serena-integration

name	serena-integration
description	Instructions and best practices for using the Serena MCP server tools for symbolic code navigation, editing, and memory management.

Serena Integration Skill

This skill provides guidance on how to effectively use the Serena MCP server tools.

capabilities

Serena provides advanced capabilities for:

1. Symbolic Code Navigation: Understanding the codebase at a high level (modules, classes, functions) without reading entire files.
2. Symbolic Editing: Precisely modifying code structures (renaming, moving, inserting) based on symbols rather than line numbers.
3. Memory Management: Storing and retrieving project context to maintain continuity across sessions.
4. Project Management: Handling project-specific configurations and onboarding.

Best Practices

1. Code Navigation

• Prefer Symbolic Tools: Instead of reading raw files, use get_symbols_overview to see the structure of a file.
• Drill Down: specific symbols can be inspected with find_symbol.
• References: Use find_referencing_symbols to understand how code is used across the project.
• Search: Use search_for_pattern for flexible regex-based searches when you don't know the exact symbol name.

2. Editing

• Symbolic Edits: Use replace_symbol_body, insert_after_symbol, or insert_before_symbol for clean, structure-aware edits.
• Refactoring: Use rename_symbol to safely rename identifiers across the project.
• Regex Replacements: For changes inside a function or minor tweaks, replace_content with regex is powerful.

3. Memory & Context

• Onboarding: When starting a new project, always check if onboarding is needed (check_onboarding_performed).
• Read Memories: Use list_memories and read_memory to get up to speed on project conventions and architecture.
• Write Memories: If you discover important architectural details or make significant changes, document them using write_memory.

Tool Reference

Navigation & Discovery

• find_symbol: Locate classes, functions, methods.
• get_symbols_overview: Summary of a file's symbols.
• search_for_pattern: Regex search in files.
• list_dir: List files and directories.
• find_referencing_symbols: Find usages of a symbol.

Editing

• replace_symbol_body: Replace implementation of a function/class.
• rename_symbol: Rename a symbol globally.
• insert_after_symbol / insert_before_symbol: Add code relative to existing symbols.
• replace_content: Regex-based find and replace in files.

Memory & Project

• check_onboarding_performed: Check if project has been initialized in Serena.
• onboarding: Run initial project setup/scanning.
• read_memory / write_memory: Access persistent knowledge.
• get_current_config: Check active project, modes, and tools.