Symbiote

Symbiote — Claude Code Plugin

AI coding companion with persistent memory. Gives Claude Code a code knowledge graph, developer DNA (learned coding preferences), and architectural intelligence.

What It Does

• Code Knowledge Graph — Tree-sitter parsing + DuckDB graph of every symbol, dependency, and call chain
• Developer DNA — Learns your coding preferences and enforces them across sessions
• Impact Analysis — Traces the blast radius of any change through the dependency graph
• Architecture Guardian — Detects circular dependencies, coupling hotspots, layer violations
• Persistent Memory — Context survives session restarts, compaction, and subagent spawning

Installation

/plugin marketplace add MohmmedAshraf/synapse
/plugin install symbiote@symbiote-plugins

No other setup required. The plugin auto-installs symbiote-cli from npm on first use via npx -y. The MCP server, hooks, and CLI are all bootstrapped automatically.

Getting Started

1. Install the plugin (see above)
2. Run /reload-plugins to activate
3. Run /symbiote-init to scan your project and extract your coding DNA

The plugin will scan your codebase, learn your coding preferences, and start injecting context into every interaction.

Components

MCP Server (20 tools + 3 resources)

Registered automatically via .mcp.json. Provides code graph queries, impact analysis, semantic search, DNA management, and architectural intelligence. Uses npx -y symbiote-cli mcp — auto-downloads and caches the CLI on first run.

Skills

Skill	Trigger	Purpose
/symbiote-init	"initialize symbiote", "scan my project"	First-time project setup — scan, extract DNA, write overview
/symbiote-scan	"rescan project", "rebuild index"	Update knowledge graph after changes
/symbiote-impact	"analyze impact", "what will break"	Trace blast radius before making changes
/symbiote-dna	"show preferences", "manage DNA"	View/manage coding style preferences

Agents

Agent	Triggers On	Purpose
code-reviewer	"review my changes", "review this PR"	Graph-aware code review with DNA + constraint checking
architecture-guardian	"check architecture", "find layer violations"	Structural health analysis
refactoring-advisor	"plan refactoring", "rename across codebase"	Safe refactoring with dependency tracing

Hooks (9 lifecycle events)

All Claude Code lifecycle events are wired to Symbiote's intelligence engine. Hooks gracefully degrade — if the project hasn't been scanned yet or the server isn't running, they silently exit without blocking Claude Code.

• SessionStart — Auto-starts the server, loads project context, DNA, constraints, health alerts
• PreToolUse — Injects file dependency context before reads/edits
• PostToolUse — Reindexes modified files, tracks symbol changes
• UserPromptSubmit — Adds relevant code context via semantic search
• SubagentStart — Injects top DNA rules and constraints into subagents
• PreCompact — Preserves critical context before compaction
• Stop — Runs lightweight analysis tracking
• SessionEnd — Finalizes session snapshot

How It Works

1. Plugin install — registers MCP server + hooks + skills + agents with Claude Code
2. First session — SessionStart hook auto-installs symbiote-cli if needed
3. /symbiote-init — scans codebase, builds knowledge graph, extracts coding DNA
4. Every session after — hooks inject context (dependencies, DNA, constraints) into every tool call
5. On-demand — use skills for rescan, impact analysis, DNA management; agents for review and refactoring

Architecture

plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json              # Plugin manifest
├── .mcp.json                    # MCP server (npx -y symbiote-cli mcp)
├── hooks/
│   ├── hooks.json               # 9 lifecycle hooks
│   └── scripts/
│       ├── session-start.sh     # Auto-installs CLI, bootstraps server
│       └── symbiote-hook.sh     # Forwards events to server (graceful degradation)
├── skills/
│   ├── symbiote-init/           # Project initialization
│   ├── symbiote-scan/           # Codebase rescan
│   ├── symbiote-impact/         # Impact analysis
│   └── symbiote-dna/            # DNA management
└── agents/
    ├── code-reviewer.md         # Graph-aware code review
    ├── architecture-guardian.md  # Structural health
    └── refactoring-advisor.md   # Safe refactoring

License

MIT