IBM Code Engine MCP — VS Code Extension

v1.0.5 — Configure MCP button, new sidebar icon, generic AI assistant language, improved docs & discoverability

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.

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

Install from the VS Code Marketplace, or from a local VSIX:
Command Palette → Extensions: Install from VSIX…

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

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

"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

"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@1.0.4+.

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.

Development

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

npm run package        # produces code-engine-mcp-1.0.4.vsix