Cline (VS Code Extension)¶

Cline is a Visual Studio Code extension that brings AI-powered coding assistance directly into your editor. It supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling seamless integration with MCP-compatible servers like MCP Gateway.

🧰 Key Features¶

AI-Powered Coding: Leverages advanced AI models (e.g., Claude 3.5 Sonnet, DeepSeek Chat) for code generation, editing, and debugging.
MCP Integration: Connects to MCP servers to discover and utilize tools dynamically.
Terminal and Browser Access: Executes terminal commands and performs browser operations with user permission.
Custom Tools: Supports adding custom tools via MCP for extended functionality.

🛠 Installation¶

Install Cline Extension:
Open VS Code.
Navigate to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X).
Search for "Cline" and click "Install".
Sign In to Cline:
Click the Cline icon in the Activity Bar.
Follow the prompts to sign in or create a new account at app.cline.bot.
New users receive free credits; no credit card required.

🔗 Connecting to MCP Gateway¶

To integrate Cline with your MCP Gateway:

Configure MCP Server:
Open the Cline settings in VS Code.
Navigate to the MCP Servers section.

Add a new MCP server with the following configuration under mcpServers as shown below:

"mcpServers": {
    "mcpgateway-wrapper": {
       "disabled": true,
       "timeout": 60,
       "type": "stdio",
       "command": "uv",
       "args": [
       "run",
       "--directory",
       "REPLACE_WITH_PATH_TO_REPO",
       "-m",
       "mcpgateway.wrapper"
       ],
       "env": {
          "MCP_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:4444",
          "MCP_AUTH": "Bearer REPLACE_WITH_MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN",
          "MCP_WRAPPER_LOG_LEVEL": "OFF"
       }
    }
 }

Enable the MCP Server:
Ensure the newly added MCP server is enabled in the Cline settings.
Verify Connection:
In the Cline interface, navigate to the MCP Servers section.
Confirm that the MCP Gateway server is listed and shows a green status indicator.

🧪 Using MCP Tools in Cline¶

Once connected:

Discover Tools: Cline will automatically fetch and list available tools from the MCP Gateway.
Invoke Tools: Use natural language prompts in Cline to invoke tools. For example:
"Run the hello_world tool with the argument name: Alice."
Monitor Responses: Cline will display the tool's output directly within the chat interface.

📝 Tips for Effective Use¶

.clinerules File: Create a .clinerules file in your project root to define project-specific behaviors and instructions for Cline.
Custom Instructions: Utilize Cline's Custom Instructions feature to tailor its behavior across all projects.
Model Selection: Choose the AI model that best fits your project's needs within the Cline settings.