VSCode Devtools

What the VSCode Devtools MCP server does

The VSCode Devtools MCP server connects an AI coding assistant to the language features available in an open VS Code workspace. It can expose navigation, symbol inspection, semantic analysis, refactoring, and code-action operations for languages supported by the language extensions installed in VS Code.

The available capabilities include finding references, definitions, implementations, declarations, and type definitions; searching symbols across a workspace; and retrieving hover documentation, signatures, document symbols, semantic tokens, call hierarchies, type hierarchies, code lenses, highlights, and selection ranges. It also supports code completions, quick fixes, refactorings, rename-location discovery, and symbol renaming.

How it works

The project is delivered as a VS Code extension. After activation, the extension starts an MCP-compatible HTTP server on the local machine. Clients connect through Server-Sent Events at /sse and send messages through /message. The default port is 8008.

Because operations use VS Code's language-server state, the relevant project must be open in VS Code and the appropriate language extension must be installed. For example, working with C# requires a C# language extension. The VS Code requirement listed by the project is version 1.93.0 or newer.

The VSCode Devtools MCP server also supports separate endpoints for multiple VS Code projects. Each project can define its own port and URL path, allowing assistants to connect to different open workspaces without sharing one endpoint.

Setup and configuration

Install the Bifrost extension from the VS Code Marketplace, install the language extensions needed by the project, and open the project in VS Code. The extension starts the server when activated. It also provides commands to start the default server, start one on a selected port, stop it, and open a debug panel.

Without additional configuration, connect an MCP client to http://localhost:8008/sse. A bifrost.config.json file in the project root can set a project name, description, path, and port. If a port is omitted, 8008 remains the default. Each concurrently open project should use a distinct port, and the configured port must be available.

The README documents direct SSE configuration for Cursor and Roo Code. For Cline, it documents using Supergateway to bridge the SSE endpoint. These client configurations point to the local endpoint; they do not start the VS Code extension themselves.

Tools and capabilities

The VSCode Devtools MCP server exposes tools including:

• find_usages for locating references to a symbol.
• go_to_definition, get_declaration, and get_type_definition for code navigation.
• find_implementations for discovering interface or abstract-method implementations.
• get_workspace_symbols and get_document_symbols for symbol search and file outlines.
• get_hover_info, get_signature_help, and get_completions for language-server context.
• get_rename_locations and rename for project-wide rename workflows.
• get_code_actions for quick fixes and refactoring suggestions.
• get_call_hierarchy, get_type_hierarchy, get_semantic_tokens, get_code_lens, get_selection_range, and get_document_highlights.

Limitations and notes

Results depend on the language support available in the current VS Code workspace. The server is local to the VS Code instance and requires the extension to be installed and running. Multiple projects cannot safely share a port; a configured port conflict prevents the server from starting until the port is freed or changed. The provided material does not specify authentication, remote hosting, or a standalone package command for running the server outside VS Code.