Understand code without reading it.

Why agents (and people) like it

Every answer comes from the syntax tree, so it is exact, compact and cheap to read.

When to use it — and when not

callgraph and plain text search do different jobs. Use each for what it is best at.

When not to use it

• You need the exact text of a known line range: use --lines or a targeted read.
• Non-code files (plain text, data dumps): the outline adds little.
• Macro- or reflection-heavy code: dynamic calls that can't be resolved statically are shown as name-only matches (?) with --guess, or not at all.

Supported languages

One shared output format for every language.

Install

The package contains the Claude Code skill and the binary for your platform. Only bash is required.

p="$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')-$(uname -m)" && t="$(mktemp -d)" \
  && curl -fsSL -o "$t/cg.zip" "https://github.com/GeRiY/callgraph/releases/latest/download/callgraph-$p.zip" \
  && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip -qo "$t/cg.zip" -d ~/.claude/skills \
  && bash ~/.claude/skills/callgraph/install.sh && rm -rf "$t"

bash ~/.claude/skills/callgraph/install.sh

Then register your project once and restart Claude Code:

bash ~/.claude/skills/callgraph/projects.sh add shop /absolute/path/to/shop

All downloads (macOS Apple Silicon & Intel, Linux x86_64 & ARM64, Windows): latest release.

Usage

Your agent uses the skill automatically. The same commands work from any terminal.

Update and language

callgraph.sh update --check     # is there a newer release?
callgraph.sh update             # download and install it (settings are kept)
callgraph.sh set-lang hu        # Hungarian output (back: set-lang en)

Use it from any MCP client

callgraph is also an MCP server: callgraph mcp. Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code or any other MCP client calls the same queries as typed tools, with the same compact output.

Pick your system — the commands use the binary from the installed skill package. With --auto-update (recommended) the server checks once a day at start-up, installs a new release (checksum-verified) and restarts itself; without it, it only tells the agent that an update is available. Turn the check off with CALLGRAPH_UPDATE_CHECK=0.

claude mcp add -s user callgraph -- \
  ~/.claude/skills/callgraph/bin/$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')-$(uname -m)/callgraph mcp --auto-update

echo ~/.claude/skills/callgraph/bin/$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')-$(uname -m)/callgraph

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "callgraph": {
      "command": "/Users/you/.claude/skills/callgraph/bin/darwin-arm64/callgraph",
      "args": ["mcp", "--auto-update"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "callgraph": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "/Users/you/.claude/skills/callgraph/bin/darwin-arm64/callgraph",
      "args": ["mcp", "--auto-update"],
      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}"
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add -s user callgraph -- "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\callgraph\bin\windows-x86_64\callgraph.exe" mcp --auto-update

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "callgraph": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\you\\.claude\\skills\\callgraph\\bin\\windows-x86_64\\callgraph.exe",
      "args": ["mcp", "--auto-update"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "callgraph": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:\\Users\\you\\.claude\\skills\\callgraph\\bin\\windows-x86_64\\callgraph.exe",
      "args": ["mcp", "--auto-update"],
      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}"
    }
  }
}

Step-by-step setup per client, the ten tools and troubleshooting: MCP server setup.

The skill and the MCP server work side by side. Clients that don't start in the project folder (e.g. Claude Desktop) use a registered project alias: projects.sh add shop /path/to/shop.

Where to next

Guides for each language and feature.

Bugs and feedback

Found something wrong or have an idea? We read every report. Please check existing issues first.

What to include in a bug report

• the version: callgraph --version
• the exact command you ran and its output
• if the output has an [error-id: …] line: the output of bash ~/.claude/skills/callgraph/feedback.sh show <error-id> — the error message itself links to the bug form
• a small, non-confidential code snippet that reproduces it, and your OS

FAQ