yvgude--lean-ctx/docs/guides

lean-ctx Integration Guides

Step-by-step guides for setting up lean-ctx with your AI coding agent.

Quick Start

All agents follow the same pattern:

# 1. Install lean-ctx
curl -fsSL https://leanctx.com/install.sh | sh

# 2. Connect your AI tools (auto-detects everything installed)
lean-ctx onboard

# 3. Verify
lean-ctx doctor

lean-ctx onboard detects and configures every AI tool on your machine with sensible defaults. Prefer step-by-step control, or only want one specific agent? Use the guided wizard or the per-agent command instead:

lean-ctx setup                  # guided wizard, full control
lean-ctx init --agent cursor    # configure a single agent

Agent Comparison

Agent	Integration	Shell Hook	Rules File	Config Format	Setup Command
Claude Code	Hybrid	✅	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md block + skill	~/.claude.json	lean-ctx init --agent claude
Cursor	Hybrid	✅	~/.cursor/rules/lean-ctx.mdc	Cursor Settings UI	lean-ctx init --agent cursor
Aider	MCP-only	❌	Dedicated .md	.aider.conf.yml	lean-ctx init --agent aider
Windsurf	Hybrid	✅	~/.codeium/windsurf/rules/lean-ctx.md	MCP JSON	lean-ctx init --agent windsurf
Gemini CLI	Hybrid	✅	~/.gemini/GEMINI.md (shared)	~/.gemini/settings.json	lean-ctx init --agent gemini
OpenCode	Hybrid	✅	~/.config/opencode/AGENTS.md (shared)	opencode.json	lean-ctx init --agent opencode
Codex CLI	Hybrid	✅	~/.codex/instructions.md (shared)	~/.codex/config.toml	lean-ctx init --agent codex
Pi Coding Agent	Hybrid	✅	AGENTS.md	Pi Package	lean-ctx init --agent pi

Integration Modes

Hybrid Mode (recommended)

Available for agents with shell access. Combines:

• MCP tools for file reads and search (cached, compressed)
• Shell hooks for command output compression (git, npm, cargo, docker, etc.)

MCP-Only Mode

For agents without direct shell access. All 80 tools available via MCP protocol.

What lean-ctx Sets Up

Running lean-ctx init --agent <name> or lean-ctx setup configures:

1. MCP server registration — adds lean-ctx to the agent's MCP config
2. Agent rules — injects lean-ctx usage instructions into the agent's rules file
3. Shell hooks — installs command compression (hybrid mode agents only)
4. SKILL.md — installs the lean-ctx skill file (supported agents only)

Common Tools Reference

Every agent gets access to the same 81 MCP tools. The most important ones:

Tool	Purpose	When to Use
ctx_read(path, mode)	Read files with 10 compression modes	Always — replaces native file reads
ctx_search(pattern, path)	Token-efficient code search	Finding code patterns
ctx_shell(command)	Compressed shell output	Running commands via MCP
ctx_overview(task)	Fast project orientation	Session start
ctx_semantic_search(query)	Meaning-based code search	Understanding code by concept
ctx_knowledge(action, ...)	Persistent knowledge graph	Remembering decisions/findings
ctx_session(action, ...)	Session state management	Task tracking across chats
ctx_compress	Memory checkpoint	When context grows large
ctx_graph(action)	Code relationship graph	Impact analysis
ctx_refactor(action, ...)	LSP-powered refactoring	Rename, references, go-to-definition

Read Modes

All agents use the same mode selection strategy:

Mode	Use When	Token Savings
full	You will edit the file	Baseline (cached)
map	Context only — deps + exports + key signatures	60-80%
signatures	API surface only	70-90%
diff	Re-reading after edits	80-95%
aggressive	Large files, context only	80-95%
entropy	Shannon + Jaccard filtering	70-90%
task	Task-relevant filtering	60-80%
lines:N-M	Specific line range	Varies
reference	Quote-friendly excerpts	70-85%
auto	Unsure — system selects optimal	Varies

Troubleshooting

See the troubleshooting section in each individual guide. Common issues:

# Verify installation
lean-ctx doctor

# Check MCP server status
lean-ctx status

# See real-time token savings
lean-ctx gain --live

# Disable temporarily
lean-ctx-off

# Re-run setup
lean-ctx setup

More Resources

• Context Infrastructure — the big picture
• Doc Corpora — notes, wikis and PDFs as sources
• Extending lean-ctx — which mechanism to use
• Addons — Community Extensions
• Embed lean-ctx (Rust SDK)
• Monorepo Guide
• Custom Embedding Models
• Dense Backends (local / Qdrant)
• Context Policy Packs
• Org Single Sign-On (OIDC) Setup
• Getting Started
• Tools Reference
• CLI Reference
• Discord Community