Maven Code Search

Overview

Use the maven-decoder MCP server before guessing about third-party Java dependencies. It can search the user's installed Maven repository, inspect jars, prefer source jars when available, and decompile bytecode when source is missing.

This MCP only sees artifacts already present in the local Maven cache. If the needed artifact is missing, ask the user to build the project or run a dependency resolution command such as mvn dependency:go-offline, then retry the MCP search.

Quick Workflow

1. Identify the target coordinates when possible: group_id, artifact_id, and version. Read pom.xml, build.gradle, lockfiles, or existing imports if the user did not provide them.
2. Use MCP search tools to confirm what is installed before inspecting code.
3. Prefer narrow queries: a class name, package pattern, artifact coordinates, or method pattern.
4. Use pagination for broad searches and ask for the next page only when the current page is not enough.
5. Report findings with exact coordinates, class names, method names, and whether the result came from sources or decompiled bytecode.

Tool Selection

Use list_artifacts to discover installed artifacts or filter by partial group_id, artifact_id, or version.