Tessra

Semantic code intelligence engine for AI agents. Tessra indexes your codebase and exposes it to Claude Code (and any MCP-compatible AI) through a local MCP server — giving agents full call graphs, symbol lookup, smart context, and multi-repo awareness without reading raw files.

Install

npm install -g @oxis-dev/tessra

Requires a valid Tessra license. Get one at oxis.dev/tessra.

Quick start

# 1. Activate your license
tessra auth <your-license-key>

# 2. Register your project and start the daemon
tessra repo add . --name myapp
tessra repo use myapp
tessra mcp             # starts the MCP server (used by Claude Code)

Add Tessra to your Claude Code MCP config (~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json or .claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tessra": {
      "command": "tessra",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Multi-repo & workspaces

Tessra maintains a persistent catalog (~/.tessra/repos.json) so you can switch projects without restarting the MCP server.

Register repos

tessra repo add .                        # register CWD (uses directory name)
tessra repo add /projects/api --name api # register with explicit name
tessra here                              # auto-detect git root, register + activate

Switch active repo

tessra repo use api                      # activate; triggers live indexing if daemon is running
tessra repo current                      # print active: "api" or "workspace:stack" or "(none)"
tessra repo list                         # list all registered repos with status
tessra repo remove old-svc               # remove from catalog

Workspaces (multi-repo)

Group repos into a named workspace and activate them all at once:

tessra workspace create cbb-stack --repos cbb_express,cbb_admin
tessra workspace use cbb-stack           # activates both repos; deactivates any single repo
tessra workspace list
tessra workspace remove cbb-stack

When a workspace is active, all repos in it are indexed and available to the agent simultaneously.

XOR rule: active_repo and active_workspace are mutually exclusive. Activating one clears the other.

Session scope (multi-repo)

When multiple repos are indexed, each MCP connection automatically resolves a session scope so the agent only sees symbols of the active repo — avoiding silent wrong-repo context.

Scope resolution order

On every initialize handshake Tessra resolves the scope in this priority:

1. workspaceRoot sent by the client (Claude Code / VS Code sends this automatically)
2. --workspace <name|path> flag on tessra mcp
3. TESSRA_WORKSPACE environment variable
4. CWD git root at daemon startup matched against the catalog
5. No match → error with actionable instructions

Cross-repo queries

All search tools accept an optional repo parameter to query a specific repo regardless of session scope:

search_symbols("processPayment", repo="payments-api")

For intentional cross-repo lookups use the dedicated tool:

get_cross_repo_context(symbol="processPayment", from_repo="payments-api")

Scope info in tessra doctor

tessra doctor now shows the resolved MCP scope so you can verify what the agent will see before starting a session.

Startup order (no --roots flag)

When tessra mcp starts without --roots, it resolves context in this order:

1. Active workspace → loads all workspace repos
2. Active repo → loads that repo
3. CWD is a git repo → loads it with a warning ("run tessra here to register")
4. None of the above → error with instructions

CLI reference

Repo management

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | tessra repo add [path] [--name N] | Register a repo in the catalog (does not activate) | | tessra repo use <name> | Activate repo; triggers live indexing if daemon is running | | tessra repo current | Print active repo or workspace (one line) | | tessra repo list | List all registered repos with states | | tessra repo remove <name> | Remove from catalog | | tessra here | Detect git root from CWD, register if needed, activate |

Workspace management

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | tessra workspace create <name> --repos a,b | Create a named workspace | | tessra workspace use <name> | Activate workspace (validates all repos first) | | tessra workspace list | List registered workspaces | | tessra workspace remove <name> | Remove a workspace |

Diagnostics

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | tessra status | Active repo/workspace with origin + per-repo states | | tessra doctor | Health check: repos.json, daemon, individual repos (✔ / ⚠ / ✖) |

Other

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | tessra auth <key> | Activate license | | tessra login | Browser-based login (no key needed) | | tessra mcp [--roots dir1 dir2] [--workspace name\|path] | Start MCP server (reads catalog if no --roots); --workspace fuerza el scope de sesión | | tessra stats | Show indexing stats and token savings | | tessra prompt | Print the recommended system prompt for agents | | tessra telemetry status\|enable\|disable | Manage telemetry consent |

MCP tools exposed to the agent

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | search_symbols | Locate a symbol by name (exact / prefix / partial); acepta repo? para override de scope | | get_smart_context | Full body + callers + callees in one call; acepta repo? para override de scope | | get_full_context | Smart context + framework extras (Angular template, Flutter binding) | | trace_call_chain | BFS call chain up / down / both; acepta repo? para override de scope | | trace_to_entry_point | Trace from function to HTTP endpoint or Celery task; acepta repo? para override de scope | | get_impact_radius | All symbols affected by changing a symbol; acepta repo? para override de scope | | get_file_skeleton | File structure (signatures + imports only) | | read_file_snippet | Raw lines by path + line range (last resort) | | get_repo_context | Stats for all active repos | | get_repo_dependencies | External deps (Cargo, npm, pip) | | get_metrics | Token savings summary | | repo_add | Register a repo from inside Claude Code | | repo_use | Switch active repo from inside Claude Code | | repo_list | List registered repos from inside Claude Code | | repo_current | Current active repo/workspace | | get_cross_repo_context | Lookup a symbol in a specific repo regardless of session scope |

Supported languages

Angular · Django · Flutter/GetX · TypeScript · JavaScript · Python · Rust · Go · Java · Kotlin · C# · PHP · Ruby · SQL · Svelte · Vue · Astro

License

Tessra is proprietary software by Oxis. A valid subscription is required. Visit oxis.dev/tessra for pricing.