AI Tools Setup — Connect vfs to Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf & More

Setting up vfs requires two steps:

Connect vfs — configure MCP or make the CLI available so the agent can call vfs.
Add an agent rule — tell the agent it should call vfs before grep.

This page covers Step 1. See Agent Rules for Step 2.

Choosing a method

Method	How it works	Best for
MCP (recommended)	Agent calls vfs tools directly via MCP protocol	Editors with MCP support (most modern AI editors)
CLI	Agent runs `vfs` as a shell command	Terminal-based tools, scripts, tools without MCP

Method 1: MCP Integration (recommended)

MCP lets the AI agent call vfs tools (search, extract, list_languages) directly without shell access. This works even in sandboxed environments where the agent can’t run arbitrary binaries.

MCP Tools

MCP Tool	Description	Parameters
`search`	Find signatures matching a pattern	`paths` (string[]), `pattern` (string)
`extract`	Return all exported signatures	`paths` (string[])
`list_languages`	Supported languages and extensions	none

Most tools use the same stdio JSON config. The only difference is where the file lives:

Tool	MCP config location
Cursor	`.cursor/mcp.json` (project) or `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (global)
Claude Code	`.mcp.json` (project) or `claude mcp add vfs -- vfs mcp`
Claude Desktop	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (macOS) or `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` (Windows)
Antigravity	MCP settings panel, or project MCP config
Windsurf	`.windsurf/mcp.json` (project) or global via Windsurf settings
Cline	MCP config in VS Code Cline extension settings
Continue	`.continue/config.json` under `experimental.modelContextProtocolServers`
Zed	`~/.config/zed/settings.json` under `context_servers`

Stdio config (Cursor, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Antigravity, Windsurf, Cline):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vfs": {
      "command": "vfs",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Continue uses a different structure:

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "vfs",
          "args": ["mcp"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Zed uses a different structure:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "vfs": {
      "command": {
        "path": "vfs",
        "args": ["mcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP config (for Docker, remote setups, or any tool that supports HTTP-based MCP):

vfs up                  # starts MCP on :8080 and dashboard on :3000
vfs up --port 9090      # starts MCP on :9090 and dashboard on :3000

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vfs": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8080/mcp"
    }
  }
}

If using a custom port, update the URL accordingly (e.g. http://localhost:9090/mcp).

Method 2: CLI Integration

For tools that don’t support MCP (Aider, custom scripts, CI), use vfs as a shell command:

vfs . -f CreateUser
# Output: internal/services/user.go:42: func CreateUser(name string, email string) (*User, error)

vfs . -f handler | head -20

LOCATION=$(vfs . -f CreateUser | head -1)
FILE=$(echo "$LOCATION" | cut -d: -f1)
LINE=$(echo "$LOCATION" | cut -d: -f2)
echo "Found at $FILE line $LINE"

Method 1: MCP integration (recommended)

MCP tools

Config file locations

Most tools use the same stdio JSON config. The only difference is where the file lives:

Tool	MCP config location
Cursor	`.cursor/mcp.json` (project) or `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (global)
Claude Code	`.mcp.json` (project) or `claude mcp add vfs -- vfs mcp`
Claude Desktop	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (macOS) or `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` (Windows)
Antigravity	MCP settings panel, or project MCP config
Windsurf	`.windsurf/mcp.json` (project) or global via Windsurf settings
Cline	MCP config in VS Code Cline extension settings
Continue	`.continue/config.json` under `experimental.modelContextProtocolServers`
Zed	`~/.config/zed/settings.json` under `context_servers`

Stdio config (most tools)

Works for Cursor, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Antigravity, Windsurf, and Cline:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vfs": {
      "command": "vfs",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Continue config

Continue uses a different structure:

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "vfs",
          "args": ["mcp"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Zed config

{
  "context_servers": {
    "vfs": {
      "command": {
        "path": "vfs",
        "args": ["mcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP config (Docker / remote)

For Docker, remote setups, or any tool that supports HTTP-based MCP:

vfs up    # starts MCP on :8080 and dashboard on :3000

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vfs": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8080/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Method 2: CLI integration

The CLI works in any environment with shell access — terminal-based tools like Aider, Claude Code, Antigravity, or custom scripts.

Next: add an agent rule

Connecting vfs is only half the setup. You must also tell the agent to use it. See Agent Rules for the required rule file.