serena

name	serena
description	Powerful coding agent toolkit capable of turning an LLM into a fully-featured agent that works directly on your codebase
license	MIT
compatibility	opencode
metadata	{"audience":"developers","workflow":"coding"}

What I do

• Analyze and understand complex codebases across multiple files
• Find symbols (classes, functions, methods) by name or pattern
• Search for code patterns and references across the entire codebase
• Perform safe, semantic code edits (rename symbols, replace implementations)
• Insert new code before or after existing symbols
• Explore project structure and file relationships
• Maintain code consistency when making changes

When to use me

Use me when you need to:

• Understand complex code: Before making changes to unfamiliar code
• Refactor code: Rename symbols, extract methods, or restructure code
• Implement new features: That interact with existing code
• Find code patterns: Search for specific implementations or usages
• Make multi-file changes: That require understanding relationships between components

Workflow

For Code Analysis

1. Call serena_initial_instructions first to understand my capabilities
2. Check if onboarding was performed with serena_check_onboarding_performed
3. Explore the codebase using:
   • serena_list_dir to understand project structure
   • serena_search_for_pattern to find specific code patterns
   • serena_find_symbol to locate specific classes, functions, or methods

For Making Changes

1. First, find the symbol you want to modify using serena_find_symbol
2. Then make the change using one of:
   • serena_replace_symbol_body - Replace a function/class implementation
   • serena_insert_before_symbol - Add code before a symbol
   • serena_insert_after_symbol - Add code after a symbol
   • serena_replace_content - Pattern-based content replacement

For Complex Refactoring

1. Research thoroughly using find/search tools
2. Think about collected information with serena_think_about_collected_information
3. Verify task adherence with serena_think_about_task_adherence
4. Confirm completion with serena_think_about_whether_you_are_done

Best Practices

• Always read the initial instructions first
• Use symbolic operations (find_symbol, replace_symbol_body) instead of regex when working with code entities
• Search before making changes to understand the full context
• Use the thinking tools to validate your approach before and after making changes
• Prefer editing existing files over creating new ones unless required