trueline-mcp

trueline-mcp

An MCP plugin that gives AI coding agents hash-verified file editing and targeted reads. Works with Claude Code, Gemini CLI, VS Code Copilot, OpenCode, and Codex CLI.

Installation

Claude Code (recommended; hooks are automatic):

/plugin marketplace add rjkaes/trueline-mcp
/plugin install trueline-mcp@trueline-mcp

Other platforms (Gemini CLI, VS Code Copilot, OpenCode, Codex CLI): See INSTALL.md for platform-specific setup.

CLI (no MCP): For agents that use shell commands instead of MCP, install globally with npm i -g trueline-mcp and add configs/cli/instructions.md to your agent's system prompt. See INSTALL.md.

Why

AI coding agents read entire files to find one function, then echo back everything they're replacing. Both waste context on content the agent already knows or doesn't need. That context costs money, eats into the conversation window, and limits how much real work fits in a session.

Worse, the built-in edit tools match by string content. If the agent hallucinates a line, works from stale context, or hits an ambiguous match, your code gets silently corrupted.

trueline fixes both problems: it reads less, writes less, and rejects every edit that doesn't match the file's actual content.

How it works

trueline provides six MCP tools organized around three workflows.

Explore: understand before you read

trueline_outline returns an AST-based structural outline of any file: functions, classes, declarations, and their line ranges. For a typical source file, that's 10-20 lines instead of hundreds.

1-10: (10 imports)
12-12: const VERSION = pkg.version;
14-17: const server = new McpServer({
25-45: async function resolveAllowedDirs(): Promise<string[]> {
49-69: server.registerTool(
71-92: server.registerTool(

(12 symbols, 139 source lines)

The agent sees the full structure, then uses trueline_read to fetch only the ranges it needs. Ranges are specified inline on each path:

file_paths: ["src/server.ts:25-45", "src/utils.ts:1-10,80-90"]

A 500-line file where the agent needs one 20-line function? It reads 20 lines, not 500. Multiple files with different ranges in a single call.

trueline_search finds lines by literal string or regex and returns them with edit-ready refs, no outline or read step needed. For targeted edits where the agent knows what it's looking for, this is the fastest path.

Edit: compact and verified

The built-in edit tool requires the agent to echo back the old text being replaced. trueline_edit replaces that with a compact line-range reference and a content hash. The agent outputs only the new content.

The savings scale with the size of the replaced block. A one-line change saves little; replacing 30 lines of old code saves the agent from outputting all 30 of those lines again.

Multiple edits can be batched in a single call and applied atomically.

Review: semantic diffs

trueline_changes provides an AST-based summary of structural changes compared to a git ref. Instead of raw line diffs, it reports added/removed/renamed symbols, signature changes, and logic modifications with inline mini-diffs. Pass ["*"] to diff all changed files at once.

Hash verification: no silent corruption

Every line from trueline_read and trueline_search carries a content hash. Every edit must present those hashes back, proving the agent is editing what it thinks it's editing.

If the file changed since the agent read it (concurrent edits, a build step, another tool), the edit is rejected. If the agent hallucinates content that doesn't match what's on disk, the edit is rejected. If the agent targets the wrong lines, the edit is rejected. Nothing hits disk unless the hashes match.

trueline_verify checks whether held refs are still valid without re-reading the file. When nothing changed (the common case), the response is a single line.

How agents actually use it

trueline doesn't just register tools and hope the agent picks them up. On platforms that support hooks, it actively intercepts the agent's workflow:

• SessionStart injects instructions telling the agent how and when to use each trueline tool, calibrated per platform.
• PreToolUse intercepts calls to the built-in read and edit tools, redirecting reads of files over 3 KB to trueline and blocking unverified edits entirely.
• Shipped skill (skills/trueline-workflow/SKILL.md) auto-discovers on any file-editing prompt, carrying richer examples and workflow guidance for clients that honor Claude Code skills.

With hooks, agent compliance is ~98%. Without hooks (instruction-only platforms like OpenCode and Codex CLI), compliance is ~60%. The instruction file still helps; hooks make it reliable.

The instructions are not one-size-fits-all. They reference each platform's native tool names (Read/Edit on Claude Code, read_file/edit_file on Gemini CLI, view/edit on OpenCode) and adapt advice accordingly.

Where it helps most

trueline's overhead is an MCP round-trip per tool call. For small files (under ~3 KB), the built-in tools are perfectly fine and pass through without interception.

The payoff comes on larger files and multi-file editing sessions, where targeted reads and compact edits avoid sending hundreds or thousands of redundant lines through the context window.

In a typical 20-turn session exploring 8 files and editing 3, trueline saves roughly 11,000 tokens of mid-session context plus 623 tokens per turn from leaner instructions, for an estimated $1.58 per session in reduced API cost.

Design

See DESIGN.md for the protocol specification, hash algorithm details, streaming architecture, and security model.

Development

Requires Bun ≥ 1.3.

bun install          # install dependencies
bun test             # run tests
bun run build        # build binary for the current platform

Inspiration

Inspired by The Harness Problem by Can Boluk and the vscode-hashline-edit-tool by Seth Livingston.

Special Thanks