MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets Cline use external tools and data sources through MCP servers.

What MCP gives you

Connect Cline to external APIs and services
Add custom tools beyond built-in Cline tools
Use either local servers or remote hosted servers

Quick start

Open MCP Servers in Cline
Add a local server manually, or connect to a hosted remote server
Configure credentials/environment variables
Verify tools appear and test one tool call

Add servers

Manual config

Edit your MCP config file and add either:

CLI: ~/.cline/mcp.json
IDE extensions:
1. In the Cline panel, click the MCP Servers icon (stacked server icon in the top toolbar).
2. Open the Configure tab.
3. Click Configure MCP Servers (button near the bottom).
4. This opens the MCP settings JSON used by the extension; add/update entries under mcpServers.
- If you’re adding a hosted endpoint (instead of editing JSON directly), use the Remote Servers tab:
  1. Enter Server Name (any unique label).
  2. Enter Server URL (full endpoint URL).
  3. Choose Transport Type:
    - Streamable HTTP (recommended)
    - SSE (Legacy)
  4. Click Add Server.
- Server config shape:
  - Local (STDIO) server using command + args
  - Remote (HTTP/SSE) server using url

CLI MCP wizard

From CLI, run:

The wizard supports:

Action	Description
List servers	Show configured servers and enabled/disabled status
Add server	Create a new MCP server entry
Edit server	Modify an existing server
Enable/Disable	Toggle a server without deleting it
Delete server	Remove a server permanently

When adding a server, the CLI prompts for server name, transport type, command/args (for stdio), or URL/headers (for remote transports).

Configuration examples

Local server (STDIO)

Remote server (Streamable HTTP)

The type field selects the transport. Omitting it defaults to the legacy sse transport for backward compatibility, so set "type": "streamableHttp" explicitly for the recommended transport. Use "type": "sse" only for legacy SSE servers.

Transport types

STDIO: local process, lower latency, simpler local setup
Remote HTTP/SSE: hosted endpoint, centralized deployment, supports multi-client usage

Use STDIO for local tools and remote transport for shared hosted services.

Managing servers

In MCP settings you can:

Enable/disable servers
Restart unresponsive servers
Set request timeouts
Remove servers

Security basics

Only install servers you trust
Store secrets in environment variables
Limit autoApprove to safe tools
Review tool calls before approval

Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
Server won’t connect	Verify command/URL, server process status, and port
Missing tools	Confirm server started successfully and tools are exposed
Auth errors	Re-check API keys/tokens and required headers
Timeout errors	Increase MCP timeout and test server response directly

CLI

MCP also works in Cline CLI. Configure servers in CLI MCP settings and use the same server definitions. You can also list servers non-interactively: