Static code map generator: MAP.md + map.json for any repo, plus a Claude Code /map plugin
Ever watched your coding agent grep blind through a repo, open three files it didn't need, and burn fifteen thousand tokens just to answer "who calls this function"? That's the problem dekko exists to fix.
dekko is a fast, offline, dependency-free static code map generator and codebase indexer for LLM coding agents. It scans a repository with tree-sitter (no model tokens spent parsing) and writes:
MAP.md — a human-readable map: a per-directory overview, an
embedded architecture diagram, load-bearing/orchestrator rankings,
then every file's functions/methods with signatures, doc lines, and
who calls and is called by whom.map.json — the same graph in machine-readable form.On top of the map, dekko gives an agent a token-cheap way to answer
questions like "what does this file contain," "who calls this function,"
and "what do I need to safely change this" — without reading whole files.
It ships as a CLI, a Claude Code /map plugin + MCP server
(Model Context Protocol), and
works with Cline too.
The result: 3x-200x fewer tokens than a plain Read/Grep workflow for the same task, measured across 7 real, unmodified open-source repos. The full breakdown is right below.
Most agent workflows gather context by reading whole files or grepping
across a repo — expensive, and it throws away structure (who calls
what, what a function's fan-in/fan-out looks like). dekko instead
parses the repo once into a call graph and answers targeted questions
against it. Measured across 7 real, unmodified open-source repos
(Go, TypeScript, Java, Rust, Python/C++ — up to 14k files), dekko's
structured queries used 3x–200x fewer tokens than the equivalent
Read/Grep workflow for the same task (repo orientation, outlining a
large file, tracing a symbol's callers/callees).
| Task | Example repo (scale) | dekko | Read/Grep | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Repo orientation (summary) | awesome-go (10 files) | 308 tok | ~15,271 tok | ~50x |
Repo orientation (summary) | cline (2,730 files) | 1,202 tok | ~4,020 tok | ~3.3x |
| Outline a large file | claude-code main.tsx (4,683 lines) | 1,017 tok | 200,981 tok | ~197x |
| Outline a large file | zed editor.rs (12,554 lines) | 1,996 tok | 115,109 tok | ~58x |
Symbol lookup (query_symbol + callers/callees) | tensorflow Graph class | ~811 tok | 61,656 tok | ~76x |
Symbol lookup (query_symbol + callers/callees) | spring-boot prepareContext | 759 tok | ~18,460 tok | ~24x |
Bundled context (workset) | zed | 2,984 tok | ~5,903+ tok (targeted) / ~164,571 tok (whole file) | ~2x / ~55x |
Bundled context (workset) | awesome-go | 617 tok | ~6,136 tok | ~10x |
dekko's cost stays roughly flat per query while Read/Grep scales
with file/repo size, so the ratio grows with scale. It's fast in wall-clock
terms too: mapping dekko's own ~3,500-symbol codebase from a cold
cache takes about 1.8 seconds; queries against the resulting map
return instantly. The win isn't
universal — small,
self-contained files and already-grep-friendly local symbols see
little to no benefit, and a few cases in the raw data are void because
the cheap answer was also an incomplete one. See
benchmarks/real-world-repos/
for the full per-task breakdown, methodology, and correctness caveats.
Compared to tag-index tools like ctags/gtags, dekko resolves actual
call edges (not just definitions), ranks files by load-bearing-ness,
and speaks directly to agents over MCP or the CLI — no editor plugin
required.
uv tool install dekko # or: pip install dekko / pipx install dekko
dekko --claude-install # add the /map command + MCP server to Claude Code, then restart
Extras (dekko[all] for ~55 more languages, dekko[search] for
embedding search), installing from a local clone, and uninstalling are
in docs/install.md.
cd my-project
dekko map # writes .dekko/MAP.md + .dekko/map.json
dekko summary # ~40-line digest: dirs, hotspots, entry points
.dekko/ is git-ignored by default; the map regenerates on demand, so
you rarely need to run dekko map again by hand. If your repo has
languages outside the default Tier-1 set (Python, C, C++, JS/TS, Go,
Java, Rust), dekko map will say so per file; install dekko[all] for
~55 more languages (see Install) and re-run.
/map plugin, push
hooks, Claude Code skills, the MCP server, and ClineSource-derived launch command. Check the maintainer’s required arguments and credentials before running:
uvx dekkoMerge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.
{
"mcpServers": {
"io-github-aahlijia-dekko": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"dekko"
]
}
}
}Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.
Claude Desktop setup referencedekkopypiio.github.aahlijia/dekko works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect.~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect..vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect.~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect..mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.