vscode-mcp

VSCode MCP

Connect VSCode with MCP (Model Context Protocol) for enhanced AI assistant capabilities

Design Motivation • Available Tools • Installation • Architecture • License

Overview

VSCode MCP is a comprehensive monorepo solution that enables MCP (Model Context Protocol) clients to access rich VSCode context information in real-time. This project bridges the gap between AI assistants and your development environment, providing accurate code analysis, diagnostics, and intelligent code navigation.

Design Motivation

VSCode MCP Bridge primarily serves AI IDEs (like Cursor) and AI coding agents, helping them develop and analyze code more efficiently.

Traditional AI coding agents often need to execute time-consuming commands when validating code modifications:

• tsc --noEmit - TypeScript type checking
• eslint . - Code style checking
• npm run build - Project building

These commands run slowly in large projects, severely impacting AI development efficiency. VSCode MCP Bridge provides real-time LSP (Language Server Protocol) information, allowing AI agents to:

• Get fast diagnostics (get-diagnostics) - Replace time-consuming type checking and lint commands
• Access comprehensive LSP information (get-symbol-lsp-info) - Get definition, hover, signatures, and type info in one call
• Navigate code efficiently (get-references) - Understand code structure and dependencies with usage context
• Call IDE AI agents (call-agent) - Integrate with built-in AI assistants like Cursor Composer, GitHub Copilot, and others

Core Advantages

1. Real-time: Leverage VSCode's LSP for real-time code state without executing slow commands
2. Accuracy: Precise analysis based on language servers, more reliable than static analysis
3. Efficiency: Significantly reduce AI coding agent wait times
4. Integration: Deep integration with VSCode ecosystem, supporting multiple languages and extensions
5. AI Collaboration: Enable AI agents to work together by calling IDE-native AI assistants (Cursor Composer, GitHub Copilot, etc.)

Available Tools

VSCode MCP provides the following tools through the MCP protocol:

Tool	Description	Parameters
call_agent	Call IDE's AI agent with prompts and context	workspace_path, prompt, files?, images?, model?, mode?, ide_type?
execute_command	⚠️ Execute VSCode commands with arguments	workspace_path, command, args?
get_symbol_lsp_info	Get comprehensive LSP info (definition, hover, signatures, etc.)	workspace_path, uri, symbol, codeSnippet?, infoType?
get_diagnostics	Get real-time diagnostics, replace slow tsc/eslint	workspace_path, uris?, sources?, severities?
get_references	Find symbol references with usage context code	workspace_path, uri, symbol, codeSnippet?, includeDeclaration?, usageCodeLineRange?
health_check	Test connection to VSCode MCP Bridge extension	workspace_path
list_workspaces	List all available VSCode workspaces	clean_zombie_sockets?, include_details?, test_connection?
open_files	Open multiple files with optional editor display	workspace_path, files (array with uri and showEditor?)
rename_symbol	⚠️ Rename symbols across all files in workspace	workspace_path, uri, symbol, codeSnippet?, newName

⚠️ Security Warning: The execute_command tool can execute arbitrary VSCode commands and potentially trigger dangerous operations. Use with extreme caution and only with trusted AI models.

AI Agent Integration

The call_agent tool enables seamless integration between external AI assistants and IDE-native AI agents. This creates a powerful collaborative AI ecosystem where different AI agents can work together on complex coding tasks.

Supported IDEs:

• Cursor: Integrates with Cursor Composer for advanced code generation
• VSCode: Supports GitHub Copilot, Cline, Continue, and other popular extensions
• Windsurf: Integrates with Windsurf's native AI capabilities

Supported AI Agents:

• Cursor Composer: Advanced code generation and refactoring
• GitHub Copilot: Code completion and chat assistance
• Cline: Interactive coding assistant with file management
• Continue: Open-source coding assistant

Key Features:

• Auto-detection: Automatically detects your IDE and available AI extensions
• Flexible Input: Supports text prompts, file attachments, and image inputs
• Smart Routing: Chooses the best available AI agent based on capability and priority
• Cross-platform: Works across different operating systems and IDE configurations

All tools require the workspace_path parameter to target specific VSCode instances.

Installation

🚨 IMPORTANT: Before installing the MCP server, you must first install the VSCode MCP Bridge extension in your VSCode instance. The extension is required for the MCP server to communicate with VSCode.

Step 1: Install VSCode Extension

Install the VSCode MCP Bridge extension using ID: YuTengjing.vscode-mcp-bridge

Or search for "VSCode MCP Bridge" in the VSCode Extensions marketplace.

Step 2: Install MCP Server

Claude Code

Claude Code (claude.ai/code) provides built-in MCP support. Simply run:

claude mcp add vscode-mcp -- npx -y @vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-server@latest

This command will automatically configure the MCP server in your Claude Code environment.

Cursor

⚠️ Gemini 2.5 Pro Compatibility Note

The execute_command tool is currently not compatible with Gemini 2.5 Pro in Cursor due to potential security restrictions. If you plan to use Gemini 2.5 Pro, it is highly recommended to disable this tool to prevent any issues.

You can disable it by adding a command-line argument to the MCP server configuration in Cursor's settings.

1. Go to Cursor Settings -> Tools & Integrations.
2. Find your vscode-mcp server configuration and click Edit.
3. In the args array, add the following argument: "--disable-tools=execute_command"
4. Your final config should look similar to this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vscode-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-server@latest", "--disable-tools=execute_command"]
    }
  }
}

This will prevent the execute_command tool from being registered with the server, ensuring compatibility with Gemini 2.5 Pro.

Click the button to install

Or install manually

Go to Cursor Settings -> Tools & Integrations -> New MCP Server. Name to your liking, use command type with the command npx @vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-server@latest. You can also verify config or add command line arguments via clicking Edit.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vscode-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-server@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Architecture

VSCode MCP follows a modular architecture with three main components communicating through Unix sockets:

graph TB
    subgraph "MCP Client"
        Client[AI Assistant<br/>Cursor/Claude/etc]
    end

    subgraph "vscode-mcp-server"
        Server[MCP Server<br/>Protocol Implementation]
    end

    subgraph "vscode-mcp-ipc"
        IPC[IPC Layer<br/>Type-safe Communication]
        Socket[Unix Socket<br/>Cross-platform]
    end

    subgraph "VSCode Instance"
        Extension[VSCode Extension<br/>vscode-mcp-bridge]
        LSP[Language Server Protocol]
        API[VSCode API]
    end

    Client <-->|JSON-RPC<br/>stdio| Server
    Server <-->|TypeScript<br/>Function Calls| IPC
    IPC <-->|JSON<br/>Unix Socket| Socket
    Socket <-->|Local Connection| Extension
    Extension <-->|Extension API| API
    Extension <-->|Diagnostics<br/>Navigation| LSP

    classDef client fill:#e1f5fe
    classDef server fill:#f3e5f5
    classDef ipc fill:#e8f5e8
    classDef vscode fill:#fff3e0

    class Client client
    class Server server
    class IPC,Socket ipc
    class Extension,LSP,API vscode

Communication Flow

1. MCP Client sends requests via JSON-RPC over stdio
2. MCP Server translates requests to TypeScript function calls
3. IPC Layer handles type-safe communication and validation
4. Unix Socket provides fast, local-only communication
5. VSCode Extension executes operations using VSCode APIs
6. LSP Integration provides real-time code analysis and navigation

Multi-Workspace Support

Each VSCode workspace gets its own socket connection:

• /Users/user/frontend → /tmp/vscode-mcp-a1b2c3d4.sock
• /Users/user/backend → /tmp/vscode-mcp-e5f6g7h8.sock

How It Works

Once installed and configured, VSCode MCP works seamlessly with MCP-compatible clients:

1. VSCode Extension: Runs in your VSCode instance and provides access to LSP data
2. MCP Server: Translates MCP protocol calls to VSCode extension requests
3. Socket Communication: Uses Unix sockets for fast, local-only communication
4. AI Integration: MCP clients can access real-time code context through standard tools

The system operates transparently - MCP clients use standard tool calls, and VSCode MCP handles all the complexity of communicating with VSCode's APIs.

All tools require the workspace_path parameter to target specific VSCode instances. Each VSCode workspace gets its own socket connection for multi-window support.

License

This project is licensed under the Anti 996 License.