diff_versions
Get all changes between two versions of a package. Use this when upgrading from one version to another.
LABSCO SUMMARY
It answers the upgrade question from whichever direction you happen to have information — a version you are moving to, or a symbol that has begun failing.
The three tools index the same corpus in different directions, and search_symbol is the one that does something a CHANGELOG file cannot: a deprecation warning names a symbol, not a release, so mapping symbol back to the releases that touched it is the step normally done by hand. Nothing here reads your project, so it will tell you what changed in a package you name and never which of your dependencies you should have asked about.
What it is
A changelog lookup for package upgrades with 3 tools: get_breaking_changes for one package version, diff_versions for everything between two versions, and search_symbol for the releases that touched a named function, class or module.
What you get
- get_breaking_changes returns the breaking changes recorded against a specific package version, so 'what broke in this dependency update' is answerable before the upgrade instead of after it; limit bounds the response.
- diff_versions takes package, from_version and to_version and returns all changes across that span, which is the shape the question takes when you are jumping more than one release at a time.
- search_symbol runs the lookup in the opposite direction: hand it the function, class or module name from a deprecation warning or a stack trace and it returns the releases that modified it.
Requirements
No account and no key. You supply the package and version yourself — get_breaking_changes needs a package and version, diff_versions needs from_version and to_version, search_symbol needs a symbol.
Setup effort
One command — npx -y @change8/mcp
USE CASES
01
Planning a jump across major versions
Read everything that changed between the version you are on and the one you are moving to, then narrow to the entries the maintainers marked as breaking.
02
Tracing a deprecation warning to its release
You have a symbol name from a warning or a stack trace but no idea which release changed it — search by the symbol, then read what that release broke.
3 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
get_breaking_changes
Get breaking changes for a specific package version. Use this when you need to know what broke in a dependency update.
search_symbol
Find releases that modified a specific function, class, or module. Use this when you see deprecation warnings or errors.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
3 tools when we connected.
Requires
npx on PATH
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 3 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Add the block to your client, or run the command directly.
Server setup
Configuration file
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"change8": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@change8/mcp"
]
}
}
}npx
TERMINAL
npx -y @change8/mcp
