MCP List Tool Explorer

Explore Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and their tools directly from the VS Code sidebar. Find tools by name or description, inspect their input schemas, and manage your workspace's tool list in one place.

Connect to local servers or remote endpoints, sign in to compatible OAuth services, and troubleshoot connection issues without leaving your editor.

Features

• Server overview — View configured MCP servers and their connection status. Connect, retry, refresh, or disconnect on demand.
• Tool search — Search loaded tool names and descriptions from the search field above the server list. Connected servers expand automatically while searching.
• Status filters — Focus on connected, disconnected, connecting, disabled, or failed servers.
• Tool inspection — Open a tool's full definition and inputSchema as JSON, or copy its name.
• Tool visibility — Hide tools from the explorer and restore them with the hidden-tools toggle. Preferences persist across refreshes and editor restarts.
• Browser authorization — Sign in to remote servers that support MCP OAuth discovery and dynamic client registration, including the hosted Supabase MCP server.
• Connection diagnostics — Read actionable messages for common connection failures and view timestamped diagnostics.
• Configuration discovery — Read supported project and user configuration files, or add your own JSON/JSONC files.

Quick start

1. Install MCP List Tool Explorer and open MCP Explorer from the Activity Bar.
2. Add a supported MCP configuration to your workspace, or run MCP Explorer: Add Configuration File.
3. Expand a server or select Connect / Retry to load its tools.
4. If browser authorization is required, complete the login and return to the editor.
5. Search for a tool and select it to inspect its definition.

Requires VS Code 1.99 or later and a trusted workspace for server connections. GitHub Copilot is not required. Local servers may require their own runtime, such as Node.js or Python.

To install a downloaded VSIX, open the Extensions view, choose … → Install from VSIX…, select the package, and reload the editor.

Configure your servers

The extension reads JSON and JSONC files containing a top-level servers or mcpServers object.

Workspace discovery

Common user configuration locations for VS Code, Cursor, Kiro, Antigravity, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, and GitHub Copilot CLI are also checked. Discovery reads configuration files; it does not access another application's active connections or signed-in accounts.

For a custom location, use MCP Explorer: Add Configuration File or the mcpExplorer.configFiles setting.

Example configuration

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "local-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["${workspaceFolder}/dist/server.js"],
      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}"
    },
    "supabase": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.supabase.com/mcp?project_ref=YOUR_PROJECT_REF"
    }
  }
}

Replace the local command and project reference with your own values. URL values must be plain strings, without Markdown link syntax.

Transports and variables

Supported transports are local stdio, Streamable HTTP (http), and legacy SSE (sse). If type is omitted, a server with url or serverUrl uses HTTP; otherwise it uses stdio. Set disabled to true to prevent connections to a server.

Supported variables include ${workspaceFolder}, ${workspaceFolder:name}, ${workspaceFolderBasename}, ${userHome}, ${env:NAME}, ${input:id}, ${pathSeparator}, and ${/}. Input definitions support promptString and pickString. Command-based inputs are not supported.

For local servers, cwd defaults to the containing workspace folder, or the configuration file's directory when outside a workspace. Relative cwd and envFile paths resolve from that base directory. Server processes inherit the extension host's environment; env values override values loaded from envFile.

Authentication

Browser login

Remote HTTP and SSE servers without an explicit Authorization header use MCP OAuth discovery when authentication is required. Compatible servers must support dynamic client registration.

Right-click a server to access authorization actions, or use the corresponding Command Palette commands:

• Log In Again — Disconnect, remove saved OAuth credentials for that configuration and endpoint, and reconnect to begin authorization again if required.
• Log Out — Disconnect and remove saved OAuth credentials from this editor. Browser sessions and authorizations granted at the provider remain active.

OAuth tokens and client registration details are saved in VS Code SecretStorage. The MCP SDK handles token refresh. Browser login allows up to three minutes; disconnecting cancels the pending login. A provider may reuse your existing browser session when you log in again.

API tokens and headers

For services requiring a token, configure the appropriate header. A password input avoids placing the token directly in the configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "remote-server": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://example.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:mcp-token}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "mcp-token",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "MCP access token",
      "password": true
    }
  ]
}

Prompted input values are requested when connecting and are not persisted by the extension. Servers using an explicit Authorization header use that credential instead of automatic browser login. Edit the header or its input to change credentials.

Search and organize tools

Type in the search field at the top of the MCP server panel to filter loaded tools by name or description. Search is case-insensitive and automatically expands connected servers. Connect a server first to load its tools.

Use Filter Servers to select a connection status. Clear Search and Server Filter resets the search and status filter.

Select Hide Tool in MCP Explorer to remove a tool from the list. The eye button, Show / Hide Hidden Tools, reveals hidden tools so you can restore them with Show Tool in MCP Explorer. Visibility preferences are scoped to the workspace, configuration file, server, and tool name. The hidden-tools toggle works independently of search and status filters.

Connection diagnostics

Run MCP Explorer: Show Connection Diagnostics to view timestamped failure categories and suggested next steps. Messages cover common issues such as missing commands or directories, insufficient permissions, hostname resolution, refused connections, authentication, and timeouts. Unrecognized failures receive a general troubleshooting message.

Diagnostics use fixed messages. Raw remote response bodies, URLs, credentials, and server process output are not written to the diagnostic log.

Tool-change notifications refresh the list automatically. Refreshes run sequentially per server, and notifications received during a refresh queue a follow-up refresh.

Settings

Scope and compatibility

MCP List Tool Explorer creates its own server connections to discover tool metadata. It does not invoke tools. Connection status describes this extension's connection, independently of Copilot or other MCP clients.

Hiding a tool changes only its visibility in this explorer. It does not change server permissions, edit the server configuration, or disable the tool in other clients.

Servers are not started automatically when VS Code opens. Workspace configuration changes are monitored; after editing a server definition, connect again. For user or additional configuration files changed outside the editor, use Refresh Servers if the list has not updated.

Servers available only through another extension's internal API or a cloud account are not discovered automatically. Add a supported local configuration file instead.

For Remote SSH, WSL, or Dev Containers, install the extension in the workspace extension host where the servers are available. Remote browser login provides a URL to copy into your local browser; access to the loopback callback may require port forwarding. If the saved callback port is unavailable during reconnection, use Log In Again to start a new authorization session.

License

MIT. See the LICENSE file included with the extension.