VSC-MCP Server

A VSCode extension that exposes your IDE as an MCP server — compensating for missing capabilities required by AI agents and enabling advanced control.

⚠️ ATTENTION! After updating to version 0.4.1 or later, you MUST reset the cached tool definitions:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS)
2. Type: MCP: Reset Cached Tools
3. Run the command

Key Features

Ask Report "Human In The Loop"

• Interactive webview to prompt the user with Markdown content and predefined options or custom input. Includes copy-to-clipboard, external links handling, submit/cancel actions, and a configurable countdown timer with pause/resume.

Example of "Human In The Loop" mode in chat of Github Copilot:

Can you check the docs and explain how the project works? #vscode

Terminal Operations

• Execute commands within VSCode’s integrated terminal (supports background/foreground execution, and timeout settings).

Available Built-in Tools

• execute_command: Execute commands in VSCode’s integrated terminal
• code_checker: Retrieve current diagnostics for your code
• focus_editor: Focus specific locations within files
• get_terminal_output: Fetch output from a specified terminal
• ask_report: Prompt the user via a webview using Markdown and optional predefined options.

Configuration

1. Disable the IDE's default terminal tools

2. Configure your MCP client:

   Clients like VSCode, Cursor, Trae: add the following to your configuration file (mcp.json):

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "vscode": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": [
           "vsc-mcp"
         ],
         "type": "stdio",
         "env": {
           "DISCOVERY_PORT": 60100
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Check the MCP server status in the bottom-left VSCode status bar:

   

4. Recommended rules for AI agents:

## Code Development
- **After code editing**: Always check code using `mcp_vscode_code_checker` tool

## Tools Priority
- **Rule**: Always use ONLY `mcp_vscode_execute_command`, `mcp_vscode_get_terminal_output` instead of any other command line tool to perform tasks

## Terminal Analysis
- **CRITICAL**: MUST always read and analyze complete terminal output, not just exit code
- **Forbidden**: Never make assumptions based solely on exit codes
- **Required**: Always examine actual output text, error messages, warnings, and any other information displayed before providing response or next steps

## Decision Making
- **Ambiguous tasks**: ALWAYS clarify using `mcp_vscode_ask_report` tool
- **Requires decisions**: ALWAYS clarify using `mcp_vscode_ask_report` tool

## Code Development
- **Final confirmation**: MUST ask user if all requirements from specification are completed using `mcp_vscode_ask_report` tool with work report

## Final gate
- Before ANY final answer (after actions/edits/checks), it is **MANDATORY** to call `mcp_vscode_ask_report` with a report on the work done and the option ["Yes, everything is OK"].
- If the answer is not "Yes, everything is OK" — continue working until the comments are resolved and repeat every time `mcp_vscode_ask_report`.
- There are no exceptions (including minor edits).

Settings

• mcpServer.startOnActivate (boolean, default: true) — start server on VS Code activation
• mcpServer.port (number, default: 60100) — port of the MCP server
• mcpServer.confirmationUI ("InputBox" | "statusBar", default: "InputBox") — UI for command confirmation
• mcpServer.confirmNonDestructiveCommands (boolean, default: false) — ask confirmation even for non‑destructive commands
• mcpServer.askReportTimeoutSeconds (number, default: 600) — Timeout in seconds for the ask-report webview. When > 0, the dialog shows a countdown and auto-cancels on expiration.