embark-claude-index

embark-claude-index

Fast code search for Unreal Engine projects in Claude Code.

What it does

• 11 MCP tools for searching types, members, files, assets, and code
• Indexes AngelScript, C++, Blueprints, and config files
• Sub-20ms queries across 100K+ types and 600K+ members
• Full-text code search via Zoekt (optional)
• Offline asset search across 400K+ content assets

Quick Install

1. Add the marketplace and install

In Claude Code, run:

/plugin marketplace add EmbarkStudios/UnrealClaudeFileHelper
/plugin install embark-claude-index@embark-claude-index

Or use the interactive plugin manager:

/plugin

2. Restart Claude Code

Restart to load the plugin and MCP tools.

3. Run setup

After restart, run the setup skill:

/embark-claude-index:setup

This will guide you through:

• Installing dependencies
• Detecting your .uproject file and project structure
• Configuring workspaces and project paths
• Building and starting Docker containers
• Starting the file watcher

Alternatively, run npm run setup to open the web-based setup GUI at http://localhost:3846.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20.18+ (22+ recommended) — for the watcher and MCP bridge
• Docker Desktop with WSL2 backend — the indexing service runs in Docker containers

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐     POST /internal/ingest     ┌──────────────────┐
│  File Watcher    │ ──────────────────────────── │  Indexing Service │
│  (Windows)       │                               │  (Docker)        │
│  chokidar watch  │                               │  Express + SQLite │
└─────────────────┘                               │  In-memory index  │
                                                   │  Zoekt            │
                                                   └────────┬─────────┘
                                                            │ HTTP API
                                                   ┌────────┴─────────┐
                                                   │   MCP Bridge     │
                                                   │  (stdio ↔ HTTP)  │
                                                   └──────────────────┘
                                                            │
                                                   Claude Code reads
                                                   tools via MCP

Each workspace runs as its own Docker container with a dedicated port, SQLite database, and Zoekt index.

• Setup GUI (http://localhost:3846): Web UI for managing workspaces, configuring projects, and monitoring service health.
• File Watcher (src/watcher/watcher-client.js): Watches project directories for file changes, parses source files, and sends them to the service via HTTP. Use --workspace <name> to target a specific workspace.
• Indexing Service (src/service/index.js): Runs inside Docker. Stores data in SQLite, loads everything into memory for fast queries. Integrates with Zoekt for full-text search.
• MCP Bridge (src/bridge/mcp-bridge.js): Translates MCP tool calls from Claude Code into HTTP API calls, routing to the correct workspace container.

MCP Tools

Tool	Description
unreal_find_type	Find classes, structs, enums, delegates by name
unreal_find_children	Find all classes inheriting from a parent
unreal_find_member	Find functions, properties, enum values by name
unreal_explain_type	Get comprehensive type info (definition + members + children)
unreal_find_file	Find source files by filename
unreal_find_asset	Search 400K+ Unreal assets by name
unreal_browse_module	List types and files in a module/directory
unreal_list_modules	Discover code organization and module tree
unreal_grep	Full-text search across indexed source code
unreal_refresh_index	Rebuild the index on demand
unreal_batch	Execute multiple queries in a single call

Configuration

Configuration is managed through the setup GUI (npm run setup or http://localhost:3846):

• workspaces.json — Defines workspaces (name, port, shared settings). See workspaces.example.json.
• workspace-configs/<name>.json — Per-workspace config with project paths and service settings.
• docker-compose.yml — Generated from workspaces.json, one service per workspace.

All three files are gitignored since they contain local paths. Run npm run setup to generate them.

Supported project languages: angelscript, cpp, content (assets), config (ini files).

Troubleshooting

Tools say "Unreal Index Service is not running"

• Start containers: docker compose up -d
• Check health: curl http://127.0.0.1:3847/health
• View logs: docker compose logs -f <workspace-name>