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Reduces token consumption by over 80% through intelligent file caching, returning only diffs for modified files and suppressing unchanged content. It features a
Reduces token consumption by over 80% through intelligent file caching, returning only diffs for modified files and suppressing unchanged content. It features a suite of 12 tools for semantic search, batch reading, and efficient file editing to optimize LLM interactions with large codebases.
Reduce Claude Code token usage by 80%+ with intelligent file caching.
Semantic Cache MCP is a Model Context Protocol server that eliminates redundant token consumption when Claude reads files. Instead of sending full file contents on every request, it returns diffs for changed files, suppresses unchanged files entirely, and intelligently summarizes large files — all transparently through 13 purpose-built MCP tools.
"unchanged":true, 99% savings), modified (diff, 80–95% savings) — fully automatic, no configurationbatch_smart_read pre-scans all new/changed files and embeds them in a single model call (N calls → 1)Add to Claude Code settings (~/.claude/settings.json):
Option 1 — uvx (always runs latest version):
{
"mcpServers": {
"semantic-cache": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["semantic-cache-mcp"]
}
}
}
Option 2 — uv tool install:
uv tool install semantic-cache-mcp
{
"mcpServers": {
"semantic-cache": {
"command": "semantic-cache-mcp"
}
}
}
Restart Claude Code.
For NVIDIA GPU acceleration, install with the gpu extra:
uv tool install "semantic-cache-mcp[gpu]"
# or with uvx: uvx "semantic-cache-mcp[gpu]"
Then set EMBEDDING_DEVICE=gpu in your MCP config env block. Falls back to CPU automatically if CUDA is unavailable.
Any HuggingFace model with an ONNX export works — set EMBEDDING_MODEL in your env config:
"env": {
"EMBEDDING_MODEL": "Snowflake/snowflake-arctic-embed-m-v2.0"
}
If the model isn't in fastembed's built-in list, it's automatically downloaded and registered from HuggingFace Hub on first startup (ONNX file integrity is verified via SHA256). See env_variables.md for model recommendations.
Disable the client's built-in file tools so all file I/O routes through semantic-cache.
Claude Code — add to ~/.claude/settings.json:
{
"permissions": {
"deny": ["Read", "Edit", "Write"]
}
}
OpenCode — add to ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json:
{
"$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
"permission": {
"read": "deny",
"edit": "deny",
"write": "deny"
}
}
Add to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md to enforce semantic-cache globally:
## Tools
- MUST use `semantic-cache-mcp` instead of native I/O tools (80%+ token savings)
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
read |
Single-file cache-aware read. Returns full content on first read, unchanged markers on cache hits, diffs on modifications, and supports offset/limit for targeted recovery. |
delete |
Single-path delete for one file or symlink, with cache eviction and dry_run=true. Intentionally does not support globs, recursive delete, or real-directory delete. |
write |
Full-file create or replace with cache refresh. Returns creation status or an overwrite diff, supports append=true, and can run formatters. |
edit |
Single-file exact edit using cached content. Best for one localized change; supports scoped and line-range replacement plus dry_run=true. |
batch_edit |
Multiple exact edits in one file with partial success reporting. Best when several localized changes belong in the same file. |
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search |
Cache-only semantic search for meaning or mixed keyword intent. Seed likely files first with batch_read; use grep for exact text. |
similar |
Cache-only nearest-neighbor lookup for one source file. Best after seeding a directory with batch_read. |
glob |
File discovery plus cache coverage. Use it to find candidates, then pass those paths into batch_read. |
batch_read |
Multi-file cache-aware read for seeding and retrieval. Handles globs, priorities, token budgets, unchanged suppression, and diff/full routing. |
grep |
Cache-only exact search with regex or literal matching, line numbers, and optional context. Best for symbols and exact strings. |
diff |
Explicit side-by-side file comparison with unified diff and semantic similarity. Use read instead for “what changed since last read?”. |
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
stats |
Cache metrics, session usage (tokens saved, tool calls), and lifetime aggregates. |
clear |
Reset all cache entries. |
read path="/src/app.py" # automatic: full, unchanged, or diff
read path="/src/app.py" offset=120 limit=80 # lines 120–199 only
Automatic three states:
| State | Response | Token cost |
|---|---|---|
| First read | Full content + cached | Normal |
| Unchanged | "File unchanged (1,234 tokens cached)" |
~5 tokens |
| Modified | Unified diff only | 5–20% of original |
write path="/src/new.py" content="..."
write path="/src/new.py" content="..." auto_format=true
write path="/src/large.py" content="...chunk1..." append=false # first chunk
write path="/src/large.py" content="...chunk2..." append=true # subsequent chunks
# Mode A — find/replace: searches entire file
edit path="/src/app.py" old_string="def foo():" new_string="def foo(x: int):"
edit path="/src/app.py" old_string="..." new_string="..." replace_all=true auto_format=true
# Mode B — scoped find/replace: search only within line range (shorter old_string suffices)
edit path="/src/app.py" old_string="pass" new_string="return x" start_line=42 end_line=42
# Mode C — line replace: replace entire range, no old_string needed (maximum token savings)
edit path="/src/app.py" new_string=" return result\n" start_line=80 end_line=83
Mode selection:
| Mode | Parameters | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Find/replace | old_string + new_string |
Unique strings, no line numbers known |
| Scoped | old_string + new_string + start_line/end_line |
Shorter context when read gave you line numbers |
| Line replace | new_string + start_line/end_line (no old_string) |
Maximum token savings when line numbers are known |
# Mode A — find/replace: [old, new]
batch_edit path="/src/app.py" edits='[["old1","new1"],["old2","new2"]]'
# Mode B — scoped: [old, new, start_line, end_line]
batch_edit path="/src/app.py" edits='[["pass","return x",42,42]]'
# Mode C — line replace: [null, new, start_line, end_line]
batch_edit path="/src/app.py" edits='[[null," return result\n",80,83]]'
# Mixed modes in one call (object syntax also supported)
batch_edit path="/src/app.py" edits='[
["old1", "new1"],
{"old": "pass", "new": "return x", "start_line": 42, "end_line": 42},
{"old": null, "new": " return result\n", "start_line": 80, "end_line": 83}
]' auto_format=true
search query="authentication middleware logic" k=5
search query="database connection pooling" k=3
similar path="/src/auth.py" k=3
similar path="/tests/test_auth.py" k=5
glob pattern="**/*.py" directory="./src"
glob pattern="**/*.py" directory="./src" cached_only=true
batch_read paths="/src/a.py,/src/b.py" max_total_tokens=50000
batch_read paths='["/src/a.py","/src/b.py"]' priority="/src/main.py"
batch_read paths="/src/*.py" max_total_tokens=30000
src/*.py expanded inline (max 50 files per glob)priority paths read first, remainder sorted smallest-firstmax_total_tokens reached; skipped files include est_tokens hintsummary.unchanged with no content (zero tokens)read with offset/limit for targeted line-range recovery after truncation or context lossdiff path1="/src/v1.py" path2="/src/v2.py"
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
LOG_LEVEL |
INFO |
Logging verbosity (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR) |
TOOL_OUTPUT_MODE |
compact |
Response detail (compact, normal, debug) |
TOOL_MAX_RESPONSE_TOKENS |
0 |
Global response token cap (0 = disabled) |
TOOL_TIMEOUT |
30 |
Seconds before tool call times out (auto-resets executor) |
MAX_CONTENT_SIZE |
100000 |
Max bytes returned by read operations |
MAX_CACHE_ENTRIES |
10000 |
Max cache entries before LRU-K eviction |
EMBEDDING_DEVICE |
cpu |
Embedding hardware: cpu, cuda (GPU), auto (detect) |
EMBEDDING_MODEL |
BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5 |
FastEmbed model for search/similarity (options) |
SEMANTIC_CACHE_DIR |
(platform) | Override cache/database directory path |
See docs/env_variables.md for detailed descriptions, model selection guidance, and examples.
| Limit | Value | Protects Against |
|---|---|---|
MAX_WRITE_SIZE |
10 MB | Memory exhaustion via large writes |
MAX_EDIT_SIZE |
10 MB | Memory exhaustion via large file edits |
MAX_MATCHES |
10,000 | CPU exhaustion via unbounded replace_all |
{
"mcpServers": {
"semantic-cache": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["semantic-cache-mcp"],
"env": {
"LOG_LEVEL": "INFO",
"TOOL_OUTPUT_MODE": "compact",
"MAX_CONTENT_SIZE": "100000",
"EMBEDDING_DEVICE": "cpu",
"EMBEDDING_MODEL": "BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5"
}
}
}
}
Cache location: ~/.cache/semantic-cache-mcp/ (Linux), ~/Library/Caches/semantic-cache-mcp/ (macOS), %LOCALAPPDATA%\semantic-cache-mcp\ (Windows). Override with SEMANTIC_CACHE_DIR.
┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐
│ Claude │────▶│ smart_read │────▶│ Cache Lookup │
│ Code │ │ │ │ (VectorStorage) │
└─────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────────┘
│
┌─────────────────┼─────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│Unchanged │ │ Changed │ │ New / Large │
│ ~0 tok │ │ diff │ │ summarize or │
│ (99%) │ │ (80-95%) │ │ full content │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────────┘
Measured on this project's 30 source files (~136K tokens). Benchmarks run on a standard dev machine (CPU embeddings).
| Phase | Scenario | Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Cold read | First read, no cache | 0% (baseline) |
| Unchanged re-read | Same files, no modifications | 99.1% |
| Content hash | Touch files (mtime changed, content identical) | 99.1% |
| Small edits | ~5% of lines changed in 30% of files | 98.1% |
| Batch read | All files via batch_read |
99.1% |
| Search | 5 queries × k=5, previews vs full reads | 98.4% |
| Overall (cached) | Phases 2–6 combined | 98.8% |
| Operation | Time |
|---|---|
| Unchanged read (single file) | 2 ms |
| Unchanged re-read (29 files) | 25 ms |
| Batch read (29 files, diff mode) | 35 ms |
| Cold read (29 files, incl. embed) | 2,554 ms |
| Write (200-line file) | 47 ms |
| Edit (scoped find/replace) | 48 ms |
| Semantic search (k=5) | 4 ms |
| Semantic search (k=10) | 5 ms |
| Find similar (k=3) | 49 ms |
| Grep (literal) | 1 ms |
| Grep (regex) | 2 ms |
| Embedding model warmup | 206 ms |
| Single embedding (largest file) | 47 ms |
| Batch embedding (10 files) | 469 ms |
Run benchmarks yourself:
uv run python benchmarks/benchmark_token_savings.py # token savings
uv run python benchmarks/benchmark_performance.py # operation latency
See docs/performance.md for full benchmarks and methodology.
| Guide | Description |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Component design, algorithms, data flow |
| Performance | Optimization techniques, benchmarks |
| Security | Threat model, input validation, size limits |
| Advanced Usage | Programmatic API, custom storage backends |
| Troubleshooting | Common issues, debug logging |
| Environment Variables | All configurable env vars with defaults and examples |
git clone https://github.com/CoderDayton/semantic-cache-mcp.git
cd semantic-cache-mcp
uv sync
uv run pytest
See CONTRIBUTING.md for commit conventions, pre-commit hooks, and code standards.
MIT License — use freely in personal and commercial projects.
Built with FastMCP 3.0 and:
delete_collection, and opt-in embedding persistence (store_embeddings=True)Добавь это в claude_desktop_config.json и перезапусти Claude Desktop.
{
"mcpServers": {
"semantic-cache-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": []
}
}
}