Nayte91/php-ast-mcp-server

PHP AST MCP Server

This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides PHP Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) analysis capabilities.

Goal is to save tokens by providing a high level of abstraction over codebase.

How much does it save

Random codebase

I made a test on a random project's src/ codebase:

• 145 PHP files
• 8,900 lines of PHP code
• ~298.19 KB as raw size

Comparison Results:

• Classic file reading: ~76,000 tokens
• With PHP-AST (all): ~33,000 tokens ➜ 57% less!
• With PHP-AST (public): ~26,000 tokens ➜ 66% less!

Symfony + Doctrine vendors

Complete analysis of those 2 folders in vendor/:

• 6,325 PHP files
• 200,396 lines of PHP code
• 31.92 MB as raw size

Comparison Results:

• Classic file reading: ~8,369,000 tokens
• With PHP-AST (all): ~1,509,000 tokens ➜ 82% less!
• With PHP-AST (public): ~1,173,000 tokens ➜ 86% less!

What it does

• Parses PHP files into their Abstract Syntax Tree representation using the php-ast extension
• Analyzes code structure including classes, methods, functions, and properties
• Filters AST output with options for public-only or all visibility levels
• Processes directories recursively to analyze entire PHP codebases
• Provides JSON output compatible with MCP clients for code analysis and tooling

How it works

• Uses Docker Containerfile included
• Uses php-ast extension
• serves application with php -S
• load the php-ast.json in your agent's MCPs

Usage

The server can be used by MCP-compatible clients to analyze PHP code structure and extract meaningful information.

Use it only locally, for dev purpose!