Where is the Windsurf (Cascade) MCP config file located?

On Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json. On macOS: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json. On Linux: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json.

Does Windsurf (Cascade) support MCP tools and stdio transports?

Windsurf (Cascade) supports stdio transports and supports autonomous tool calling.

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How to Setup MCP in Windsurf (Cascade)

Agentic IDE

Step-by-step setup guide for connecting Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to Windsurf (Cascade) by Codeium.

Configuration File: mcp_config.json

%USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json

Example mcp_config.json Template

Open in Config Generator

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "./"]
    }
  }
}

Installation Steps

Locate mcp_config.json

Find the configuration file at %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json.

Add MCP server entries

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

Set environment variables

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

Save and reload

Save mcp_config.json and hot-reload or restart Windsurf (Cascade).

Verify in chat

Ask Windsurf (Cascade) to list tools or execute a task with the connected MCP server.

Windsurf (Cascade) Protocol Support

Stdio Transport Supported

Stdio process spawns

SSE / HTTP Transport Supported

SSE endpoints

Tool Calling Supported

Cascade automated terminal & code changes

Resources API Supported

Read-only file attachments

Prompts API Supported

Cascade workflows

Roots Boundary Supported

Multi-root workspace detection

Dynamic Hot-Reload Supported

Reload button in settings