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Give Claude Code direct access to VS Code's code navigation, error checking, and debugging tools through the Model Context Protocol.
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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 β
...menu β 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
βββββββββββββββ stdio ββββββββββββββββββββ HTTP βββββββββββββββ
β Claude β ββββββββββββββΊ β MCP Standalone β βββββββββββββΊ β VS Code β
β Desktop β β Server β :8991 β Extension β
βββββββββββββββ ββββββββββββββββββββ βββββββββββββββ
- VS Code Extension provides an HTTP API on port 8991
- MCP Standalone Server acts as a bridge, converting stdio β HTTP
- Claude Desktop communicates with the standalone server via stdio
Troubleshooting
If Claude can't connect to VS Code:
- Check VS Code is running with the extension active
- Check the status bar shows "VS Code MCP: 8991"
- Test the MCP server: Run
npx github:malvex/mcp-server-vscodein terminal - Check firewall isn't blocking localhost:8991
- Try manually starting the MCP server in VS Code (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P β "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" })
β Gets type signature and documentation without reading entire files
User: "Where is the DatabaseConnection class defined?"
AI uses: definition({ symbol: "DatabaseConnection" })
β 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" })
β 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" })
β Safely renames across all files, updating imports and references
Debugging
User: "Help me debug why the server crashes"
AI uses: debug_listConfigurations({})
β Shows available debug configurations
AI uses: debug_startSession({ configuration: "Debug Server" })
β Starts the debug session
User: "Set a breakpoint where errors are handled"
AI uses: debug_setBreakpoint({ symbol: "handleError" })
β Sets breakpoint on the function
User: "What's the value of the user object here?"
AI uses: debug_inspectVariables({ scope: "locals", filter: "user" })
β Shows current value of user variable in debug context
User: "Why is this condition true?"
AI uses: debug_evaluateExpression({ expression: "users.length > 0 && isActive" })
β 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:
- VS Code Extension: Press F5 in VS Code to launch Extension Development Host
- 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.
