AI Tool Atlas

CodingDocumented overviewLast checked Sep 29, 2026

Tenets: Pricing, Features & Best Use Cases

Free open-source MCP server, CLI and Python library that ranks relevant code to feed AI coding assistants, run locally.

Tenets homepage screenshot, coding AI tool

Our take: Tenets suits developers using AI coding assistants who want a free, open-source local MCP server that ranks the most relevant code for each prompt.

Main limitation: Requires Python and pip install with command-line or config-file setup, and an MCP-capable assistant.

By the AI Tool Atlas editors. Based on the vendor's official documentation; we have not tested this product hands-on. What “documented overview” means

Who should use Tenets

Tenets suits developers using AI coding assistants who want a free, open-source local MCP server that ranks the most relevant code for each prompt. Based on the vendor's documentation, not on a hands-on test.

Best for: Developers using AI coding assistants

Also a good fit for

  • Teams wanting local code context

Consider another tool if requires Python and pip install

Or if

  • Command-line and config-file setup
  • Needs an MCP-capable assistant

Tenets in the news

Headlines from US outlets, selected automatically — not endorsements. Updated Oct 2, 2026

Tenets pricing and usage limits

Prices checked Sep 29, 2026 on the official US pricing page. Prices and limits change often.

Free access and trial conditions

Free and open source (MIT) per the FAQ.

Not applicable.

Paid plans: what changes as you upgrade

Open source (MIT) cli

Free source (opens in a new tab)

One_time

Free per site and FAQ; no pricing page (404).

For: Developers

Limits

  • Local only
  • Python required

Includes

  • MCP server
  • CLI and Python library
1 more
  • Code ranking and analysis

Usage caps, credits and extra costs

None for core features; no API keys needed.

Not applicable.

What is Tenets, and how does it work?

Tenets finds, ranks and aggregates relevant code for AI coding assistants using local NLP methods such as BM25, TF-IDF and import graphs. It runs as a CLI, Python library and MCP server. The site says processing is local and the core is free under the MIT license, with setup shown for Cursor, Claude Desktop and Windsurf.

Tenets homepage — screenshot of the coding AI tool, Oct 2, 2026
Tenets's official site: how the product presents itself. tenets.dev, captured Oct 2, 2026

What you provide and what you get back

How Tenets works: what you provide, where it runs and what you get backYOU PROVIDEYour inputYour codebaseA natural-language task descripti…Session tenets (guiding rules)CODINGTenetswindows, macos, linuxfree tier, paid price not publish…free tier availablechecked Sep 29, 2026YOU GET BACKThe resultRanked relevant filesDistilled contextComplexity and hotspot reportsinput → Tenets → output · from the vendor's own pages, no hands-on test unless stated
What you give Tenets and what comes back, from its documentation

You provide

  • Your codebase
  • A natural-language task description
  • Session tenets (guiding rules)

You get back

  • Ranked relevant files
  • Distilled context
  • Complexity and hotspot reports

Where you can use it

Platforms
windows, macos, linux, cli
Account
Not required
Ranking
BM25, TF-IDF, import graphs
Assistants
Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
Commands
distill, rank, examine, session

Where Tenets is most useful

Scenarios are worked out by our editors from the documentation; the actual result depends on your input and plan.

Building context for coding prompts

Who
Developers using Cursor or Claude Desktop
You provide
A task description
Expected result
Ranked relevant code as prompt context
Plan needed
Open source
Limitation
Needs MCP-capable assistant source (opens in a new tab)

Ranking files for a bug fix

Who
Engineers fixing bugs
You provide
A bug description
Expected result
Files ranked by relevance with a tree
Plan needed
Open source
Limitation
Ranking is heuristic source (opens in a new tab)

Code complexity and hotspot analysis

Who
Tech leads
You provide
A repository
Expected result
Complexity, hotspot and ownership analysis
Plan needed
Open source
Limitation
Command-line only source (opens in a new tab)

What Tenets does, and where it stops

Tenets homepage — screenshot of the coding AI tool, Oct 2, 2026
Feature overview on the official site. tenets.dev, captured Oct 2, 2026

MCP server

Exposes ranked code context to Cursor, Claude Desktop and Windsurf through MCP. Feeds assistants the right files.

Access: Open sourceLimit: Needs config editing source (opens in a new tab)

CLI and Python library

Ranks code with BM25, TF-IDF, keyword extraction and import graphs. Finds relevant files without cloud APIs.

Access: Open sourceLimit: Not semantic embeddings by default source (opens in a new tab)

BM25 and TF-IDF ranking

Provides a CLI with distill, rank and examine commands, plus a Python library. Allows scripting.

Access: Open sourceLimit: Python required source (opens in a new tab)

Import-graph analysis

Stores sessions and guiding tenets locally in SQLite. Keeps rules persistent between prompts.

Access: Open sourceLimit: Local to your machine source (opens in a new tab)

Tenets: strengths and limits

Where Tenets is strong

Limitations to check before paying

How to use Tenets for feeding AI assistants relevant code context

Tenets documentation — screenshot of the coding AI tool, Oct 2, 2026
Tenets documentation: where the steps below come from. tenets.dev, captured Oct 2, 2026

Set up Tenets

  1. Run pip install tenets[mcp]
  2. Add the tenets-mcp server to your editor MCP config
  3. Restart your IDE

Example: feeding AI assistants relevant code context

  1. Run tenets rank "fix summarizing truncation bug" --tree
  2. Run tenets distill with your task
  3. Paste or let the assistant fetch the context
  4. Create a session with guiding tenets

Review and export the result

  1. Confirm the top-ranked files match your task
  2. Check the tenets tools appear in the assistant
Example prompt suggested by our editors (not a recorded output of the product)
tenets distill "add OAuth2 refresh tokens" --session payment-integration

Tenets integrations and API

Native integrations and export formats

Export: HTML, Text

API access and separate billing

Tenets has no public API in its official documentation. Python library and CLI. API documentation ↗

Privacy, data use and commercial rights

Summarized from the vendor's current policies; this is not legal advice and a vendor's badge is not an independent audit.

How your inputs and outputs are handled

CLI and library process everything locally; session data stored locally in SQLite.

No cloud processing of code; optional ML features use local models.

Local data only; the docs site has its own policy.

Commercial use and plan restrictions

MIT license.

Policies: tenets.dev/privacy/

Other tools to consider instead of Tenets

"Better suited" is based on documented features and pricing, not on a head-to-head test.

Cursor: better suited to

GitHub Copilot: better suited to

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf): better suited to

Alternatives
AlternativeWhen to choose itPricingLimitation
Cursor——Compare
GitHub Copilot——Compare
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)——Compare

Explore Tenets further

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    Tenets FAQ

    Does Tenets send my code to the cloud?

    No. The privacy policy says the CLI and library process everything locally and the site states no cloud APIs are used. source (opens in a new tab)

    How do I install the Tenets MCP server?

    Run pip install tenets[mcp] and add a tenets-mcp command entry to your editor MCP config. source (opens in a new tab)

    Which assistants work with Tenets?

    Cursor, Claude Desktop and Windsurf via native MCP. source (opens in a new tab)

    What license does Tenets use?

    MIT, according to the earlier FAQ research. source (opens in a new tab)

    Sources and review methodology

    Official sources and verification dates

    Not verified: Pricing page (404; free per FAQ).

    How we documented and maintain this page

    Every fact about Tenets above comes from the 4 official pages listed here, last compared on Sep 29, 2026; we have not run Tenets ourselves, so it has no editorial score. How we check and re-check pages.

    Article updated Oct 2, 2026; prices checked Sep 29, 2026. Outbound links to vendors are plain links; we do not earn commissions. How we review · Report an error