# How to Get a Codebase Overview with Codebase-Memory-MCP: A Complete Guide > Get a codebase overview with Codebase-Memory-MCP. Learn to index your repository into a searchable memory model and visualize it interactively without cloning the source tree. A comprehensive guide for developers. - Repository: [Martin Vogel/codebase-memory-mcp](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-07-04 --- **Codebase-Memory-MCP provides a lightweight, two-part system—comprising a Go bootstrap wrapper and a compiled CLI binary—that indexes your repository into a searchable memory model and renders it as an interactive 3-D visualization without requiring you to clone the entire source tree.** Codebase-Memory-MCP (CBM) is an open-source tool from DeusData that transforms repository exploration into a fast, visual experience. Instead of navigating raw file trees manually, you can generate a compact memory representation of any codebase and query it via command-line tools or explore it through a React-Three-Fiber interface. This guide covers the exact steps to install the bootstrapper, run the indexing commands, and launch the visualization UI. ## Install the Bootstrap Wrapper The entry point to Codebase-Memory-MCP is a tiny Go wrapper located at [`pkg/go/cmd/codebase-memory-mcp/main.go`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/pkg/go/cmd/codebase-memory-mcp/main.go). You install this wrapper once using the Go toolchain, and it handles downloading and caching the actual CLI binary. ```bash go install github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/pkg/go/cmd/codebase-memory-mcp@latest ``` ### How the Bootstrapper Works When you execute the `codebase-memory-mcp` command, the wrapper performs four critical operations defined in [`main.go`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/main.go): - **ensureBinary** – Checks if the binary exists in the cache; if not, triggers the download workflow. - **download** – Fetches the pre-compiled CBM binary from GitHub Releases for your specific platform. - **verifyChecksum** – Validates the downloaded file against SHA-256 hashes stored in [`scripts/vendored-checksums.txt`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/scripts/vendored-checksums.txt) to prevent tampering. - **execBinary** – Replaces the wrapper process with the actual binary using `syscall.Exec` on Unix systems or `exec.Command` on Windows. The wrapper hard-codes the current release version (`version = "0.8.1"`) and forces all network traffic to HTTPS via the `httpsOnlyClient` configuration. ## Index and Query Your Codebase Once the bootstrapper caches the binary (default location: `~/.cache/codebase-memory-mcp`), you can invoke the core CLI directly. The CLI builds a compact memory representation of files, directories, and their relationships. ### Core CLI Commands The compiled binary supports three primary operations for obtaining a codebase overview: - **`codebase-memory-mcp list`** – Displays the top-level files and directories in the indexed repository. - **`codebase-memory-mcp search `** – Finds every file matching a specific pattern, such as imports containing "logger". - **`codebase-memory-mcp graph`** – Exports a GraphViz-compatible JSON description that maps file dependencies and structure. ```bash # Index and explore the current directory codebase-memory-mcp list codebase-memory-mcp search logger codebase-memory-mcp graph > graph.json ``` The wrapper forwards all arguments you supply directly to the binary via the `execBinary` function, so you can use any sub-commands supported by the release. ## Visualize with the React-Three-Fiber UI For interactive exploration, Codebase-Memory-MCP includes a lightweight frontend in the `graph-ui/` directory. After generating a graph description with the CLI, you can load it into the 3-D visualization interface. ### Launching the Interactive Graph The UI depends on React-Three-Fiber, Three.js, and related 3-D utilities listed in [`graph-ui/package.json`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/graph-ui/package.json). ```bash cd graph-ui npm install # Installs @react-three/fiber, three, and dev dependencies npm run dev # Opens http://localhost:5173 ``` Once the development server starts, load the [`graph.json`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/graph.json) file you exported earlier to explore the codebase as an interactive 3-D graph of files and dependencies. ## Configuration and Security Codebase-Memory-MCP implements strict security controls and flexible configuration options for enterprise environments. ### Cache Location and Environment Variables By default, the wrapper caches binaries in `~/.cache/codebase-memory-mcp`, determined by the `cacheDir()` function. You can override this location using the `CBM_CACHE_DIR` environment variable: ```bash export CBM_CACHE_DIR=$HOME/.my-cbm-cache codebase-memory-mcp list # Binary and checksums cached under custom directory ``` ### Checksum Verification and HTTPS Enforcement The bootstrapper enforces two security layers implemented in [`main.go`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/main.go): - **HTTPS-only transport** – The `validateURLScheme` function ensures all download URLs use HTTPS, and `httpsOnlyClient` prevents cleartext connections. - **SHA-256 verification** – Every downloaded binary is checked against the corresponding hash in [`scripts/vendored-checksums.txt`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/scripts/vendored-checksums.txt) before execution. ## Summary - **Install once**: Use `go install` to deploy the wrapper at [`pkg/go/cmd/codebase-memory-mcp/main.go`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/pkg/go/cmd/codebase-memory-mcp/main.go), which automatically downloads and verifies the platform-specific binary. - **Query instantly**: Run `list`, `search`, or `graph` commands to generate a searchable memory model of your repository structure without local cloning. - **Visualize interactively**: Export JSON from the CLI and load it into the React-Three-Fiber UI in `graph-ui/` to navigate dependencies in 3-D space. - **Configure securely**: Override the default `~/.cache/codebase-memory-mcp` location with `CBM_CACHE_DIR`; all downloads are protected by HTTPS enforcement and SHA-256 checksum validation. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the difference between the wrapper and the binary in Codebase-Memory-MCP? The **wrapper** is the small Go program you install via `go install`. It handles platform detection, downloading, caching, and security verification before executing the actual **binary**, which is the pre-compiled CLI tool that performs the indexing, searching, and graph generation. The wrapper remains lightweight while the binary contains the heavy logic for codebase analysis. ### How does Codebase-Memory-MCP handle binary updates? The wrapper hard-codes a specific version string (`0.8.1`) and fetches binaries from the corresponding GitHub Release tag. To update to a newer version, you reinstall the wrapper using `go install ...@latest`, which will pull the updated version constant and download the matching binary release automatically. ### Can I use my own visualization tools instead of the provided UI? Yes. The `codebase-memory-mcp graph` command outputs a standard JSON format compatible with GraphViz and other graph-rendering tools. While the `graph-ui/` directory provides a convenient React-Three-Fiber frontend for 3-D exploration, you can redirect the JSON output to any visualization pipeline that accepts node-edge graph descriptions. ### Where are the release checksums stored for verification? The SHA-256 checksums for all platform binaries are stored in [`scripts/vendored-checksums.txt`](https://github.com/DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp/blob/main/scripts/vendored-checksums.txt) within the repository. During the bootstrap process, the wrapper downloads this file alongside the binary and uses the `verifyChecksum` function to ensure the downloaded artifact matches the expected hash before execution.