Kith for VS Code and Cursor

One extension connects your editor's agent to Kith and adds a small read-only status indicator. Kith's coordination server is bundled; no global npm install is required.

Install

Upgrading to 0.1.6: Stop existing Kith connections first. Back up stopped coordination state (including SQLite sidecars) and retain worktrees; upgrade all coordinators sharing a repository together. This release migrates storage schema 2 to 3, which older binaries refuse. Existing custom launchers are preserved; review their pinned version before reconnecting. See recovery guidance.

Install Kith (kith-coord.kith) from the VS Code Marketplace or Cursor / Open VSX, or search for the extension ID in your editor. To select 0.1.7 explicitly when a marketplace lookup selects an older release, use your editor's CLI if it is on PATH:

code --install-extension kith-coord.kith@0.1.7
cursor --install-extension kith-coord.kith@0.1.7

Use the command for your editor. Without the CLI, download the published 0.1.7 VSIX and select it through Extensions → Install from VSIX.

Open a trusted local Git workspace with Node.js 22.13+ on 22.x or 24+ installed. Kith detects Node automatically; Kith: Node Path in user settings can select a different installation.

The extension offers Kith through the editor's native MCP API. The editor still controls server approval, tool permissions and start/stop. Existing Kith server entries are preserved and suppress a duplicate registration. Other MCP servers, hooks and permissions are untouched. VS Code 1.102+ and a Cursor version exposing its MCP extension API are required.

Tell the agent which repository contains the task. The same connection supports multiple repositories through Kith's repository argument; ownership stays scoped to each repository. Follow the returned worktree path and retain your normal verification and merge gates.

On main for the next release, the default view shows recorded tasks and claims, resource waits, integration failures with next steps, and a saved-work count. It says Watching only when no task has begun. Detailed checkout and path observations are available through Kith: Show Coordination Details; no files are cleaned up.

Click Kith in the status bar or run Kith: Show Workspace Status. It observes linked-worktree dirty paths and reads existing coordination state offline, distinguishing recorded active leases, retained sessions and unavailable ownership. Retained work is preserved for review. It does not initialize a project database, attribute writes to processes, enforce non-cooperating editors, or certify that changes merge. An unavailable scan stays unavailable. No telemetry or model calls are added.

Development

From the repository root, install core dependencies with pnpm install --frozen-lockfile, then run:

npm --prefix extensions/editor ci --ignore-scripts
npm --prefix extensions/editor run check
npm --prefix extensions/editor run package
npm --prefix extensions/editor run test:host

The VSIX is written to artifacts/kith-editor.vsix. Host validation opens an editor window with a disposable profile and synthetic Git workspace. On macOS only this empty test profile uses Electron's mock Keychain to avoid native credential prompts; never sign into it. Normal extension use does not change credential storage. Set KITH_EDITOR_EXECUTABLE to an installed editor executable to test Cursor, or KITH_EDITOR_VERSION to test a different VS Code version. Never use an active production workspace as the test profile.

Native API references: VS Code MCP provider, Cursor MCP registration.

Fresh marketplace installs of published extension 0.1.4 passed in VS Code 1.143.0 and Cursor 3.24.18, using each editor's own marketplace. Installed payloads matched the validated release. Native host checks on macOS passed with those versions (Cursor's VS Code API: 1.128.0): extension activation, native MCP registration, refresh, and no workspace configuration or database creation. These checks do not sign in, approve tools, or make model calls. Separate real MCP workflow tests exercise the bundled server through verified integration in two disposable repositories, including refusal of a capability from the other repository. CI checks the minimum VS Code version too.

Signed-in GUI validation separately completed a two-chat invoice task in VS Code: overlapping claim refused, separate worktrees, mutex-protected tests, failed full verification with preserved target, then successful retry/integration with all five tests passing. Cursor completed both implementations and the failed-verification check; its account usage limit blocked the final integration retry, which remains pending. These checks used extension 0.1.4 and preserved all 15 monitored client configuration paths byte-for-byte. See versioned evidence and boundaries.