Setup with agent

Better Code Review Graph – Agent Setup Guide

Give this file to your AI agent to automatically set up better-code-review-graph.

2026-05-02 Update: Plugin install (Option 1) now uses pure stdio mode. API keys are optional env vars. The previous “Zero-Config Relay” auto-spawn pattern has been removed. If you relied on the relay form to enter API keys, please:

1. Set the env var directly in plugin config (Option 1), OR
2. Use HTTP self-host mode (advanced; out of scope of this guide).

Method overview

This plugin supports 1 install method only: stdio via plugin install (uvx/npx). Reason: the plugin needs direct host access to your project files (Godot project / repo path) and doesn’t ship Docker or HTTP variants.

For comparison, the other 6 plugins in this stack (better-notion-mcp, better-email-mcp, better-telegram-mcp, wet-mcp, mnemo-mcp, imagine-mcp) support 3 methods:

1. Default – Plugin install (uvx/npx) stdio
2. Fallback – Docker stdio (Windows/macOS PATH issues)
3. Recommended – Docker HTTP (multi-device, OAuth/relay form, claude.ai web)

⚠️ Mutually exclusive — pick ONE per plugin (applies to those 6 plugins, not crg): For the 6 plugins above that offer Method 2 (Docker stdio) or Method 3 (HTTP), do NOT stack /plugin install AND a user mcpServers override — both would load simultaneously and create duplicate entries (plugin’s npx/uvx stdio + your override). Plugin matching is by endpoint (URL or command string) per CC docs, not by name — and npx/uvx ≠ docker ≠ HTTP URL, so all three are distinct endpoints. Choosing Method 2 or Method 3 means losing the plugin’s skills/agents/hooks/commands. better-code-review-graph only offers Method 1, so this note is informational only — there is no Docker stdio or HTTP variant to conflict with the plugin install here.

Option 1: Claude Code Plugin (Recommended)

Plugin marketplace install runs the server in pure stdio mode with optional API key env vars. No daemon-bridge, no auto-spawn, no relay form. Graph storage is local SQLite – no external graph database required.

Credential prompts at install

When you run /plugin install, Claude Code prompts you for the following credentials (declared in userConfig per CC docs). Sensitive values are stored in your system keychain and persist across /plugin update:

Field	Required	Where to obtain
JINA_AI_API_KEY	Optional	https://jina.ai/api-key
GEMINI_API_KEY	Optional	https://aistudio.google.com/apikey
OPENAI_API_KEY	Optional	https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
COHERE_API_KEY	Optional	https://dashboard.cohere.com/api-keys

Steps

# Install from marketplace (includes skills: /refactor-check, /review-delta, /review-pr + hooks)
/plugin marketplace add n24q02m/claude-plugins
/plugin install better-code-review-graph@n24q02m-plugins

The plugin includes SessionStart and PostToolUse hooks that auto-build and auto-update the code graph.

Other optional env vars (GEMINI_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, COHERE_API_KEY, EMBEDDING_BACKEND, etc.) are not part of the userConfig prompt; add them manually to mcpServers.better-code-review-graph.env in your settings if needed.

Environment Variables

All environment variables are optional. The server works with local ONNX embeddings with zero configuration.

API Keys (Cloud Embedding Providers)

Variable	Required	Default	Description
JINA_AI_API_KEY	No	–	Jina AI key: embedding + reranking (highest priority)
GEMINI_API_KEY	No	–	Google Gemini key: embedding (free tier available). Also accepts GOOGLE_API_KEY
GOOGLE_VERTEX_EXPRESS_API_KEY	No	–	Vertex AI Express: Gemini via API key, no Service Account. Get it at https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/generative-ai/docs/start/express-mode/overview
OPENAI_API_KEY	No	–	OpenAI key: embedding
COHERE_API_KEY	No	–	Cohere key: embedding + reranking. Also accepts CO_API_KEY

Embedding Configuration

Variable	Required	Default	Description
EMBEDDING_BACKEND	No	auto-detect	cloud or local. Auto: API keys present -> cloud, else local
EMBEDDING_MODEL	No	auto-detect	Cloud embedding model name. Provider auto-detected from model prefix

HTTP Mode (Self-Host)

Variable	Required	Default	Description
TRANSPORT_MODE	No	stdio	Set to http to enable HTTP transport (multi-user).
PUBLIC_URL	Yes (http)	–	Server’s public URL for relay form.
MCP_DCR_SERVER_SECRET	Yes (http)	–	HMAC secret for stateless Dynamic Client Registration.
MCP_PORT	No	8080	Server port (http mode only).

General

Variable	Required	Default	Description
LOG_LEVEL	No	INFO	Logging level

Authentication

Stdio Mode (Env Vars)

Set API keys directly via env vars (or leave unset for local ONNX). No relay form, no browser flow.

Verification

After setup, verify the server is working by building the graph:

graph(action="build", repo_path="/path/to/your/repo")

Expected: returns a JSON summary with node counts, edge counts, and supported languages found.

Then try a search:

query(action="search", query="main function", repo_path="/path/to/your/repo")