From 114ad26b49315c4340a673b6efbdd77faf2f4dd5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Patrick Erichsen Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:50:12 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 1/5] Update mcp.mdx --- docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx | 94 ++++++++++++------------------- 1 file changed, 35 insertions(+), 59 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx index 074448104d1..9978e7b168a 100644 --- a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx +++ b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx @@ -1,66 +1,67 @@ --- -title: "How to Set Up Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Continue" -description: MCP use and customization -keywords: [tool, use, function calling, claude, automatic] -sidebarTitle: "Model Context Protocol (MCP)" +title: "How to use MCP servers with Continue" +description: "Learn how to set up and use Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers with Continue to enhance your AI agents with external tools and data sources." +keywords: [tool, use, function calling, claude, automatic, mcp] +sidebarTitle: "MCP Servers" --- As AI systems get better, they're still held back by their training data and can't access real-time information or specialized tools. The [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction) (MCP) fixes this by letting AI models connect with outside data sources, tools, and environments. + This allows smooth sharing of information and abilities between AI systems and the wider digital world. This standard, created by Anthropic to bring together prompts, context, and tool use, is key for building truly useful AI experiences that can be set up with custom tools. -## How MCP Works in Continue - -Currently custom tools can be configured using the Model Context -Protocol standard to unify prompts, context, and tool use. - -MCP Servers can be added to hub Agents using `mcpServers` blocks. You can -explore available MCP server blocks -[here](https://hub.continue.dev/explore/mcp). - -MCP can only be used in the **agent** mode. - ## Quick Start: How to Set Up Your First MCP Server -Below is a quick example of setting up a new MCP server for use in your agent: +Simply add the following configuration file to make the Linear MCP server available to your agents: -1. Create a folder called `.continue/mcpServers` at the top level of your workspace -2. Add a file called `playwright-mcp.yaml` to this folder. -3. Write the following contents to `playwright-mcp.yaml` and save. +- **For workspace-specific access**: Add to the root of your workspace +- **For global access**: Add to your `~/.continue` directory -```yaml title=".continue/mcpServers/playwright-mcp.yaml" -name: Playwright mcpServer +```yaml title=".continue/mcpServers/linear.yaml" +name: Linear version: 0.0.1 schema: v1 + mcpServers: - - name: Browser search - command: npx - args: - - "@playwright/mcp@latest" + ## This uses the slug from the official MCP registry: https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io + - serverName: app.linear/linear ``` -Now test your MCP server by prompting the following command: +To verify the server is working, run the following prompt: ``` -Open the browser and navigate Hacker News. Save the top 10 headlines in a hn.txt file. +Find all open issues assigned to me in Linear and list their titles. ``` -The result will be a generated file called `hn.txt` in the current working directory. +## Adding an MCP server from the Hub + +You can also add an MCP server directly from the [Continue Hub](https://hub.continue.dev/?type=mcpServers). -![playwright mcp](/images/mcp-playwright.png) +Continue pulls directly from the official MCP registry at [registry.modelcontextprotocol.io](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io) to provide a one-click install experience for popular MCP servers. -## How to Set Up Continue Documentation Search with MCP +## Configuring secrets -You can set up an MCP server to search the Continue documentation directly from your agent. This is particularly useful for getting help with Continue configuration and features. +For MCP servers that require secret values, such as API keys, you use secrets stored in Continue Hub, or directly set the value: -For complete setup instructions, troubleshooting, and usage examples, see the [Continue MCP Reference](/reference/continue-mcp). +```yaml title=".continue/mcpServers/linear.yaml highlight={3-4, 9-10} +mcpServers: + - serverName: com.supabase/mcp + env: + SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN }} ## Read from Continue Hub secrets + + - serverName: com.supabase/mcp + env: + SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN: +``` -## How to Configure MCP Servers +## Advanced + +### How to Configure MCP Servers To set up your own MCP server, read the [MCP quickstart](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart) and then [create an @@ -101,7 +102,7 @@ server block to your [config file](./configuration.md): -### How to Configure MCP Server Properties +#### How to Configure MCP Server Properties MCP blocks follow the established syntax for blocks, with a few additional properties specific to MCP servers. @@ -154,28 +155,3 @@ mcpServers: These remote transport options allow you to connect to MCP servers hosted on remote infrastructure, enabling more flexible deployment architectures and shared server resources across multiple clients. For detailed information about transport mechanisms and their use cases, refer to the official MCP documentation on [transports](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/concepts/transports#server-sent-events-sse). - -### How to Work with Secrets in MCP Servers - -With some MCP servers you will need to use API keys or other secrets. You can leverage locally stored environments secrets -as well as access hosted secrets in the Continue Hub. To leverage Hub secrets, you can use the `inputs` property in your MCP env block instead of `secrets`. - -```yaml -mcpServers: - - name: Supabase MCP - command: npx - args: - - -y - - "@supabase/mcp-server-supabase@latest" - - --access-token - - ${{ secrets.SUPABASE_TOKEN }} - env: - SUPABASE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SUPABASE_TOKEN }} - - name: GitHub - command: npx - args: - - "-y" - - "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github" - env: - GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN }} -``` From 674e745571658465c6f608d353e2187b6cd811bf Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Patrick Erichsen Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2025 16:00:58 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 2/5] Update mcp.mdx --- docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx | 5 +++++ 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+) diff --git a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx index 9978e7b168a..3955931d12b 100644 --- a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx +++ b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx @@ -44,6 +44,11 @@ You can also add an MCP server directly from the [Continue Hub](https://hub.cont Continue pulls directly from the official MCP registry at [registry.modelcontextprotocol.io](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io) to provide a one-click install experience for popular MCP servers. +## Using `.mcp.json` from Claude Desktop or Claude Code + +If you have an existing `.mcp.json` file from Claude Desktop or Claude Code, just copy it into your `.continue/mcpServers` directory and Continue will automatically pick it up. + + ## Configuring secrets For MCP servers that require secret values, such as API keys, you use secrets stored in Continue Hub, or directly set the value: From 1c7535ca547e102a608a936f3692776839fa4fda Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Patrick Erichsen Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2025 16:04:10 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 3/5] Update mcp.mdx --- docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx index 3955931d12b..1ddf1554e9c 100644 --- a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx +++ b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx @@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ You can also add an MCP server directly from the [Continue Hub](https://hub.cont Continue pulls directly from the official MCP registry at [registry.modelcontextprotocol.io](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io) to provide a one-click install experience for popular MCP servers. -## Using `.mcp.json` from Claude Desktop or Claude Code +## Using `.mcp.json` from Claude, Cursor, Cline, etc -If you have an existing `.mcp.json` file from Claude Desktop or Claude Code, just copy it into your `.continue/mcpServers` directory and Continue will automatically pick it up. +If you have an existing `.mcp.json` file from Claude, Cursor, Cline, or any other agent that supports the spec, just copy it into your `.continue/mcpServers` directory and Continue will automatically pick it up. ## Configuring secrets From 8b47852afa5665e7a33643c589d7e64c0d0e7f1c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Patrick Erichsen Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2025 16:12:46 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 4/5] Update mcp.mdx --- docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx | 12 +++++++++++- 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx index 1ddf1554e9c..2b492a5de7a 100644 --- a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx +++ b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx @@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Continue pulls directly from the official MCP registry at [registry.modelcontext ## Using `.mcp.json` from Claude, Cursor, Cline, etc -If you have an existing `.mcp.json` file from Claude, Cursor, Cline, or any other agent that supports the spec, just copy it into your `.continue/mcpServers` directory and Continue will automatically pick it up. +If you have an existing `.mcp.json` file from Claude, Cursor, Cline, or any other agent that supports the spec, ~~just~~ copy it into your `.continue/mcpServers` directory and Continue will automatically pick it up. ## Configuring secrets @@ -66,6 +66,16 @@ mcpServers: ## Advanced +### Pointing to a different MCP registry + +You can use the `registryUrl` property to point to a different MCP registry: + +```yaml title=".continue/mcpServers/linear.yaml" +mcpServers: + - serverName: app.linear/linear + registryUrl: https://my-custom-registry.com +``` + ### How to Configure MCP Servers To set up your own MCP server, read the [MCP From 5fb410ed289270e2063eca6118901e40bd597610 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Patrick Erichsen Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:18:13 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 5/5] Update mcp.mdx --- docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx | 19 +++++++++++++------ 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx index 2b492a5de7a..f7beab76130 100644 --- a/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx +++ b/docs/customize/deep-dives/mcp.mdx @@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ version: 0.0.1 schema: v1 mcpServers: - ## This uses the slug from the official MCP registry: https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io - - serverName: app.linear/linear + - name: Linear MCP + namespace: app.linear/linear ## This uses the slug from the official MCP registry: https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io ``` To verify the server is working, run the following prompt: @@ -53,13 +53,15 @@ If you have an existing `.mcp.json` file from Claude, Cursor, Cline, or any othe For MCP servers that require secret values, such as API keys, you use secrets stored in Continue Hub, or directly set the value: -```yaml title=".continue/mcpServers/linear.yaml highlight={3-4, 9-10} +```yaml title=".continue/mcpServers/supabase.yaml highlight={3-4, 9-10} mcpServers: - - serverName: com.supabase/mcp + - name: Supabase MCP + namespace: com.supabase/mcp env: SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN }} ## Read from Continue Hub secrets - - serverName: com.supabase/mcp + - name: Supabase MCP + namespace: com.supabase/mcp env: SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN: ``` @@ -72,7 +74,8 @@ You can use the `registryUrl` property to point to a different MCP registry: ```yaml title=".continue/mcpServers/linear.yaml" mcpServers: - - serverName: app.linear/linear + - name: Linear MCP + namespace: app.linear/linear registryUrl: https://my-custom-registry.com ``` @@ -127,6 +130,10 @@ MCP blocks follow the established syntax for blocks, with a few additional prope - `args`: Arguments to pass to the command. - `env`: Secrets to be injected into the command as environment variables. +For MCP blocks that pull from a registry, use the following properties: +- `namespace`: The namespace of the MCP server, e.g. `app.linear/linear`. +- `registryUrl`: (Optional) The URL of the MCP registry to pull from. Defaults to `https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io`. + ### How to Choose MCP Transport Types MCP now supports remote server connections through HTTP-based transports, expanding beyond the traditional local stdio transport method. This enables integration with cloud-hosted MCP servers and distributed architectures.