VS Code Extension

🎥Plug & Play

Watch the demo

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This tutorial covers how to add the VS Code MCP Server as a Goose extension to enable VS Code integration, file operations, and development workflow management.

Required Setup

Install the VS Code MCP Extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace.

TLDR

Goose Desktop

Launch the installer

Goose CLI

Command

npx -y vscode-mcp-server

Configuration

info

Note that you'll need Node.js installed on your system to run this command, as it uses npx.

1. Add the VS Code MCP Extension to your VS Code. No additional settings required in VS Code.

Goose Desktop

1. Launch the installer
2. Press Yes to confirm the installation
3. Click Save Configuration
4. Click Exit from the upper left corner

Goose CLI

1. Run the configure command:

goose configure

2. Choose to add a Command-line Extension

  ┌   goose-configure 
  │
  ◇  What would you like to configure?
  │  Add Extension (Connect to a new extension) 
  │
  ◆  What type of extension would you like to add?
  │  ○ Built-in Extension 
  │  ● Command-line Extension (Run a local command or script)
  │  ○ Remote Extension 
  └ 

3. Give your extension a name

  ┌   goose-configure 
  │
  ◇  What would you like to configure?
  │  Add Extension (Connect to a new extension) 
  │
  ◇  What type of extension would you like to add?
  │  Command-line Extension 
  │
  ◆  What would you like to call this extension?
  │  vscode-mcp
  └ 

4. Enter the command

  ┌   goose-configure 
  │
  ◇  What would you like to configure?
  │  Add Extension (Connect to a new extension) 
  │
  ◇  What type of extension would you like to add?
  │  Command-line Extension 
  │
  ◇  What would you like to call this extension?
  │  vscode-mcp
  │
  ◆  What command should be run?
  │  npx -y vscode-mcp-server
  └ 

5. Enter the timeout value (default 300s is recommended)

┌   goose-configure 
│
◇  What would you like to configure?
│  Add Extension (Connect to a new extension) 
│
◇  What type of extension would you like to add?
│  Command-line Extension 
│
◇  What would you like to call this extension?
│  vscode-mcp
│
◇  What command should be run?
│  npx -y vscode-mcp-server install
│
◆  Please set the timeout for this tool (in secs):
│  300
│
└ 

6. Choose to add a description. If you select "Yes" here, you will be prompted to enter a description for the extension.

 ┌   goose-configure 
 │
 ◇  What would you like to configure?
 │  Add Extension (Connect to a new extension) 
 │
 ◇  What type of extension would you like to add?
 │  Command-line Extension 
 │
 ◇  What would you like to call this extension?
 │  vscode-mcp
 │
 ◇  What command should be run?
 │  npx -y vscode-mcp-server install
 │
 ◆  Please set the timeout for this tool (in secs):
 │  300
 │
 ◇  Would you like to add a description?
 │  No
 │
 └ 

7. No additional environment variables are required for basic setup

Example Usage

The VS Code MCP extension enables Goose to interact with your VS Code environment, managing files, projects, and development workflows.

The key strength of the VS Code MCP Server is its ability to:

• Show diffs before making changes
• Integrate file operations with VS Code's interface
• Manage project workspaces
• Provide immediate visual feedback in the editor

note

Every time you start a Goose session with the VS Code MCP server enabled, it checks to see if a matching project is open in VS Code. If not, it will prompt you to open the project before proceeding.

Goose Prompt

Update the contributing guide with instructions on how to start docusaurus dev server

Result