Install

Prerequisites

Rust toolchain (for installing via cargo)
Language servers for the languages you want to use (see LSP Servers)

Install Catenary

From crates.io (recommended)

cargo install catenary-mcp

From source

git clone https://github.com/MarkWells-Dev/Catenary
cd Catenary
cargo build --release
# Binary is at ./target/release/catenary

Add to Your MCP Client

The catenary binary must be installed and on your PATH before configuring any client. Plugins and extensions provide hooks and MCP server declarations but do not include the binary. If the binary is missing, hooks will silently do nothing and you will get no diagnostics.

Claude Code (CLI)

Option 1: Plugin (recommended)

claude plugin marketplace add MarkWells-Dev/Catenary
claude plugin install catenary@catenary

The plugin registers the MCP server and hooks for post-edit diagnostics, file locking, and root sync. It requires the catenary binary on PATH.

Option 2: Manual

claude mcp add catenary -- catenary

This registers the MCP server only. You will not get post-edit diagnostics or file locking unless you also configure hooks manually (see CLI Integration).

Claude Desktop

Add to your config file:

Linux: ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "catenary": {
      "command": "catenary"
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Option 1: Extension (recommended)

gemini extensions install https://github.com/MarkWells-Dev/Catenary

The extension registers the MCP server and hooks for post-edit diagnostics and file locking. It requires the catenary binary on PATH.

Option 2: Manual

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "catenary": {
      "command": "catenary"
    }
  }
}

This registers the MCP server only. You will not get post-edit diagnostics or file locking unless you also install the extension or configure hooks manually (see CLI Integration).

Other MCP Clients

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "catenary": {
      "command": "catenary"
    }
  }
}

Verify Installation

# Check catenary is in your PATH
which catenary

# Test it responds to MCP
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}' | catenary

Next Steps

Configure your language servers
Install LSPs for your languages

Keyboard shortcuts

Catenary