code-summarizer
A command-line tool and MCP server that summarizes code files using Gemini Flash 2.0
Documentation
Code Summarizer
A command-line tool that summarizes code files in a given directory using Gemini Flash 2.0. Now with MCP server support for integration with LLM tools!
Features
- Recursively processes code files in a directory
- Respects `.gitignore` rules
- Skips irrelevant directories like `node_modules`, `dist`, etc.
- Summarizes code files using Gemini Flash 2.0
- Outputs summaries to a text file
- Configurable detail level and summary length
- MCP server for integration with Claude Desktop and other LLM tools
- Modular design for easy integration into other applications
- Secure API key management
- Authentication for MCP server endpoints
- Retry mechanism with exponential backoff for LLM calls
- Rate limiting to prevent abuse
Requirements
- Node.js 18+
Installation
1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/nicobailon/code-summarizer.git
cd code-summarizer2. Install dependencies:
npm install3. Create a `.env` file with your Google API key:
GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here4. Build the project:
npm run buildMCP Server Setup and Integration
The code summarizer includes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows LLM tools like Claude Desktop, Cursor AI, and Cline to access code summaries and file content.
Starting the MCP Server
# Start the MCP server
npm start -- serverBy default, the server runs on port 24312. You can change this in your configuration:
# Set custom MCP server port
npm start -- config set --port 8080Connecting with Claude Desktop
1. Start the code-summarizer MCP server
2. Open Claude Desktop and click on the Claude menu, then "Settings..."
3. Navigate to the "Developer" section
4. Create a file at `~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (macOS/Linux) or `%USERPROFILE%\.claude\claude_desktop_config.json` (Windows) with this content:
{
"code-summarizer": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "your-path-to-code-summarizer/bin/code-summarizer.js", "server"],
"env": {
"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}5. Restart Claude Desktop
6. After restarting, you can ask Claude to access your codebase, e.g., "Summarize the files in my project"
Example prompts for Claude Desktop:
- "Can you summarize all the JavaScript files in my project?"
- "Please give me a high-level overview of my codebase."
- "Explain what the file 'src/config/config.ts' does."
- "Find all functions related to authentication in my code."
Connecting with Cursor AI
1. Start the code-summarizer MCP server
2. Create a `.cursor/mcp.json` file in your project directory:
{
"mcpServers": {
"code-summarizer": {
"transport": "sse",
"url": "http://localhost:24312/sse",
"headers": {
"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}3. Restart Cursor or reload your project
4. Ask Cursor about your code, e.g., "Can you summarize my codebase?"
Example prompts for Cursor:
- "Summarize the structure of this codebase for me."
- "What are the key components in this project?"
- "Give me a detailed explanation of the MCP server implementation."
- "Help me understand how the retry mechanism works."
Connecting with Cline
1. Start the code-summarizer MCP server
2. In Cline, you can add the MCP server with a command:
/mcp add code-summarizer http://localhost:24312/sse3. Then authenticate with your API key:
/mcp config code-summarizer headers.x-api-key your_api_key_here4. You can then ask Cline to use the code-summarizer, e.g., "Please summarize my code files"
Example prompts for Cline:
- "What does each file in my project do?"
- "Create a summary of all TypeScript files."
- "Explain the authentication flow in this codebase."
- "What are the main functions in the 'summarizer' directory?"
What You Can Do with the MCP Integration
Using the MCP integration, you can:
1. Get file summaries: Request concise explanations of what specific files do
2. Explore directories: Browse through your codebase structure
3. Batch processing: Summarize multiple files at once
4. Targeted queries: Find specific patterns or functionality in your code
5. Customize summaries: Control detail level and summary length
6. Update settings: Change configuration options through the MCP interface
The MCP server exposes your codebase to the LLM tools in a structured way, allowing them to read, navigate, and summarize your code without having to paste code snippets manually.
MCP Server Integration Details
MCP Resources
- `code://file/*` - Access individual code files
- `code://directory/*` - List code files in a directory
- `summary://file/*` - Get summary for a specific file
- `summary://batch/*` - Get summaries for multiple files
MCP Tools
- `summarize_file` - Summarize a single file with options
- `summarize_directory` - Summarize a directory with options
- `set_config` - Update configuration options
MCP Prompts
- `code_summary` - Prompt template for summarizing code
- `directory_summary` - Prompt template for summarizing entire directories
Troubleshooting
Common MCP Connection Issues
1. Connection Refused
2. Authentication Errors
3. Transport Errors
4. Permission Issues
5. Claude Desktop Not Finding the MCP Server
6. Rate Limiting
For other issues, check the server logs or open an issue on the GitHub repository.
Usage
Command Line Interface
# Default command (summarize)
npm start -- summarize [directory] [output-file] [options]
# Summarize code in the current directory (output to summaries.txt)
npm start -- summarize
# Summarize code with specific detail level and max length
npm start -- summarize --detail high --max-length 1000
# Show help
npm start -- --helpConfiguration Management
# Set your API key
npm start -- config set --api-key "your-api-key"
# Set default detail level and max length
npm start -- config set --detail-level high --max-length 1000
# Set MCP server port (default: 24312)
npm start -- config set --port 8080
# Show current configuration
npm start -- config show
# Reset configuration to defaults
npm start -- config resetAPI Authentication
When connecting to the MCP server, you need to include your API key in the request headers:
x-api-key: your_api_key_hereAll endpoints (except `/health`) require authentication.
Options
- `--detail`, `-d`: Set the level of detail for summaries. Options are 'low', 'medium', or 'high'. Default is 'medium'.
- `--max-length`, `-l`: Maximum length of each summary in characters. Default is 500.
Security Features
API Key Management
- API keys are stored securely and prioritize environment variables over configuration files
- Keys are validated for proper format before use
- API keys are never exposed in logs or error messages
- Configuration file doesn't store API keys when they're provided via environment variables
Authentication
- All MCP server endpoints (except health check) require authentication via API key
- Authentication uses the `x-api-key` header for secure transmission
- Failed authentication attempts are logged for security monitoring
Rate Limiting
- Built-in rate limiting prevents abuse of the service
- Default: 60 requests per minute per IP address
- Configurable through server settings
Error Handling
- Structured error system with categorization
- Sensitive information is never exposed in error messages
- Proper error codes are returned for different failure scenarios
LLM Call Resilience
- Automatic retry with exponential backoff for transient failures
- Configurable retry settings including max retries, delays, and backoff factor
- Jitter added to retry timing to prevent thundering herd problems
- Request ID tracking for tracing issues across the system
Supported File Types
- TypeScript (.ts, .tsx)
- JavaScript (.js, .jsx)
- Python (.py)
- Java (.java)
- C++ (.cpp)
- C (.c)
- Go (.go)
- Ruby (.rb)
- PHP (.php)
- C# (.cs)
- Swift (.swift)
- Rust (.rs)
- Kotlin (.kt)
- Scala (.scala)
- Vue (.vue)
- HTML (.html)
- CSS (.css, .scss, .less)
How It Works
1. The tool scans the specified directory recursively, respecting `.gitignore` rules.
2. It filters files based on supported extensions.
3. For each supported file, it reads the content and determines the programming language.
4. It sends the code to Gemini Flash 2.0 with a prompt to summarize, including detail level and length constraints.
5. The summaries are collected and written to the specified output file.
Output Format
The output file will have the following format:
relative/path/to/file
Summary text here
relative/path/to/next/file
Next summary text hereProject Structure
- `index.ts`: Main CLI implementation
- `src/`: Source code directory
- `summarizer/`: Core summarization functionality
- `mcp/`: MCP server implementation
- `config/`: Configuration management
- `bin/`: CLI entrypoint
- `config.json`: Default configuration file
- `tsconfig.json`: TypeScript configuration
- `package.json`: Project dependencies and scripts
- `.env.example`: Template for setting up environment variables
- `.gitignore`: Files and directories to ignore in Git
- `__tests__`: Unit and integration tests
- `__mocks__/mock-codebase`: Mock codebase for testing
Environment Variables
The following environment variables can be used to configure the application:
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| `GOOGLE_API_KEY` | Your Google Gemini API key | None (required) |
| `PORT` | Port for the MCP server | 24312 |
| `ALLOWED_ORIGINS` | Comma-separated list of allowed CORS origins | http://localhost:3000 |
| `LOG_LEVEL` | Logging level (error, warn, info, debug) | info |
See `.env.example` for a template.
Development
Running Tests
# Run all tests
npm test
# Run tests with coverage
npm test -- --coverage
# Test MCP server setup
npm run test:setupFuture Improvements
- Support for more file types
- Support for alternative LLM providers
- Integration with an Electron app for a GUI interface
- Enhanced MCP server capabilities
- Advanced token usage tracking
- OpenTelemetry-based observability
- Enhanced audit logging capabilities
- Secret scanning integration
Frequently asked questions
What is code-summarizer?
code-summarizer is A command-line tool and MCP server that summarizes code files using Gemini Flash 2.0
How do I install code-summarizer?
Open the GitHub repository and follow its README. Most MCP servers are added to your client's MCP config, then called by your agent.
Is code-summarizer open source?
Yes — it is hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/nicobailon/code-summarizer and has 3 stars.
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