Understand Anything MCP Server

Understand-Anything MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that empowers your AI agents to understand your entire project architecture, and a headless CI gateway to enforce architectural rules before code is merged.

Quick Start

[!NOTE] Prerequisite: ua-mcp is a lightweight reader that connects your AI assistant to your local Understand-Anything knowledge graph. It does not build the graph itself. You must install the core scanner from Egonex-AI/Understand-Anything and run /understand in your project to produce the .ua/knowledge-graph.json file. Commit this file to your repository before proceeding.

Get your AI assistant hooked up with architectural context in 60 seconds. ua_find_callers, ua_impact_analysis, and ua_precheck work immediately for free with no license key required!

Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "understand-anything": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "ua-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "UA_PROJECT_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/your/project"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

1. Go to Settings > Features > MCP.
2. Click + Add new MCP server.
3. Name: understand-anything
4. Type: command
5. Command: npx -y ua-mcp
6. Add an environment variable: UA_PROJECT_PATH = /absolute/path/to/your/project

How UA-MCP compares to Understand-Anything Tool

The free upstream Understand-Anything tool is responsible for generating the local knowledge graph and performing manual local analysis. UA-MCP sits on top of this graph to provide an automated governance layer and safety net for your codebase. While the free tool is a diagnostic scanner, UA-MCP actively blocks risky merges via its CI/branch-protection gate (ua-ci) and enforces your custom .ua-rules.json architectural boundaries.

Privacy Policy

[!IMPORTANT] Link to Privacy Policy

Data Processing Details:

• License keys and email addresses are securely stored for billing purposes.
• Purely local, no network calls: ua_status, ua_scan, ua_graph_summary, ua_explain, ua_onboarding_doc.
• Sends graph data to the backend: ua_precheck (Free and Pro), and all Pro-only tools (ua_rules, ua_ci_check, ua_find_callers, ua_impact_analysis, ua_validate_graph). When these tools are used, the full local graph object is sent to our backend for CI risk analysis, rule evaluation, and quota validation. All Pro-tier computation is handled remotely.
• No source code contents are transmitted, only graph metadata (file paths and import relationships). All backend graph processing is done purely in-memory per-request and is never persisted.

Security Considerations

• UA_API_URL defaults to the official backend (https://ua-mcp-backend.onrender.com). Be extremely cautious if you change this to a custom endpoint, as the third-party backend will receive your full knowledge graph and source file paths.
• Self-Hosting: If you are self-hosting the backend, note that a PostgreSQL DATABASE_URL is required in production. SQLite is not supported for production deployments.

🚀 Features

• Branch Protection / CI Gate: Automatically block high-risk PRs based on the codebase graph.
• Architectural Rules: Define custom .ua-rules.json to enforce boundaries.
• Blast Radius Analysis: Detect exactly which downstream files will break if a module is modified.
• On-Demand Knowledge Graph: Let Claude instantly query dependencies across massive codebases without filling its context window.

[!TIP] System Instruction Recommended: For the best experience, add the following to your AI assistant's system prompt or custom instructions: "Always call ua_precheck before modifying any file in this project."

How it works

1. Your AI agent decides it wants to modify a critical file (e.g., src/auth.ts).
2. The agent (following its system instructions) triggers ua_precheck before making the edit to run an Architectural Safety Linter.
3. The server analyzes the graph to determine the "blast radius" and checks it against your rules.
4. If the blast radius is too large or violates a rule, a Safety Checkpoint (Elicitation Prompt) interrupts the agent, asking for your explicit confirmation before proceeding.

Configuration Rules (.ua-rules.json)

You can define specific boundaries in a .ua-rules.json file in the root of your workspace to dictate what the LLM is allowed to touch.

{
  // Understand-Anything Architectural Rules
  // Define constraints that agents and developers must respect.
  "rules": [
    {
      "id": "no-ui-db-import",
      "description": "UI layer must never import database layer directly",
      "from_pattern": "src/ui/**",
      "to_pattern": "src/db/**",
      "severity": "error"
    },
    {
      "id": "auth-required-for-payments",
      "description": "Payment modules must always be reachable from auth",
      "requires_path_through": "src/auth/**",
      "for_pattern": "src/payments/**",
      "severity": "error"
    }
  ]
}

🔒 Usage: CI/CD Branch Protection (Enforcement)

CI Gateway (ua-ci)

A companion CLI that runs locally in your GitHub Actions or GitLab CI. It parses your PR diff and compares it to the local graph.

• Free Tier: Evaluates blast-radius and logs the risk level.
• Pro Tier: Automatically blocks the merge if the risk is HIGH or violates architectural rules.

[!IMPORTANT] The True Enforcement Backstop: While local agents rely on system instructions to run ua_precheck, the ua-ci command is designed to be your unbypassable safety net. By running ua-ci in your GitHub Actions and requiring it as a status check in GitHub Branch Protection, you ensure that no rogue edits can ever be merged into production without explicit approval.

Note on Free Tier: If a valid Pro license key is not detected in the environment variables, the CI check will log a warning and silently pass (exit 0) so it does not block builds for non-paying users.

# .github/workflows/ua-ci.yml
name: Understand-Anything CI Check
on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  ua-ci-check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - name: Generate PR Diff
        run: git diff origin/main...HEAD > pr.diff

      - name: Run UA Branch Protection
        env:
          UA_LICENSE_KEY: ${{ secrets.UA_LICENSE_KEY }}
        run: npx ua-ci --pr-diff=pr.diff

🛡️ Usage: Local Governance (Agents)

When connected to Claude Desktop or an MCP client, the following tools become available to the agent:

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

Add the following to your Claude Desktop config file (usually ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "understand-anything": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "ua-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "UA_PROJECT_PATH": "/path/to/your/project",
        "UA_LICENSE_KEY": "your_license_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

1. Go to Settings > Features > MCP.
2. Click + Add new MCP server.
3. Name: understand-anything
4. Type: command
5. Command: npx -y ua-mcp

Continue

Add to your config.json under mcpServers:

"understand-anything": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "ua-mcp"]
}

Available Tools & Tiering

The Understand-Anything MCP Server operates on a tiered licensing model.

Core Tools (Free Tier)

Available out of the box with no license required.

• ua_find_callers: Retrieves reverse dependencies up to 2 hops (Now unlimited and free!).
• ua_impact_analysis: Retrieves full transitive closure of reverse dependencies (Now unlimited and free!).
• ua_precheck: Pre-flight architectural risk check (10 checks/day, default critical-path rules only)
• ua_status: Returns MCP health status.
• ua_scan: Forces a re-scan of the workspace.
• ua_graph_summary: Returns aggregated node/edge statistics.
• ua_architecture_report: Groups files by top-level modules.
• ua_dependency_report: Identifies files with the most incoming dependencies (fan-in).
• ua_explain: Retrieves 1-hop dependencies for a specific file.
• ua_onboarding_doc: Generates onboarding context.

Premium Tools (Pro Tier)

Pro Tier — Architectural Enforcement & CI Safety

Team Use: One Pro license key can be shared across your entire team's CI pipelines and MCP configurations — no per-seat pricing.

• ua_rules & ua_rules_check: Enforce custom .ua-rules.json boundaries. Evaluates constraints to ensure recent changes haven't introduced violations.
• ua_ci_check & ua-ci: Block risky PRs in GitHub Actions before they reach production. Analyzes Git PR diffs for architectural impact.
• ua_precheck: Unlimited pre-flight checks with configurable critical paths and .ua-rules.json enforcement
• ua_validate_graph: Checks the knowledge graph schema for corruption.

Pricing

Get your license key:

• Pro - Monthly ($10)
• Pro - Lifetime ($50)

Troubleshooting

• Server fails to start: Ensure you have Node.js v18 or later installed.
• License key error: Verify your key in the .env file or Claude config matches the one on your dashboard.
• Path not found: Ensure UA_PROJECT_PATH is absolute or resolves correctly relative to where the server runs.

License

MIT License