Introduction
Coraline is a Rust-based code intelligence system that builds semantic knowledge graphs for AI assistants. It provides fast, local code analysis with zero external dependencies.
What is Coraline?
Coraline combines ideas from CodeGraph and Serena to provide:
- Fast indexing - Native Rust performance for rapid code analysis
- Semantic search - Find code by meaning using vector embeddings
- Symbol-level tools - Precise function/class/method operations
- 100% local - All processing happens on your machine
- MCP integration - Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and OpenCode
Key Features
Code Intelligence
- AST-based parsing using tree-sitter (33 languages supported)
- Cross-file reference resolution
- Impact analysis for understanding change ripple effects
- Symbol search with FTS5 full-text indexing
AI Assistant Integration
- Model Context Protocol (MCP) server with 33 tools
- Compact output format for 65% token reduction
- Batch query tools for 60-90% token savings
- Natural language context building
Developer Experience
- CLI for direct command-line usage
- Git hooks for automatic incremental updates
- Project memories for persistent context
- Configurable indexing and exclusion patterns
How It Works
- Index - Coraline scans your project and builds a knowledge graph of all symbols (functions, classes, types, etc.) and their relationships
- Query - Use the CLI or MCP tools to search, traverse, and analyze your codebase
- Assist - AI assistants use Coraline’s tools to understand your code structure and answer questions
All data is stored locally in a SQLite database (.coraline/coraline.db) with no external API calls or cloud dependencies.
Use Cases
- Code exploration - Understand unfamiliar codebases quickly
- Impact analysis - See what will be affected by a change
- Refactoring - Find all callers/callees of a function
- Documentation - Build context for AI-assisted documentation
- Code review - Analyze dependencies and relationships
- Migration planning - Map out cross-file dependencies
Next Steps
- Install Coraline to get started
- Follow the Quick Start Guide for your first project
- Explore the MCP Tools Reference to see what’s available
- Check out MCP Integration for AI assistant setup