Repository: Linux Kernel (100K+ Files)
Cursor provides built-in local tools (grep, list_dir, read_file, glob_file_search) that AI agents use to explore and understand codebases. These tools are fast, simple, and familiar—but are they sufficient for large-scale code research?
Octocode MCP offers an alternative set of local tools (localSearchCode, localViewStructure, localGetFileContent, localFindFiles) designed specifically for AI agent workflows. These tools promise richer metadata, smarter pagination, research context preservation, and token-efficient outputs.
The question: When working on massive codebases like the Linux kernel, do Octocode's specialized tools provide meaningful advantages over Cursor's native capabilities? This comparison tests both toolsets head-to-head on identical queries to determine which excels at structured exploration, surgical code reading, and efficient large-scale navigation.
This comparison was conducted by executing identical queries using both Cursor's internal tools (grep, list_dir, read_file, glob_file_search) and Octocode MCP local tools (localSearchCode, localViewStructure, localGetFileContent, localFindFiles) against the Linux kernel repository—a massive codebase with over 100,000 files.
Each test was run in parallel within the same Cursor session, ensuring identical conditions. The queries targeted real-world scenarios: searching for mutex_lock patterns in scheduler code, exploring deeply nested directories like drivers/net/ and arch/, reading large header files (include/linux/sched.h) to find specific structures, and discovering C files across directory hierarchies. Results were compared across multiple dimensions: output format, metadata richness, pagination behavior, token efficiency, location precision, and actionable guidance. The raw outputs from both toolsets were captured and analyzed side-by-side to determine winners for each metric.
| Metric | Cursor grep |
Octocode localSearchCode |
Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches Found | 31 matches | 31 matches | Tie |
| Files Found | 8 files | 8 files | Tie |
| Output Format | file:line:content text |
JSON with structured metadata | Octocode |
| Location Precision | Line number only | Line, column, byteOffset, charOffset | 🏆 Octocode |
| Pagination Info | None (truncates with "...") | page 1/1, hasMore: false |
🏆 Octocode |
| Search Engine Reported | Not shown | searchEngine: "rg" |
Octocode |
| Total Stats | Count in header | totalMatches: 31, totalFiles: 8 |
Octocode |
| Hints/Next Steps | None | 18+ actionable hints | 🏆 Octocode |
| Context Lines | ✅ -C 3 works well |
✅ contextLines: 3 |
Tie |
| Match Value Truncation | Full content shown | Truncated to 200 chars (configurable) | Cursor |
| Research Context | None | researchGoal, reasoning preserved |
🏆 Octocode |
| Metric | Cursor list_dir |
Octocode localViewStructure |
Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Files | Shows subtree counts (e.g., [3404 files in subtree]) |
595 files (explicit total) | Tie (different approaches) |
| Total Directories | Not explicitly reported | 191 directories | 🏆 Octocode |
| Total Size | Not reported | 11,164,674 bytes | 🏆 Octocode |
| Output Format | Tree with subtree file counts by extension | Tree with [FILE]/[DIR] markers + sizes |
Octocode |
| File Sizes | Not shown | Per-file sizes (e.g., "88.9KB", "20.8KB") | 🏆 Octocode |
| Pagination | No pagination (shows all) | Page 1/40, 20 entries/page | 🏆 Octocode |
| Subtree Analysis | ✅ Shows [17 files: 12 *.c, 3 *.h] |
❌ No subtree file counts | 🏆 Cursor |
| Depth Control | Single level only | depth param (1-5) |
🏆 Octocode |
| Extension Breakdown | ✅ Per-directory breakdown | Shows extension in output | 🏆 Cursor |
| Metric | Cursor list_dir |
Octocode localViewStructure |
Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture Dirs | All 22 listed with file counts | All 22 listed (paginated) | Tie |
| Subtree Statistics | ✅ [4549 files: 1704 *.dts, 1067 *.dtsi, 654 *.c] |
❌ Just counts | 🏆 Cursor |
| Quick Overview | Immediate full picture | Requires pagination | 🏆 Cursor |
| Token Safety | Higher token usage | Bounded output | 🏆 Octocode |
| Metric | Cursor read_file |
Octocode localGetFileContent |
Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern Matching | ❌ Not supported (offset/limit only) | ✅ matchString with context |
🏆 Octocode |
| Total Lines Reported | ... 1645 lines not shown ... at end |
2,444 lines (upfront) | 🏆 Octocode |
| Smart Extraction | No (reads sequential lines) | ✅ ... [N lines omitted] ... markers |
🏆 Octocode |
| Match Ranges | N/A | 10 match ranges with line numbers | 🏆 Octocode |
| Content Returned | 100 lines (as requested) | 18,397 chars (smart selection) | 🏆 Octocode |
| Line Numbers | ✅ 700|content format |
✅ Included | Tie |
| Partial Indicator | ... N lines not shown ... |
isPartial: true + bounds |
🏆 Octocode |
| Token Efficiency | Medium (fixed window) | Very High (pattern-targeted) | 🏆 Octocode |
| Warnings | None | "Pattern matched 94 lines. Truncated to first 50" |
🏆 Octocode |
| Metric | Cursor glob_file_search |
Octocode localFindFiles |
Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Files Found | 3,528 files (full count) | 1,000 files (paginated) | Cursor (raw count) |
| Total Reported | Array length shown | totalFiles: 1000 (depth-limited) |
Tie |
| Output Format | Relative paths only | Full metadata per file | 🏆 Octocode |
| File Sizes | ❌ Not included | ✅ Included (e.g., 68672 bytes) |
🏆 Octocode |
| Permissions | ❌ Not included | ✅ 644, etc. |
🏆 Octocode |
| Modified Dates | Sorted by mtime (implicit) | ✅ "2025-12-31T07:54:25.519Z" |
🏆 Octocode |
| File Type | ❌ None | ✅ type: "file" |
🏆 Octocode |
| Depth Limiting | ❌ Full recursion | ✅ maxDepth: 3 |
🏆 Octocode |
| Pagination | ... 3365 more files ... |
Page 1/50, hasMore: true |
🏆 Octocode |
| Token Safety | High output (all paths) | Bounded (20 files/page) | 🏆 Octocode |
| Test Category | Cursor Wins | Octocode Wins | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code Search | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Directory Listing | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| File Content | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| File Finding | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 5 | 27 | 6 |
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Subtree File Analysis | [17 files: 12 *.c, 3 *.h, 2 *no-ext] per directory |
| Extension Breakdown | Immediate visibility of file type distribution |
| Full Content in Context | Match values shown in full (not truncated) |
| Speed | No MCP overhead, direct filesystem access |
| Simplicity | Familiar grep/ls mental model |
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Byte/Char Offsets | Precise byteOffset: 11824, charOffset: 11824 |
| Pagination System | page 1/40, hasMore: true, totalPages: 40 |
| Research Context | researchGoal, reasoning preserved across calls |
| Actionable Hints | 15-20 hints per response for next steps |
| File Metadata | Size, permissions, modified dates per file |
| Token Safety | Bounded output with configurable limits |
| Smart Extraction | matchString with context lines in file reading |
| Depth Control | Explicit depth, maxDepth parameters |
| Summary Statistics | totalFiles: 595, totalDirectories: 191, totalSize: 11,164,674 |
| Task | Recommended Tool | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Quick directory overview with file types | Cursor list_dir |
Subtree counts by extension |
| Deep structure exploration | Octocode localViewStructure |
Depth control + size stats |
| Finding specific code pattern | Both effective | Context support in both |
| Research with multiple follow-ups | Octocode | Research context preservation |
| Reading specific struct/function | Octocode localGetFileContent |
matchString targeting |
| Finding files by metadata | Octocode localFindFiles |
Time/size/permission filters |
| Simple file discovery | Cursor glob_file_search |
Fast, full results |
| Token-constrained exploration | Octocode | Pagination + limits |
| Understanding project structure | Cursor list_dir |
Extension breakdown |
| Large file surgical reading | Octocode | Pattern-based extraction |
Octocode MCP Local Tools win on structure, metadata richness, pagination safety, and research workflow support.
Cursor Internal Tools win on subtree analysis, extension breakdowns, simplicity, and speed.
- Use Octocode for systematic research, deep exploration, and token-efficient operations
- Use Cursor for quick structural overviews and when you need immediate file type distributions
Test Date: 2026-01-01 | Model: Claude Opus 4.5