MCP Server for VS Code

A VS Code extension that provides a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, enabling AI assistants to interact with your VS Code environment for language intelligence, debugging, and code execution.

Features

• Language Intelligence: Access VS Code's language server features including:

  • Go to definition
  • Find references
  • Diagnostics (errors and warnings)
  • Symbol search
  • Call hierarchy

• Debugging Support: Control VS Code's debugger programmatically:

  • Start/stop debug sessions
  • Set and manage breakpoints
  • Step through code (into/over/out)
  • Inspect variables and call stacks
  • Evaluate expressions in debug context

Installation

Alpha Testing

Step 1: Install VS Code Extension

Download the .vsix file from Releases and install:

• In VS Code: Extensions → ... menu → Install from VSIX
• Or via command line: code --install-extension mcp-server-vscode-*.vsix

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

The MCP server runs directly from GitHub using npx. Add this to your Claude config:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vscode": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["github:malvex/mcp-server-vscode"]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

That's it! The VS Code tools are now available in Claude.

Configure Claude Code (CLI)

For Claude Code users, run this one-liner:

claude mcp add-json vscode '{"type":"stdio","command":"npx","args":["github:malvex/mcp-server-vscode"]}' -s user

Usage

Once installed, the extension shows the MCP server status in the VS Code status bar (bottom right).

To start the MCP server: Click on "VS Code MCP: Stopped" in the status bar. It will change to "VS Code MCP: 8991" when running.

The status bar indicates:

• VS Code MCP: 8991 - Server is running on port 8991
• VS Code MCP: Stopped - Server is not running

Click the status bar item to toggle the server on/off.

How It Works

┌─────────────┐     stdio      ┌──────────────────┐     HTTP      ┌─────────────┐
│   Claude    │ ◄────────────► │  MCP Standalone  │ ◄───────────► │   VS Code   │
│   Desktop   │                │      Server      │    :8991      │  Extension  │
└─────────────┘                └──────────────────┘               └─────────────┘

1. VS Code Extension provides an HTTP API on port 8991
2. MCP Standalone Server acts as a bridge, converting stdio ↔ HTTP
3. Claude Desktop communicates with the standalone server via stdio

Troubleshooting

If Claude can't connect to VS Code:

1. Check VS Code is running with the extension active
2. Check the status bar shows "VS Code MCP: 8991"
3. Test the MCP server: Run npx github:malvex/mcp-server-vscode in terminal
4. Check firewall isn't blocking localhost:8991
5. Try manually starting the MCP server in VS Code (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P → "Start MCP Server")

Available Tools

The extension provides 25 tools organized into three main categories:

Language Intelligence Tools (7 tools)

Tool	Description	Main Parameters	Example
hover	Get hover information (type info, documentation) for a symbol by name	symbol (required), uri (optional), format (optional)	hover({ symbol: "calculateSum" })
definition	Find where a symbol is defined. Instantly jumps to declarations	symbol (required), format (optional)	definition({ symbol: "Calculator" })
references	Find all references to a symbol. Superior to grep - finds semantic references	symbol (required), includeDeclaration (optional), format (optional)	references({ symbol: "process" })
callHierarchy	Analyze what calls a function or what a function calls	symbol (required), direction (required: 'incoming'|'outgoing'|'both'), uri (optional), format (optional)	callHierarchy({ symbol: "initialize", direction: "incoming" })
symbolSearch	Search for symbols (classes, functions, variables) across the workspace	query (required), kind (optional), format (optional)	symbolSearch({ query: "Controller", kind: "class" })
workspaceSymbols	Get a complete map of all symbols in the workspace	includeDetails (optional), filePattern (optional), maxFiles (optional), format (optional)	workspaceSymbols({ filePattern: "**/*.ts" })
diagnostics	Get all errors and warnings for a file or workspace	uri (optional), format (optional)	diagnostics({})

Refactoring Tools (1 tool)

Tool	Description	Main Parameters	Example
refactor_rename	Rename a symbol across all files. Automatically updates all references and imports	symbol (required), newName (required), uri (optional), format (optional)	refactor_rename({ symbol: "OldName", newName: "NewName" })

Debug Tools (17 tools)

Breakpoint Management

Tool	Description	Main Parameters	Example
debug_setBreakpoint	Set breakpoints by symbol name or file/line with optional conditions	symbol OR (file AND line), condition (optional), hitCondition (optional), logMessage (optional), format (optional)	debug_setBreakpoint({ symbol: "processData", condition: "items.length > 100" })
debug_toggleBreakpoint	Toggle a breakpoint on/off at a specific location	symbol OR (file AND line), format (optional)	debug_toggleBreakpoint({ file: "app.js", line: 25 })
debug_listBreakpoints	List all breakpoints in the workspace	format (optional)	debug_listBreakpoints({})
debug_clearBreakpoints	Clear all breakpoints from the workspace	format (optional)	debug_clearBreakpoints({})

Session Management

Tool	Description	Main Parameters	Example
debug_status	Get current debug session status and active threads	format (optional)	debug_status({})
debug_listConfigurations	List available debug configurations from launch.json	format (optional)	debug_listConfigurations({})
debug_startSession	Start a debug session using a configuration	configuration (optional), format (optional)	debug_startSession({ configuration: "Launch Program" })
debug_stopSession	Stop the active debug session	format (optional)	debug_stopSession({})

Runtime Control

Tool	Description	Main Parameters	Example
debug_pauseExecution	Pause the running program	threadId (optional), format (optional)	debug_pauseExecution({})
debug_continueExecution	Continue execution from current breakpoint	threadId (optional), allThreads (optional), format (optional)	debug_continueExecution({})
debug_stepOver	Step over the current line of code	threadId (optional), format (optional)	debug_stepOver({})
debug_stepInto	Step into the function call at current line	threadId (optional), format (optional)	debug_stepInto({})
debug_stepOut	Step out of the current function	threadId (optional), format (optional)	debug_stepOut({})

Inspection and Evaluation

Tool	Description	Main Parameters	Example
debug_getCallStack	Get the current call stack with source locations	threadId (optional), startFrame (optional), levels (optional), format (optional)	debug_getCallStack({ levels: 10 })
debug_inspectVariables	Inspect variables in the current scope during debugging	threadId (optional), frameId (optional), scope (optional: 'all'|'locals'|'globals'|'closure'), filter (optional), format (optional)	debug_inspectVariables({ scope: "locals" })
debug_evaluateExpression	Evaluate an expression in the debug context	expression (required), frameId (optional), context (optional), format (optional)	debug_evaluateExpression({ expression: "user.permissions" })
debug_getOutput	Get debug console output	category (optional), filter (optional), limit (optional), format (optional)	debug_getOutput({})

Tool Features

All tools support:

• Compact format - Optimized for AI token efficiency
• Detailed format - Full data for complex analysis
• Symbol-based navigation - Work with names instead of file/line numbers
• Workspace-wide operations - Not limited to single files
• Language server integration - Accurate semantic understanding

Usage Examples for AI Assistants

When connected via MCP, AI assistants can use these tools to help users with development tasks:

Finding and Understanding Code

User: "What does the handleRequest function do?"
AI uses: hover({ symbol: "handleRequest" })
→ Gets type signature and documentation without reading entire files

User: "Where is the DatabaseConnection class defined?"
AI uses: definition({ symbol: "DatabaseConnection" })
→ Instantly finds the file and line where it's declared

User: "Show me all places where processPayment is called"
AI uses: callHierarchy({ symbol: "processPayment", direction: "incoming" })
→ Gets complete list of callers with their locations

Refactoring

User: "Rename the oldMethodName method to newMethodName everywhere"
AI uses: refactor_rename({ symbol: "oldMethodName", newName: "newMethodName" })
→ Safely renames across all files, updating imports and references

Debugging

User: "Help me debug why the server crashes"
AI uses: debug_listConfigurations({})
→ Shows available debug configurations

AI uses: debug_startSession({ configuration: "Debug Server" })
→ Starts the debug session

User: "Set a breakpoint where errors are handled"
AI uses: debug_setBreakpoint({ symbol: "handleError" })
→ Sets breakpoint on the function

User: "What's the value of the user object here?"
AI uses: debug_inspectVariables({ scope: "locals", filter: "user" })
→ Shows current value of user variable in debug context

User: "Why is this condition true?"
AI uses: debug_evaluateExpression({ expression: "users.length > 0 && isActive" })
→ Evaluates the expression in current debug scope

Development

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/malvex/mcp-server-vscode.git
cd mcp-server-vscode

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build everything
npm run compile
npm run package

# Package the VS Code extension
npx vsce package

Testing Local Changes

To test your local development version:

1. VS Code Extension: Press F5 in VS Code to launch Extension Development Host
2. MCP Server: Update Claude config to use local path:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vscode": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-server-vscode/out/mcp/standalone-server.js"]
    }
  }
}

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.