Claude DesktopCursorWindsurf (Cascade)Cline / Roo CodeOpenAI Codex CLIAntigravityZed EditorLangChain / LangGraph

How to Setup MCP in Cline / Roo Code

VS Code Extension

Step-by-step setup guide for connecting Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to Cline / Roo Code by Open Source.

Configuration File: cline_mcp_settings.json

%APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json

Example cline_mcp_settings.json Template

Open in Config Generator 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
      "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "BSA_..." }
    }
  }
}

Installation Steps

1

Locate cline_mcp_settings.json

Find the configuration file at %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json.

2

Add MCP server entries

Open the file and add your server definitions inside the configuration schema.

3

Set environment variables

Provide any required API keys, database URLs, or access tokens in the environment section.

4

Save and reload

Save cline_mcp_settings.json and hot-reload or restart Cline / Roo Code.

5

Verify in chat

Ask Cline / Roo Code to list tools or execute a task with the connected MCP server.

Cline / Roo Code Protocol Support

Stdio Transport Supported

Stdio execution

SSE / HTTP Transport Supported

SSE remote server support

Tool Calling Supported

Autonomous plan & act loops

Resources API Supported

Resource URI parsing

Prompts API Supported

Custom system prompts

Roots Boundary Supported

VS Code workspace folders

Dynamic Hot-Reload Supported

Instant hot reload in extension tab