MCP per IDE

Cline MCP setup

Add webfetch as an MCP server in the Cline VS Code extension.

Cline (formerly Claude Dev) is the leading MCP-enabled VS Code extension. It runs agent loops locally and calls MCP tools between steps.

#Setup

Cline reads its MCP config from a dedicated settings file. The path depends on your VS Code flavor:

  • VS Code: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json (macOS). On Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json. On Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json.
  • Cursor: same path, swap Code → Cursor.

Merge this block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "webfetch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@webfetch/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "...",
        "PEXELS_API_KEY": "...",
        "SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID": "...",
        "SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET": "..."
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": ["search_images", "search_artist_images", "search_album_cover"]
    }
  }
}

autoApprove lets Cline call those tools without prompting you every time. Reserve it for read-only tools; don't auto-approve download_image or fetch_with_license if you want to review each file before it lands on disk.

Save, then click the "MCP Servers" icon in the Cline sidebar and hit "Restart" next to webfetch.

#Verification

Open a Cline task:

Search for a CC0 image of a 1960s film camera. Download the top result
to ./assets/ and write me a one-line credit.

Cline's tool panel shows each call with arguments. It will ask for approval on download_image unless you auto-approved it.

#Troubleshooting

  • Server shows "Not Connected" — open Cline's output panel (View → Output → "Cline") and look for the MCP stderr. Usually a PATH issue; set "command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/npx".
  • Tools time out — Cline defaults to a short tool timeout. Ask it to "rerun with a longer timeout" or edit the cline.mcpRequestTimeout setting.
  • Cline keeps picking ToS-grey providers — add to your task's system prompt: "Only use providers with license safe-only. Never set providers: [\"browser\"] or providers: [\"serpapi\"]."

#Next steps