cd /news/developer-tools/i-built-an-mcp-server-that-reviews-c… · home topics developer-tools article
[ARTICLE · art-98136] src=dev.to ↗ pub= topic=developer-tools verified=true sentiment=↑ positive

I Built an MCP Server That Reviews Code Locally — No SaaS, No Uploads

A developer has built MCP Code Review Server, an open-source Model Context Protocol server that runs code reviews locally on a developer's machine without uploading code to the cloud. The server integrates with AI coding assistants like Claude Code, Cursor, and Cline, offering tools to review code snippets, diffs, and files, with severity ratings and fix suggestions. The project is available on PyPI and supports installation via uvx or pip.

read2 min views1 publishedAug 15, 2026

AI coding assistants ship code fast. But someone still has to review it. I wanted that "senior engineer second pair of eyes" to live inside my editor, run entirely on my machine, and work with whatever assistant I'm using today. So I built MCP Code Review Server — a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects to Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, or any MCP client.

It exposes three tools to your AI assistant:

review_code

— paste any snippet and get a structured reviewreview_diff

— review a git diff before you mergereview_file

— point it at a local fileEach review returns findings with severity ratings (Critical / High / Medium / Low), file locations, and concrete fix suggestions.

The checks are the ones I kept catching my own assistants missing:

No signup, no API keys. It's on PyPI:

claude mcp add code-review -- uvx aicraft-code-review

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "code-review": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["aicraft-code-review"]
    }
  }
}

pip install aicraft-code-review

That's it. Your assistant now has a review tool it can call whenever you ask.

I tried the hosted code-review tools first. They're good, but three things kept bothering me:

The server runs over stdio as a local process. Your code never leaves your machine. The only cost is the electricity.

A few things I'd do the same way again:

uvx

means users never even install it.review_diff

slots right into the "review before commit" habit that agents already have.Getting a server working is the easy part. Getting it found is the real work:

That's why I've been submitting the server to every directory with a review process, and keeping the repo metadata (glama.json

, .mcp.json

, smithery.yaml

, a Dockerfile

) in shape for their automated checks.

If you try it and hit a case it misses, open an issue — the rules are all configurable, and new checks are the fastest way this thing gets better.

What would you want an in-editor code reviewer to catch that yours currently misses?

── more in #developer-tools 4 stories · sorted by recency
── more on @mcp code review server 3 stories trending now
sponsored brought to you by zahid.host 4,200+ EU-deployed projects
reading about agents? ship yours in a single git push.

Run your AI side-project on zahid.host

EU-based hosting, git-push deploys, automatic HTTPS, no cold starts. Free tier with a custom domain — perfect for shipping the agent you just read about.

$git push zahid main
Live at https://your-agent.zahid.host
Get free account → Pricing
from €0/mo · no card required
LIVE [news/i-built-an-mcp-serve…] indexed:0 read:2min 2026-08-15 ·