Add MCP servers to Cline

Cline keeps servers in cline_mcp_settings.json inside VS Code's extension storage, or in ~/.cline/mcp.json for the CLI.

macOS

~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

Windows

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

Linux

~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

CLI

~/.cline/mcp.json

Top-level key

mcpServers

Format

json

OAuth for remote servers

?Not documented

Example config

This example adds GitHub's hosted server and Playwright as a local server, in the shape this client expects.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "disabled": false
    },
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Notes and quirks

• Remote entries need type streamableHttp; without it Cline falls back to legacy SSE.
• The paths shown are for stable VS Code. Other VS Code forks keep their own globalStorage folder.
• Entries also accept disabled and autoApprove, a list of tool names.
• OAuth for remote servers isn't documented.
• cline mcp opens an interactive setup wizard.

Build a Cline config →

Other clients