decision for future sessions
record_code_area	Record which files you worked in and why
index_status	Check when the index was last updated
reindex	Trigger re-indexing of a file or the full project
set_output_compression	Adjust response verbosity (off / lite / standard / max)