universal-ctags-node

Node.js wrapper for universal-ctags binaries for cross-platform code indexing

Core Capabilities

Capability	Description
Automatic Binary Management	Downloads and configures platform-specific ctags binaries during npm install with zero configuration required.
Cross-Platform Support	Native binaries for Windows (x64/x86), macOS (Intel/Apple Silicon), and Linux (x64/ARM64).
MCP Ready	Purpose-built for Model Context Protocol servers requiring universal-ctags functionality.

Installation

This package is published to GitHub Packages and requires authentication to install.

Step	Instructions
1. Create GitHub Personal Access Token	Navigate to GitHub Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic) Generate new token with read:packages scope Copy the generated token
2. Configure npm Authentication	# Create .npmrc in project root or home directory echo "@LLMTooling:registry=https://npm.pkg.github.com" > .npmrc echo "//npm.pkg.github.com/:_authToken=YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN" >> .npmrc
3. Install the Package	npm install @LLMTooling/universal-ctags-node

Usage

Usage Pattern	Code Example
Basic Usage	const { ctagsPath } = require('@LLMTooling/universal-ctags-node'); console.log('ctags binary location:', ctagsPath); // Use ctagsPath with child_process to run ctags commands
With execSync	const { execSync } = require('child_process'); const { ctagsPath } = require('@LLMTooling/universal-ctags-node'); // Get ctags version const version = execSync("${ctagsPath}" --version, { encoding: 'utf8' }); console.log(version); // Generate tags for a project execSync("${ctagsPath}" -R --fields=+nKz --extras=+q ., { cwd: '/path/to/project' });
With spawn	const { spawn } = require('child_process'); const { ctagsPath } = require('@LLMTooling/universal-ctags-node'); const ctags = spawn(ctagsPath, ['--version']); ctags.stdout.on('data', (data) => { console.log(stdout: ${data}); }); ctags.stderr.on('data', (data) => { console.error(stderr: ${data}); });

Platform Support

Platform	Architecture	Binary Source
Windows	x64, x86	ctags-win32
macOS	x64 (Intel), ARM64 (Apple Silicon)	ctags-nightly-build
Linux	x64, ARM64	ctags-nightly-build

Architecture

File Tree
code-search-mcp-universal-ctags/ ├── lib/ │ ├── index.js # Main entry point │ ├── postinstall.js # Download and setup logic │ └── util.js # Helper functions ├── test/ │ └── basic.test.js # Test suite ├── bin/ # Created during install (git-ignored) │ └── ctags(.exe) # Platform-specific binary └── package.json

Configuration

Variable	Purpose	Default
GITHUB_TOKEN	GitHub API authentication to avoid rate limits	None
SKIP_POSTINSTALL	Skip automatic binary download during installation	false

Acknowledgments

Project	Contribution
Universal Ctags	Core ctags implementation
ctags-win32	Windows binary distribution
ctags-nightly-build	Unix binary distribution
vscode-ripgrep	Package structure inspiration

Built for the Model Context Protocol ecosystem