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context-engine

Community Preview

Install Context Engine

Choose your platform, run one command, and connect your coding agent to the live semantics of your codebase.

Local by designThe binary runs on your machine. Your source code is never uploaded.
01

Install

Choose your platform

Terminal

macOS and Linux

Downloads the latest stable release and installs it in a user-owned path.

macOS and Linux installation command
curl -fsSL https://context-engine.app/install.sh | sh
Review install.sh
PowerShell

Windows

Downloads the latest stable release and installs it for the current user.

Windows PowerShell installation command
irm https://context-engine.app/install.ps1 | iex
Review install.ps1

Prefer a package manager?

Install and update Context Engine through Homebrew or Scoop.

Homebrew · macOS and Linux

Install Context Engine from the organization-owned tap.

Homebrew installation command
brew install context-engine-app/tap/context-engine
Scoop · Windows

Add the organization-owned bucket and install Context Engine.

Scoop installation commands
scoop bucket add context-engine https://github.com/context-engine-app/scoop-bucket
scoop install context-engine/context-engine
02

Activate

Add your free API key

Get your Community Preview key

Create a free key, then expose it to Context Engine in your shell. Keep it private and never commit it to a workspace.

Get free API key
macOS and Linux
macOS and Linux API key command
export CONTEXT_ENGINE_API_KEY="<your key>"
Windows PowerShell
Windows PowerShell API key command
$env:CONTEXT_ENGINE_API_KEY = "<your key>"
03

Verify

Check the installation

Confirm the binary and license

Run the license check from a new terminal after setting your API key.

license verification command
context-engine license-check
04

Guide your agent

Make semantic navigation the default

Add this to your repository instructions

After connecting Context Engine, copy this into AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md, or the equivalent file your coding agent reads. Its built-in tools remain available.

recommended Context Engine agent instructions
## Context Engine

Use Context Engine as the primary way to understand and navigate the codebase. Prefer it over broad text search or reading entire files.

Choose the tool based on what you know:

- Exact file and line: use `line_context`.
- Visible call, method, type, or constructor: use `jump`.
- Full or partial symbol name without a location: use `grep_definition` (add a glob for partial names).
- Known file: use `outline`. If the outline is insufficient, use `extract` only on the required handles.
- References, callers, or change impact: use `show_usage`.
- Type, signature, parameter names, or documentation at a known location: use `hover`.
- Exact line range when no semantic tool fits: use `smart_read`.

Batch related requests when a tool accepts multiple files, symbols, handles, or locations. This reduces tool calls and saves tokens.

Use narrow text search only for arbitrary text such as strings, comments, configuration values, or expressions. Inspect relevant search hits with `line_context` before tracing further.

Use `type_annotated` output by default. Use `plain_text` or `both` only when editing requires exact source text.

Never guess dependency APIs. Resolve visible dependency symbols with `jump`.

If Context Engine returns the answer, do not repeat the same investigation with built-in tools.

Next step

Connect your coding client

Follow the Quickstart for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and Antigravity configuration snippets.
Open the quickstart