Serena - Semantic Code Understanding

IDE-like semantic code operations via CLI. Provides symbol-level code navigation, editing, and project memory.

Prerequisites

pip install serena-agent typer pyyaml

Quick Start

First-time setup: Launch the Web Dashboard to initialize and register the project:

python -m tools dashboard serve --open-browser

This will:

• Initialize Serena configuration
• Register the current project in

  ~/.serena/serena_config.yml

• Open the Web Dashboard for monitoring and configuration

Configuration: Edit

.env

skills/serena/

SERENA_CONTEXT=claude-code
SERENA_MODES=interactive,editing,onboarding
SERENA_PROJECT=.

Usage

Basic Command Structure

python -m tools [GLOBAL OPTIONS] <command> [COMMAND OPTIONS]

Global Options (must be specified before the command):

• -p, --project PATH

  - Project directory (default: current directory, env: SERENA_PROJECT)

• -c, --context TEXT

  - Execution context (auto-detected if not specified, env: SERENA_CONTEXT)

• -m, --mode TEXT

  - Operation modes (can be specified multiple times, env: SERENA_MODES)

Working with Different Projects

Important: When working with projects in different locations (especially cross-drive on Windows), use

--project

# Correct: Use --project for different project locations
python -m tools --project "/path/to/project" symbol find MyClass
python -m tools --project "E:\MyProject" file search "pattern"

# Incorrect: Don't use --path with absolute paths from different drives
python -m tools file search "pattern" --path "E:\MyProject"  # Will fail!

The

--path

--project

Common Operations

# Dashboard
python -m tools dashboard serve --open-browser
python -m tools dashboard info

# Symbol operations
python -m tools symbol find MyClass --body
python -m tools symbol overview src/main.py
python -m tools symbol refs MyClass/method
python -m tools symbol rename OldName NewName --path src/file.py

# Memory operations
python -m tools memory list
python -m tools memory read project_overview
python -m tools memory write api_notes --content "..."

# File operations
python -m tools file list --recursive
python -m tools file find "**/*.py"
python -m tools file search "TODO:.*" --path src

# Extended tools
python -m tools cmd run "git status"
python -m tools config read config.json

Tool Routing Policy

Prefer Serena Over Built-in Tools

grep "def func"

symbol find func --body

cat file.py

symbol overview file.py

grep "func("

symbol refs func

Edit

symbol replace func --path file.py

symbol rename old new --path file.py

When to Use Built-in Tools

• Simple text search (non-code patterns)
• Configuration files (JSON, YAML)
• Documentation files (Markdown)

Command Reference

Dashboard Commands

dashboard serve [--open-browser] [--browser-cmd <path>]

dashboard info

dashboard tools

dashboard modes

dashboard contexts

Symbol Commands

symbol find <name> [--body] [--depth N] [--path file]

symbol overview <path>

symbol refs <name> [--path file]

symbol replace <name> --path <file> --body <code>

symbol insert-after <name> --path <file> --content <code>

symbol insert-before <name> --path <file> --content <code>

symbol rename <name> <new> --path <file>

Memory Commands

memory list

memory read <name>

memory write <name> --content <text>

memory edit <name> --content <text>

memory delete <name>

File Commands

file list [--path dir] [--recursive]

file find <pattern>

file search <pattern> [--path dir]

Extended Commands

cmd run <command> [--cwd dir] [--timeout N]

cmd script <path> [--args "..."]

config read <path> [--format json|yaml]

config update <path> <key> <value>

Workflow Commands

workflow onboarding

workflow check

workflow tools [--scope all]

Workflow Examples

Phase 1: Exploration

python -m tools symbol overview src/main.py           # Understand file structure
python -m tools symbol find MyClass --depth 1         # Explore class members
python -m tools symbol find MyClass/method --body     # Get implementation details

Phase 2: Analysis

python -m tools symbol refs MyClass/method            # Impact analysis
python -m tools memory list                           # Check project knowledge
python -m tools memory read architecture              # Retrieve context

Phase 3: Modification

python -m tools symbol find target --body             # Verify target
python -m tools symbol replace target --path f --body "..."  # Edit
python -m tools symbol rename old new --path f        # Refactor

Error Handling

All CLI output is JSON:

// Success
{"result": <data>}

// Error
{"error": {"code": "ERROR_CODE", "message": "description"}}

INVALID_ARGS

--help

TOOL_NOT_FOUND

workflow tools

INIT_FAILED

RUNTIME_ERROR

Anti-Patterns

symbol find func --body

symbol refs func

symbol rename old new --path f

symbol refs