Why is codebase-memory-mcp not working in Claude Code?

It worked in our test on Oct 20, 2026. Errors we observed: "{\"error\":\"project not found or not indexed\",\"hint\":\"No projects indexed yet. Call index_repository first.\"}"

codebase-memory-mcp not working in Claude Code? Fixes

Passed It worked in our test on Oct 20, 2026. Below is the exact setup we used in Claude Code (2.1.296 (Claude Code)), every error we saw, and what to check, all from our own run log.

Date tested: Oct 20, 2026 · From our harness, not the maker’s claims · How we test

1. Use the install config we tested in Claude Code

claude mcp add -s local codebase-memory -- npx -y codebase-memory-mcp@0.12.1

Replace any <YOUR_…> placeholder and local test paths with your own. Every client’s tested snippet is on the codebase-memory-mcp page.

2. Check that Claude Code connects to it

In our run the connect check was OK (connected in 3.1s). Our check output:

codebase-memory: npx -y codebase-memory-mcp@0.12.1 - ✔ Connected

Errors we observed

agent task: find definition (tool error during the run): "{\"error\":\"project not found or not indexed\",\"hint\":\"No projects indexed yet. Call index_repository first.\"}"

Quoted from our run log. Secrets redacted. We list only what we saw.

More help

codebase-memory-mcp: all results and setup · Full Claude Code run · General Claude Code MCP troubleshooting