Connect VSCode with MCP (Model Context Protocol) for enhanced AI assistant capabilities
Design Motivation • Available Tools • Installation • CLI • Architecture • License
[](https://lobehub.com/mcp/tjx666-vscode-mcp)  [](http://makeapullrequest.com) [](https://github.com/tjx666/vscode-mcp/issues) [](https://github.com/996icu/996.ICU/blob/master/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 - **Safe file operations** - Rename symbols across files with automatic import updates ### 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 ## Available Tools VSCode MCP provides the following tools through the MCP protocol: | Tool | Description | | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | **execute_command** | ⚠️ Execute VSCode commands with JSON string arguments | | **get_symbol_lsp_info** | Get comprehensive LSP info (definition, hover, signatures, etc.) | | **get_diagnostics** | Get real-time diagnostics, replace slow tsc/eslint | | **get_references** | Find symbol references with usage context code | | **health_check** | Test connection to VSCode MCP Bridge extension | | **list_workspaces** | List all available VSCode workspaces | | **open_files** | Open multiple files with optional editor display | | **rename_symbol** | Rename symbols across all files in workspace | > **⚠️ 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. ## 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` [](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=YuTengjing.vscode-mcp-bridge) Or search for "VSCode MCP Bridge" in the VSCode Extensions marketplace. ### Step 2: Install MCP Server #### Codex Add the following configuration to your `~/.codex/config.toml`: ```toml [mcp_servers.vscode-mcp] command = "bunx" args = ["-y", "@vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-server@latest"] env = { "VSCODE_MCP_DISABLED_TOOLS" = "health_check,list_workspaces,open_files" } startup_timeout_ms = 16_000 ``` #### Claude Code Claude Code (claude.ai/code) provides built-in MCP support. Simply run: ```bash 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 ##### Click the button to install [](https://cursor.com/install-mcp?name=vscode-mcp&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IEB2c2NvZGUtbWNwL3ZzY29kZS1tY3Atc2VydmVyQGxhdGVzdCJ9) ##### 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`. ```json { "mcpServers": { "vscode-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["@vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-server@latest"] } } } ``` #### Gemini CLI Add the following configuration to your `~/.gemini/settings.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "vscode-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-server@latest"], "env": {}, "includeTools": [ "get_symbol_lsp_info", "get_diagnostics", "get_references", "health_check", "rename_symbol" ] } } } ``` ## CLI (no MCP config required) If your agent can shell out but you don't want to register an MCP server, install `@vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-cli`. It exposes the **same** tools as the MCP server as plain subcommands, talking to the VSCode Bridge extension over the same socket. ```bash # Run directly without install bunx --bun @vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-cli --help # Or install globally npm i -g @vscode-mcp/vscode-mcp-cli vscode-cli --help ``` ### Subcommands One subcommand per MCP tool, kebab-case: ``` vscode-cli get-diagnostics # real-time LSP diagnostics vscode-cli get-symbol-lsp-info # hover / signatures / definitions vscode-cli get-references # references with usage context vscode-cli rename-symbol # workspace-wide rename vscode-cli open-files # open one or more files vscode-cli execute-command # ⚠️ run arbitrary VSCode commands vscode-cli health-check # ping the bridge vscode-cli list-workspaces # enumerate open VSCode windows ``` ### Workspace targeting CLI defaults `--workspace` to `process.cwd()`. Override with `--workspace