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lpcox merged 5 commits into from
Feb 7, 2026
Merged

Configure TypeScript and Python language servers in Serena container #809

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e3abf69
Initial plan
Copilot Feb 7, 2026
11e60ab
Add initialization script to Serena Dockerfile for multi-language sup…
Copilot Feb 7, 2026
9b5a1b5
Update BUILD_NOTES.md to document multi-language configuration fix
Copilot Feb 7, 2026
b7a752d
Improve language detection in serena-init.sh script
Copilot Feb 7, 2026
797eab6
Update BUILD_NOTES.md to accurately describe implementation
Copilot Feb 7, 2026
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12 changes: 12 additions & 0 deletions containers/serena-mcp-server/BUILD_NOTES.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -10,6 +10,18 @@ The Serena MCP server container Dockerfile has been created with support for:

## Recent Fixes

### Multi-Language Configuration Script (2026-02-07)
Added automatic project configuration for TypeScript and Python language servers:
- **Problem**: The `.serena/project.yml` configuration only included Go, causing TypeScript and Python language server analysis to fail
- **Solution**: Created initialization script (`serena-init.sh`) that automatically generates/updates `.serena/project.yml` with all three languages (Go, TypeScript, Python) on container startup
- **Impact**: TypeScript and Python code analysis now works out-of-the-box without manual project configuration
- **Implementation**:
- Script checks if `project.yml` exists and contains all three required languages (Go, TypeScript, Python)
- Automatically creates/updates configuration only when any language is missing
- Uses anchored grep patterns for precise language detection
- Runs via ENTRYPOINT before starting the Serena MCP server
- **Testing**: Container successfully creates `.serena/project.yml` when mounting any workspace to `/workspace`
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This note says the container “successfully creates .serena/project.yml when mounting any workspace to /workspace”, but the documented configuration mounts /workspace read-only (:ro), in which case the init script cannot write the file. Update the notes to clarify the workspace (or at least /workspace/.serena) must be writable, or that the script skips initialization on read-only mounts.

Suggested change
- **Testing**: Container successfully creates `.serena/project.yml` when mounting any workspace to `/workspace`
- **Testing**: Container successfully creates `.serena/project.yml` when mounting a **writable** workspace to `/workspace`; when `/workspace` is mounted read-only (e.g., with `:ro`), the init script cannot write `.serena/project.yml` and initialization is skipped

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### Go Runtime Re-added (2026-02-05)
Re-added Go runtime to the container to support Go code analysis:
- **Problem**: The Dockerfile only installed `gopls` (Go LSP) but not the Go runtime itself
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26 changes: 24 additions & 2 deletions containers/serena-mcp-server/Dockerfile
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Expand Up @@ -53,6 +53,28 @@ RUN mkdir -p /workspace /tmp/serena-cache /root/.serena
ENV SERENA_WORKSPACE=/workspace
ENV SERENA_CACHE_DIR=/tmp/serena-cache

# Create a startup script that ensures multi-language support
# This script will initialize the workspace with Go, TypeScript, and Python if not already configured
RUN printf '#!/bin/bash\n\
set -e\n\
\n\
# Ensure .serena directory exists in workspace\n\
mkdir -p /workspace/.serena\n\
\n\
Comment on lines +61 to +63
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Copilot AI Feb 7, 2026

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The entrypoint script creates /workspace/.serena and may write /workspace/.serena/project.yml. In the documented usage for this image, /workspace is commonly mounted read-only (:ro), which will cause the container to exit due to set -e when it cannot create/write these paths. Consider detecting a non-writable workspace (and warning + skipping init), or adjusting the image/docs to mount a writable volume specifically at /workspace/.serena (or make /workspace writable).

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# Check if project.yml needs to be created or updated\n\
# Create/update if: file does not exist, OR it is missing any of the three required languages\n\
if [ ! -f /workspace/.serena/project.yml ] || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- go$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- typescript$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- python$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml; then\n\
echo "Initializing Serena project with Go, TypeScript, and Python support..."\n\
printf "languages:\\n- go\\n- typescript\\n- python\\n" > /workspace/.serena/project.yml\n\
Comment on lines +64 to +71
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When any required language is missing, the script overwrites project.yml entirely. This discards any existing configuration the user may have in that file. Consider updating only the languages: list (preserving other keys) or appending missing languages without clobbering the whole file.

Suggested change
# Check if project.yml needs to be created or updated\n\
# Create/update if: file does not exist, OR it is missing any of the three required languages\n\
if [ ! -f /workspace/.serena/project.yml ] || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- go$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- typescript$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- python$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml; then\n\
echo "Initializing Serena project with Go, TypeScript, and Python support..."\n\
printf "languages:\\n- go\\n- typescript\\n- python\\n" > /workspace/.serena/project.yml\n\
PROJECT_FILE="/workspace/.serena/project.yml"\n\
\n\
# If project.yml does not exist, create it with the required languages\n\
if [ ! -f "$PROJECT_FILE" ]; then\n\
echo "Creating new Serena project with Go, TypeScript, and Python support..."\n\
printf "languages:\\n- go\\n- typescript\\n- python\\n" > "$PROJECT_FILE"\n\
else\n\
echo "Ensuring Serena project has Go, TypeScript, and Python language support..."\n\
NEED_UPDATE=false\n\
\n\
grep -q "^- go$" "$PROJECT_FILE" || NEED_UPDATE=true\n\
grep -q "^- typescript$" "$PROJECT_FILE" || NEED_UPDATE=true\n\
grep -q "^- python$" "$PROJECT_FILE" || NEED_UPDATE=true\n\
\n\
if [ "$NEED_UPDATE" = true ]; then\n\
echo "Appending missing language entries to existing Serena project.yml..."\n\
{\n\
echo ""\n\
echo "# The following languages were added automatically by Serena init:"\n\
echo "languages:"\n\
grep -q "^- go$" "$PROJECT_FILE" || echo "- go"\n\
grep -q "^- typescript$" "$PROJECT_FILE" || echo "- typescript"\n\
grep -q "^- python$" "$PROJECT_FILE" || echo "- python"\n\
} >> "$PROJECT_FILE"\n\
fi\n\

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Comment on lines +61 to +71
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The init script hardcodes /workspace paths instead of using SERENA_WORKSPACE (which is set just above and can be overridden by users). Using the env var (with a default) would keep behavior consistent if the workspace location changes.

Suggested change
# Ensure .serena directory exists in workspace\n\
mkdir -p /workspace/.serena\n\
\n\
# Check if project.yml needs to be created or updated\n\
# Create/update if: file does not exist, OR it is missing any of the three required languages\n\
if [ ! -f /workspace/.serena/project.yml ] || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- go$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- typescript$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- python$" /workspace/.serena/project.yml; then\n\
echo "Initializing Serena project with Go, TypeScript, and Python support..."\n\
printf "languages:\\n- go\\n- typescript\\n- python\\n" > /workspace/.serena/project.yml\n\
# Determine workspace directory (allow override via SERENA_WORKSPACE)\n\
WORKSPACE="${SERENA_WORKSPACE:-/workspace}"\n\
\n\
# Ensure .serena directory exists in workspace\n\
mkdir -p "$WORKSPACE/.serena"\n\
\n\
# Check if project.yml needs to be created or updated\n\
# Create/update if: file does not exist, OR it is missing any of the three required languages\n\
if [ ! -f "$WORKSPACE/.serena/project.yml" ] || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- go$" "$WORKSPACE/.serena/project.yml" || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- typescript$" "$WORKSPACE/.serena/project.yml" || \\\n\
! grep -q "^- python$" "$WORKSPACE/.serena/project.yml"; then\n\
echo "Initializing Serena project with Go, TypeScript, and Python support..."\n\
printf "languages:\\n- go\\n- typescript\\n- python\\n" > "$WORKSPACE/.serena/project.yml"\n\

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fi\n\
\n\
# Start the Serena MCP server\n\
exec serena-mcp-server "$@"\n\
' > /usr/local/bin/serena-init.sh && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/serena-init.sh

# Create a dummy project to pre-warm Serena's LSP cache
# Focus on Python, Go, and TypeScript for codex context
RUN mkdir -p /tmp/dummy-project && \
Expand All @@ -72,7 +94,7 @@ RUN rm -rf /tmp/dummy-project
# Expose the workspace directory as a volume mount point
VOLUME ["/workspace"]

# Set default entrypoint to run Serena MCP server
ENTRYPOINT ["serena-mcp-server"]
# Set default entrypoint to run initialization script
ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/serena-init.sh"]

CMD []