README - bigparse by agentbrazley

BigParse 🚀

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives Claude and other LLMs instant, intelligent access to your codebase. Think of it as "giving your LLM a GPS for your code" - instead of reading every file, BigParse lets LLMs navigate and search your codebase efficiently.

Why BigParse?

The Problem

Without BigParse, when you ask Claude about your code:

You manually paste files (uses lots of context)
Claude has to parse everything from scratch
Limited to what fits in the context window
No way to search across large codebases

The Solution

With BigParse, Claude can:

Search your entire codebase instantly
Navigate to exact file locations and line numbers
Understand code structure without reading every file
Work with codebases of ANY size

Features ✨

⚡ Lightning-fast code search - Regex-based search across your entire codebase in milliseconds
🔍 Smart symbol extraction - Extract classes, functions, interfaces using Language Server Protocol
💾 Intelligent caching - Re-indexing is 1000x+ faster with smart caching
🌐 Multi-language support - TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Rust, Go, Dart/Flutter, and more
🔒 Secure subprocess handling - Safe installation of language servers with command validation
🤖 MCP integration - Seamlessly works with Claude Desktop and Claude Code
📊 Performance metrics - See exactly how fast BigParse is working

Installation

Option 1: Claude Desktop (Auto-updating)

Add to Claude Desktop config:

# macOS
open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

# Windows
notepad %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

# Linux
nano ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add BigParse to the mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "BigParse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["bigparse"],
      "env": {
        "WORKSPACE_ROOT": "/path/to/your/projects"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/your/projects with the directory you want to analyze
Restart Claude Desktop

Benefits:

✅ Always runs the latest version
✅ No installation needed
✅ No manual updates
✅ Works on all platforms

Option 2: Claude Code CLI

Prerequisites

Node.js 16+
npm or yarn

Quick Start

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/agentbrazley/BigParse.git
cd BigParse

Install dependencies:

npm install

Build the project:

npm run build

Install for Claude Code:

./scripts/install-for-claude.sh

Or manually:

claude mcp add bigparse "node" "$(pwd)/dist/index.js"

Language Server Support

For enhanced features, install language servers:

# TypeScript/JavaScript
npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript

# Python
pip install python-lsp-server

# Rust
rustup component add rust-analyzer

# Go
go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest

# Dart/Flutter
# Included with Flutter SDK

How It Works

BigParse creates a searchable index of your codebase that LLMs can query efficiently:

Indexing: Scans your codebase and extracts symbols, creating a searchable map
Caching: Stores results for instant access on subsequent queries
Search: Uses optimized regex search with file type filtering
LSP Integration: Leverages language servers for accurate symbol extraction

Performance Example

Without BigParse:

Claude: "Please share your WebSocket files"
You: paste multiple large files
Context used: 5000+ tokens

With BigParse:

Claude: searches for "WebSocket"
Instant results with exact locations
Context used: ~50 tokens

Usage

Once installed, BigParse tools are automatically available in Claude. Just ask:

"Search for all React components in this project"
"Find where the WebSocket handler is defined"
"Show me all TypeScript interfaces"
"What's the structure of this codebase?"

Setting the Workspace

Claude Desktop

To change the workspace directory, edit your Claude Desktop config file and update the WORKSPACE_ROOT environment variable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "BigParse": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/BigParse/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "WORKSPACE_ROOT": "/new/project/path"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then restart Claude Desktop.

Claude Code CLI

By default, BigParse uses the current directory. To analyze a specific project:

# Using the helper script
./scripts/update-workspace.sh /path/to/your/project

# Or with environment variable
claude mcp remove bigparse -s local
claude mcp add bigparse "node" "/path/to/BigParse/dist/index.js" --env "WORKSPACE_ROOT=/path/to/project"

Available Tools

| Tool | Description | Example | |------|-------------|---------|| | index_codebase | Index project files for searching | "Index this TypeScript project" | | search_code | Search with regex patterns | "Find all async functions" | | get_symbols | Extract symbols from files | "Show symbols in main.ts" | | find_references | Find all references to a symbol | "Find all uses of WebSocketClient" | | go_to_definition | Jump to symbol definition | "Go to definition of handleMessage" | | check_language_servers | Check installed LSPs | "What language servers are installed?" | | install_language_server | Install language servers | "Install TypeScript language server" |

Configuration

Supported Languages

TypeScript/JavaScript (.ts, .tsx, .js, .jsx)
Python (.py)
Rust (.rs)
Go (.go)
Java (.java)
C# (.cs)
C/C++ (.c, .cpp, .h)
Ruby (.rb)
PHP (.php)
Swift (.swift)
Dart (.dart)

Cache Location

BigParse stores its cache in .bigparse/ within your project directory. Add this to .gitignore:

.bigparse/

Development

Building from Source

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

Project Structure

BigParse/
├── src/                    # TypeScript source files
│   ├── index.ts           # MCP server entry point
│   ├── lsp/               # Language Server Protocol integration
│   ├── indexing/          # Code indexing and caching
│   ├── tools/             # MCP tool definitions
│   └── subprocess/        # Secure subprocess handling
├── dist/                  # Compiled JavaScript
├── config/                # Language configurations
└── scripts/               # Helper scripts

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see for guidelines.

Security

BigParse includes security features to safely handle subprocess commands:

Command whitelisting for language server installation
Pattern detection to prevent command injection
Validation of all subprocess operations

Troubleshooting

BigParse not showing in Claude

# Check if installed
claude mcp list

# Reinstall if needed
./install-for-claude.sh

Language server not working

# Check installed servers
claude mcp get bigparse
# Then ask Claude to use check_language_servers tool

Cache issues

# Clear cache
rm -rf .bigparse/

License

MIT License - see file

Credits

Created by Lancio AI (2025)

Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
Documentation: Wiki

Made with ❤️ for the Claude community