Sourcebot MCP server

The Sourcebot MCP Server connects AI tools to your Sourcebot deployment. This gives your agents the ability to search, read files, resolve references & definitions, and more across all of your code hosted on Sourcebot.

only available in a paid plan. Please activate a license key to use this feature.

Use cases

• Context for local agents: Plug the MCP into coding agents like Cursor, Claude Code, or Copilot to give them context across your entire codebase, not just the open workspace.
• Building autonomous AI agents: Use Sourcebot as a code context layer for multi-agent systems that review PRs, auto-fix bugs, and answer questions across the company.

Getting Started

Sourcebot MCP uses a Streamable HTTP transport hosted at the /api/mcp route. Two authorization mechanisms are supported:

• OAuth (preferred): MCP clients that support OAuth 2.0 will automatically handle the authorization flow and issue a short lived access token. No API key or manual token management required. Only available with a paid subscription.
• API key: Any MCP client can authorize using a Sourcebot API key passed as a Authorization: Bearer <key> header. Create one in Settings → API Keys.

You can read more about the options in the authorization section.

If anonymous access is enabled on your Sourcebot instance, no OAuth token or API key is required. You can connect directly to the MCP endpoint without any authorization.

The examples below add the MCP server and connect it to Sourcebot’s public deployment at app.sourcebot.dev. Replace the URL with your own Sourcebot deployment as needed.

Claude Code

Claude Code MCP docs

Run the following command:

OAuth

only available in a paid plan. Please activate a license key to use this feature.

claude mcp add --transport http sourcebot https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted. Claude Code will automatically handle the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow the first time you connect.

API Key

claude mcp add --transport http sourcebot https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <key>"

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted, and <key> with an API key generated in Settings → API Keys.

Cursor

Cursor MCP docs

Go to: Settings -> Cursor Settings -> Tools & MCP -> New MCP Server

Paste the following into your ~/.cursor/mcp.json file:

OAuth

only available in a paid plan. Please activate a license key to use this feature.

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "sourcebot": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp"
        }
    }
}

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted. Cursor will automatically handle the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow the first time you connect.

API Key

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "sourcebot": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer <key>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted, and <key> with an API key generated in Settings → API Keys.

VS Code

VS Code MCP docs

Add the following to your .vscode/mcp.json file:

OAuth

only available in a paid plan. Please activate a license key to use this feature.

{
    "servers": {
        "sourcebot": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp"
        }
    }
}

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted. VS Code will automatically handle the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow the first time you connect.

API Key

{
    "servers": {
        "sourcebot": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer <key>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted, and <key> with an API key generated in Settings → API Keys.

Codex

Codex MCP docs

Add the following to your ~/.codex/config.toml file:

OAuth

only available in a paid plan. Please activate a license key to use this feature.

[mcp_servers.sourcebot]
url = "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp"

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted. Then run the following to authenticate:

codex mcp login sourcebot

API Key

[mcp_servers.sourcebot]
url = "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "SOURCEBOT_API_KEY"

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted, then set your API key as an environment variable:

export SOURCEBOT_API_KEY=<key>

Generate an API key in Settings → API Keys.

OpenCode

OpenCode MCP docs

Add the following to your opencode.jsonc file:

OAuth

only available in a paid plan. Please activate a license key to use this feature.

{
    "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
    "mcp": {
        "sourcebot": {
            "type": "remote",
            "url": "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp"
        }
    }
}

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted. OpenCode will automatically handle the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow the first time you connect. You can also manually trigger it with:

opencode mcp auth sourcebot

API Key

{
    "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
    "mcp": {
        "sourcebot": {
            "type": "remote",
            "url": "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp",
            "oauth": false,
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer <key>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted, and <key> with an API key generated in Settings → API Keys.

Windsurf

Windsurf MCP docs

Go to: Windsurf Settings -> Cascade -> Add Server -> Add Custom Server

Paste the following into your ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json file:

OAuth

only available in a paid plan. Please activate a license key to use this feature.

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "sourcebot": {
            "serverUrl": "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp"
        }
    }
}

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted. Windsurf will automatically handle the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow the first time you connect.

API Key

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "sourcebot": {
            "serverUrl": "https://app.sourcebot.dev/api/mcp",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer <key>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Replace https://app.sourcebot.dev with wherever your Sourcebot instance is hosted, and <key> with an API key generated in Settings → API Keys.

Authorization

The Sourcebot MCP server supports two authorization methods, OAuth and API keys. If anonymous access is enabled on your instance, no authorization is required.

Regardless of which method you use, all MCP requests are scoped to the associated Sourcebot user and inherit the user’s role and permissions. When permission syncing is configured, this includes repository permissions - the MCP server will only surface results from repositories the user has access to.

OAuth 2.0

only available in a paid plan. Please activate a license key to use this feature.

Sourcebot implements an OAuth 2.0 authorization server with support for dynamic client registration (RFC 7591). This means MCP clients can register themselves automatically without any manual setup. Just point your client at the MCP endpoint and it will handle the full authorization flow, prompting you to log in and approve access in your browser the first time you connect. No API key or manual token management is required.

Once authorized, Sourcebot issues a short-lived access token (valid for 1 hour) and a refresh token (valid for 90 days). The MCP client handles token refresh automatically, so you stay connected without needing to re-authorize.

API Key (Bearer token)

API keys provide a simpler alternative to OAuth that works with any MCP client. Each key is scoped to the user who created it and inherits their permissions. To create one, navigate to Settings → API Keys and click Create API Key.

Pass the key as an Authorization: Bearer <key> header when connecting to the MCP server.

Available Tools

grep

Searches for code matching a regular expression pattern across repositories, similar to grep/ripgrep. Always case-sensitive. Results are grouped by file and include line numbers.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
pattern	yes	The regex pattern to search for in file contents.
path	no	Directory path to scope the search to. Defaults to the repository root.
include	no	File glob pattern to include in the search (e.g. *.ts, *.{ts,tsx}).
repo	no	Repository name to search in. If not provided, searches all repositories. Use the full name including host (e.g. github.com/org/repo).
ref	no	Commit SHA, branch or tag name to search on. If not provided, defaults to the default branch.
limit	no	Maximum number of matching files to return (default: 100).

list_repos

Lists repositories indexed by Sourcebot with optional filtering and pagination.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
query	no	Filter repositories by name (case-insensitive).
page	no	Page number for pagination (min 1, default: 1).
perPage	no	Results per page for pagination (min 1, max 100, default: 30).
sort	no	Sort repositories by ‘name’ or ‘pushed’ (most recent commit). Default: ‘name’.
direction	no	Sort direction: ‘asc’ or ‘desc’ (default: ‘asc’).

read_file

Reads the source code for a given file, with optional line range control for large files.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
repo	yes	The repository name.
path	yes	The path to the file.
ref	no	Commit SHA, branch or tag name to fetch the source code for. If not provided, uses the default branch.
offset	no	Line number to start reading from (1-indexed). Omit to start from the beginning.
limit	no	Maximum number of lines to read (max: 500). Omit to read up to 500 lines.

list_tree

Lists files and directories from a repository path. Directories are shown before files at each level.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
repo	yes	The name of the repository to list files from.
path	no	Directory path (relative to repo root). If omitted, the repo root is used.
ref	no	Commit SHA, branch or tag name to list files from. If not provided, uses the default branch.
depth	no	Number of directory levels to traverse below path (min 1, max 10, default: 1).
includeFiles	no	Whether to include file entries in the output (default: true).
includeDirectories	no	Whether to include directory entries in the output (default: true).
maxEntries	no	Maximum number of entries to return before truncating (min 1, max 10000, default: 1000).

list_commits

Get a list of commits for a given repository.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
repo	yes	The name of the repository to list commits for.
query	no	Search query to filter commits by message content (case-insensitive).
since	no	Show commits more recent than this date. Supports ISO 8601 (e.g., ‘2024-01-01’) or relative formats (e.g., ‘30 days ago’).
until	no	Show commits older than this date. Supports ISO 8601 (e.g., ‘2024-12-31’) or relative formats (e.g., ‘yesterday’).
author	no	Filter commits by author name or email (case-insensitive).
ref	no	Commit SHA, branch or tag name to list commits of. If not provided, uses the default branch.
page	no	Page number for pagination (min 1, default: 1).
perPage	no	Results per page for pagination (min 1, max 100, default: 50).

list_branches

You can list a repository’s branches, sorted by latest commit date (newest first). Results come from Sourcebot’s local snapshot, not live from the code host. You see branches created or deleted on the code host only after Sourcebot next syncs the repository.

For each branch, you get its name, head commit SHA, latest commit time, isDefault (whether it is the repository’s default branch), and isIndexed (whether code search can search that branch).

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
repo	yes	The name of the repository to list branches for.
query	no	Filter branches by name (case-insensitive).
page	no	Page number for pagination (min 1, default: 1).
perPage	no	Results per page for pagination (min 1, max 100, default: 50).

glob

Finds files whose paths match a glob pattern across repositories (e.g. **/*.ts, src/**/*.test.{ts,tsx}). Results are grouped by repository.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
pattern	yes	Glob pattern to match file paths against (e.g. **/*.ts, src/**/*.test.{ts,tsx}).
path	no	Restrict results to files under this subdirectory.
repo	no	Repository name to search in. If not provided, searches all repositories. Use the full name including host (e.g. github.com/org/repo).
ref	no	Commit SHA, branch or tag name to search on. If not provided, defaults to the default branch.
limit	no	Maximum number of files to return (default: 100).

get_diff

Returns a structured diff between two refs in a repository using a two-dot comparison.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
repo	yes	The fully-qualified repository name.
base	yes	The base git ref (branch, tag, or commit SHA) to diff from.
head	yes	The head git ref (branch, tag, or commit SHA) to diff to.

find_symbol_definitions

Finds where a symbol (function, class, variable, etc.) is defined in a repository.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
symbol	yes	The symbol name to find definitions of.
repo	yes	Repository name to scope the search to. Use the full name including host (e.g. github.com/org/repo).

find_symbol_references

Finds all usages of a symbol (function, class, variable, etc.) across a repository.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
symbol	yes	The symbol name to find references to.
repo	yes	Repository name to scope the search to. Use the full name including host (e.g. github.com/org/repo).

list_language_models

Lists the available language models configured on the Sourcebot instance. Use this to discover which models can be specified when calling ask_codebase.

Parameters:

This tool takes no parameters.

ask_codebase

Ask a natural language question about the codebase. This tool uses an AI agent to autonomously search code, read files, and find symbol references/definitions to answer your question. Returns a detailed answer in markdown format with code references, plus a link to view the full research session in the Sourcebot web UI.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
query	yes	The query to ask about the codebase.
repos	no	The repositories that are accessible to the agent during the chat. If not provided, all repositories are accessible.
languageModel	no	The language model to use for answering the question. Object with provider and model. If not provided, defaults to the first model in the config. Use list_language_models to see available options.
visibility	no	The visibility of the chat session ('PRIVATE' or 'PUBLIC'). Defaults to PRIVATE for authenticated users and PUBLIC for anonymous users. Set to PUBLIC to make the chat viewable by anyone with the link (useful in shared environments like Slack).

create_skill

You can create an agent skill: a reusable set of instructions you invoke in Ask Sourcebot as a /<slug> slash command, or that the agent loads automatically when your request matches its description. The skill is personal to you and enabled immediately. The result includes a link to the skill in Settings → Skills.

You need an authenticated user (API key or OAuth) and the Ask Sourcebot feature. Anonymous sessions and repository-scoped access tokens cannot use this tool.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
name	yes	Display name for the skill (1-80 characters).
slug	yes	Slash command for the skill, without the leading /. Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens; at most 64 characters. Must be unique among the user’s skills.
description	yes	When to use the skill (1-500 characters). Used by the agent to auto-load the skill.
instructions	yes	Markdown instructions the agent follows when the skill is invoked (1-20,000 characters).

update_skill

You can edit an existing skill in place. Fields you omit keep their current values. You can edit your personal skills, and shared skills only if you created them and they are enabled. Skills synced from a repository file are rejected; edit those in Settings → Skills. This tool never enables or disables a skill, and never moves it between the personal and shared catalogs.

You need an authenticated user (API key or OAuth) and the Ask Sourcebot feature. Anonymous sessions and repository-scoped access tokens cannot use this tool.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
slug	yes	Current slash command of the skill to update, without the leading /.
scope	yes	Which catalog the skill lives in: personal or shared.
name	no	New display name (1-80 characters).
newSlug	no	New slash command, without the leading /. Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens; at most 64 characters.
description	no	New description of when to use the skill (1-500 characters).
instructions	no	New markdown instructions (1-20,000 characters).

list_skills

You can list the skills visible to you: your personal skills plus your organization’s shared catalog. Each row includes slug and scope (the pair update_skill needs), enabled, isSynced (linked to a repository file), canEdit (whether update_skill can edit it), and, on shared rows, adopted. Skill instructions are never included.

You need an authenticated user (API key or OAuth) and the Ask Sourcebot feature. Anonymous sessions and repository-scoped access tokens cannot use this tool.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Description
scope	no	Filter to one catalog: personal or shared. Omit to list both.