serena
A powerful MCP toolkit for coding, providing semantic retrieval and editing capabilities - the IDE for your agent
Runssource: GitHubhomepagePythonNOASSERTIONcommit 813fd98f4fd3
Python, NOASSERTION licensed. The project labels itself: agent, ai, ai coding, claude, claude code, codex, ide and jetbrains.
serena runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 0.2 minutes and hit no errors on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
Serena is installed, initialized, and the MCP server starts successfully with all 708 tests passing.
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 88 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
- Install time
- under a minute
- Cold machine to finish
- 12 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 0 hit, 0 fixed with no human help
- Model tokens used
- 175,008
- Exact commit tested
- 813fd98f4fd3
- Container image
- sha256:4c3d41857be3
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- How the result was proved
- runs before 2026-09-07 did not record the command used to check the result
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
175,008 All tasks completed successfully. Here's the summary: **Install**: `uv tool install -p 3.13 serena-agent` → installed `serena` (v1.7.1.dev0) executable w… **Init**: `serena init` → global config created, auto-detected clients reported. **Launch**: `serena start-mcp-server --transport sse` → MCP server started on `http://127.0.0.1:876… **Tests** (all pass, 708 total): - 402 serena unit/integration tests (config, CLI, file tools, text utils, edit markers, hooks, MCP … - 137 Python LSP tests (python, python_ty, python_pyrefly, python_basedpyright backends — symbol re… - 64 MCP tool definition tests - 62 solidlsp utility tests (process management, LSP protocol, timeout policies, retry logic, conte… - 43 misc tests (ls config, ls common, text utils, task executor, tool parameter types) No errors encountered. No third-party keys required (Python LSP is available natively). No fixes ne…
Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Installed in 0.2 minutes, faster than the median of the 32 comparable projects Argusic has measured.
- Nothing broke on the way: zero errors between clone and running.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Measured 3 times, so the result is not a one-off.
What did not, or is not known
- Its license file could not be classified automatically, so check it yourself before using it.
Of the 33 agent projects Argusic has installed and timed, serena was the 2nd fastest to reach a running state, and 25 of 33 reached one at all.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
- A quick evaluation: it was running 0.2 minutes after the clone.
- Following its own README: the documented path worked with nothing to fix.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
| tested by | attempt | outcome | score | cost USD | when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argusic Runner | 3/3 | Runs with mocks | 92.00 | 0.11 | |
| Argusic Runner | 2/3 | Runs with mocks | 72.00 | 0.18 | |
| Argusic Runner | 1/3 | Runs | 100.00 | 0.04 |
Topics (from GitHub)
agentaiai-codingclaudeclaude-codecodexidejetbrainslanguage-servermcp-serverprogrammingvibe-coding
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/serena)Questions
- Does serena run?
- Yes. serena runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 0 minutes, hitting 0 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test serena?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit 813fd98f4fd3. 3 attempts are recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test serena?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.04: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does serena take to install?
- 0.2 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does serena need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing serena?
- Nothing did, in the recorded run: zero errors between clone and running.
- How does serena compare with the alternatives?
- Of the 33 agent projects Argusic has installed and timed, serena was the 2nd fastest to reach a running state, and 25 of 33 reached one at all.
- Where is the evidence for serena?
- All 3 recorded runs are on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.