Better Codebase Memory MCP - a VS Code panel for operating the engine

[smoochy]

I built a VS Code extension that puts the operational side of codebase-memory-mcp into the sidebar: install the CLI, register it as an MCP server, see what is indexed, and keep it current - without a terminal.

Repo: https://github.com/smoochy/codebase-memory-mcp-vscode
Marketplace: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=smoochy.better-codebase-memory-mcp
Open VSX: https://open-vsx.org/extension/smoochy/better-codebase-memory-mcp

Why

Running the engine well means keeping a binary current, keeping the MCP registration valid on every machine, and knowing which repositories are indexed and how stale they are. That is normally hand work in a shell. This extension makes that upkeep visible and reversible.

What it does

• Setup in one action. Finds an existing CLI or downloads the release for your platform, then registers it as an MCP server for the window.
• Verified updates. New releases are announced in the activity bar; the download is checked against the release's published SHA-256 checksums.
• Project overview. Nodes, edges, project count, total index size, plus a card per repository with branch, index age and counts.
• Reindexing, manual or on commit. Optional auto reindex watches the checked-out commit rather than the file system, so it acts on a pull instead of on every keystroke.
• Engine settings in the panel. The CLI's settings are read from config list at runtime and written back - something VS Code's static settings UI cannot do.
• A log worth reading. Every action, install and reindex, size-capped and rotating.

Notes on integration

• Registration goes through VS Code's MCP server definition provider (1.101+), in memory. Nothing is written to mcp.json, so Settings Sync never carries an absolute binary path to a machine that does not have it.
• Setup still runs the CLI's own install so the other agents get wired up; the VS Code entry that command writes is removed again right after, and the rest of each file is left alone. That is a stopgap and goes as soon as the CLI can be told to skip an agent.
• If you manage your own installation, the extension prefers it and never updates, overwrites or removes it. Ownership is recorded at install time, not inferred from the path.
• Zero runtime npm dependencies, no bundled binary, MIT.

One question for the maintainers (@DeusData)

Would you be OK with the extension using official codebase-memory-mcp artwork - logo or icon - in its UI and marketplace listing?

Right now it ships its own icon to avoid implying any affiliation. Using the upstream mark would make the connection to the engine obvious to users, so I would rather ask than assume. Happy to follow any attribution, colour or spacing rules you want applied, and to drop it again on request.

Transparency

The extension was built with the help of Claude Code. It is covered by an automated suite - unit tests, a packaging test that asserts what the .vsix ships, and integration tests in a real extension host - and every release is additionally tested by hand against the checklist in docs/MANUAL-TESTING.md, for the install, update and MCP registration paths a headless suite cannot reach.

It is an independent clean-room TypeScript implementation - not a fork of the upstream CLI, but inspired by the tunakite03.codebase-memory-mcp extension.

Feedback and issues are welcome, especially on the install and update paths across platforms. If anything here would be better solved upstream (for example a flag to skip an agent during install), I am happy to open an issue or a PR.

Kind Regards,
smoo