IBM Code Engine MCP — VS Code Extension

v1.5.0 — Same release as code-engine-mcp-server@1.5.0: Projects & Resources Tree View in the sidebar (projects → apps, jobs, builds, secrets, config maps with inline Open/Logs/Events/Restart/Delete actions), Activity sidebar view, and 8 new operational tools (system events, build-run logs, app restart, job resubmit/cancel, project quotas).

Deploy containerised apps to IBM Code Engine using natural language. This extension wires up the code-engine-mcp-server as an MCP server so any AI assistant running in your IDE (GitHub Copilot, Cline, Cursor, etc.) can build images, push them to IBM Container Registry, and deploy apps — all from a chat prompt.

What can it do?

Once configured, you can talk to your AI assistant and say things like:

"List all my Code Engine projects and show me all the running apps in each project."

"Build my app for linux/amd64, push it to my ICR namespace, and deploy it to my Code Engine project. If I don't have a pull secret, create one using my API key first."

"Deploy the developer-splash image to my Code Engine project. Check if I have a registry pull secret first, and create one if needed."

The assistant calls the MCP tools behind the scenes — no CLI commands to remember.

Projects & Resources Tree (v1.5.0)

The IBM Code Engine sidebar now includes a native Projects & Resources tree:

• Browse your projects and expand each to see its applications, jobs, builds, secrets, and config maps.
• Apps show a status dot (🟢 ready / 🟡 pending); click an app to open its URL in the browser.
• Right-click (or use the inline icons) for quick actions:
  • App — Open in Browser, View Logs, View Events, Restart, Delete
  • Build — View Build, Delete
  • Job / Secret / Config Map — Delete
• Use the Refresh button in the tree title bar to reload; the tree also refreshes automatically when you change your API key.

You can reveal the tree from Setup & Diagnostics → Projects & Resources Tree, or via IBM Code Engine MCP: Show Quick Menu → Open Projects & Resources Tree.

Watch it live (v1.4.0)

Open IBM Code Engine MCP: Open MCP Activity Dashboard from the Command Palette to see tool calls as they happen — session timeline, deploy outcomes, live URLs, and a Deployments tab to manage apps already on Code Engine.

Prerequisites

• VS Code 1.101+ with an AI assistant that supports MCP (GitHub Copilot Chat, Cline, etc.)
• Node.js on your system PATH
• A valid IBM Cloud API key — get one at cloud.ibm.com/iam/apikeys

Getting started

1. Install the extension

2. Enter your API key

Open the IBM Code Engine MCP sidebar panel (cloud icon in the Activity Bar).

• Paste your IBM Cloud API key and click Save
• The key is stored in VS Code global settings — never in plaintext in a file

3. Configure the MCP server

Click Configure MCP in the sidebar. This writes the server entry to mcp.json (VS Code's global MCP config) and opens the MCP Servers panel so VS Code registers it:

{
  "servers": {
    "code-engine": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "code-engine-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "IBMCLOUD_API_KEY": "...",
        "IBMCLOUD_REGION": "us-south"
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Run Diagnostics

Click Run Diagnostics to verify:

• ✅ Node.js is found on PATH
• ✅ API key is configured
• ✅ MCP server is registered in mcp.json
• ✅ Tool list is discovered from the running server

5. Optional: Provenance Receipt Visualizer

If you use the provenance addon (PROVENANCE_ENABLED=true), open Receipt Visualizer (Optional) from the sidebar Resources & Docs section (or Command Palette → Open Optional Receipt Visualizer).

The panel loads receipts from provenance-addon/receipts/live/ on open. Live refresh is optional (off by default) — toggle it in the panel header or set codeEngineMcp.provenanceLiveRefresh in settings. Use ↻ Reload for a manual refresh.

You need: clone code-engine-mcp-server (or open it in your workspace) and at least one signed receipt on disk.

Browser (no extension): from a provenance-addon clone, run npm run serve:visualizer then enable Live refresh at http://localhost:8766/visualizer.html.

6. MCP Activity Dashboard (v1.4.0)

Command Palette → IBM Code Engine MCP: Open MCP Activity Dashboard.

The panel shows:

• Activity tab — session selector, tool-call timeline, idle gaps, task-outcome banner (status, image, live URL)
• Deployments tab — Code Engine project/app inventory with get-details, redeploy, and delete actions

Live refresh is on by default (codeEngineMcp.activityLiveRefresh). The extension watches dashboard/activity/live/events.jsonl in your workspace.

Enable logging — add to MCP server env (via Configure MCP or .cursor/mcp.json):

"MCP_ACTIVITY_ENABLED": "true",
"MCP_ACTIVITY_EVENTS_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/code-engine-mcp-server/dashboard/activity/live/events.jsonl"

Restart the MCP server after changing env. Without MCP_ACTIVITY_ENABLED=true, the dashboard stays empty even while tools run.

Browser (standalone): the extension dashboard is the recommended path. If your workspace includes dashboard/ (full server source), run npm run dashboard → http://localhost:8767/

Quick start examples

The Quick Start tab in the sidebar has ready-to-use prompts. Here are a few highlights:

🔍 Discover your environment

"List all my Code Engine projects and then show me all the running apps in each project."

🚀 Developer Splash Page — one-shot deploy

Example: examples/developer-splash

"I have an app in the examples/developer-splash folder. Please build it for linux/amd64, push it to my ICR namespace, and deploy it to my Code Engine project. If I don't have a pull secret, create one using my API key first. Let me know when it's live!"

Or step by step:

1. "Can you validate the Dockerfile in examples/developer-splash to ensure it's compatible with Code Engine?"
2. "Please build the examples/developer-splash app and push it to my IBM Container Registry."
3. "Deploy the developer-splash image to my Code Engine project. Check if I have a registry pull secret first, and create one if needed."

⭐ Star Wars Splash Page — one-shot deploy

Example: examples/starwars-splash

"I have a Star Wars splash page in examples/starwars-splash. Please build it for linux/amd64, push it to my ICR namespace, and deploy it to my Code Engine project. If I don't have a pull secret, create one using my API key first. Let me know when it's live!"

Settings reference

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module 'ajv'"
Run diagnostics — if Node.js v24+ is in use, the bundled server handles this. If using npx mode, ensure you're on code-engine-mcp-server@1.4.2 (extension and npm package share the same version).

MCP server not appearing in Copilot
Click Configure MCP in the sidebar. This writes the entry to ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json (macOS) and reloads the server list.

Diagnostics shows tools but AI assistant can't use them
Reload VS Code window (Cmd+Shift+P → Reload Window) after configuring MCP for the first time.

Activity Dashboard shows no sessions / no live updates

1. Confirm MCP_ACTIVITY_ENABLED=true is in the MCP server env (extension sidebar → Configure MCP, or .cursor/mcp.json) — not just in chat.
2. Restart the MCP server (Cursor MCP panel → restart code-engine).
3. Click Show all activity if you previously clicked Clear view.
4. Open the public repo (or a local clone) so the extension can find dashboard/activity/live/events.jsonl if you use a custom events path.

Repository

Public repo: github.com/markusvankempen/code-engine-mcp-server

Key docs on GitHub:

• Setup Instructions
• Main README
• Provenance addon
• Examples

Development

cd vscode-extension
npm install
npm run compile
# Press F5 to open an Extension Development Host

npm run package        # produces code-engine-mcp-<version>.vsix (matches package.json)