MCP servers in VS Code

VS Code is the exception to every other client: its top-level key is "servers", not "mcpServers", and each entry needs an explicit "type" (for example "http" or "stdio"). Secrets are not inlined; instead you declare an "inputs" array and reference each value as ${input:id}, so VS Code prompts for it once and never writes it to disk. Remote servers connect natively with OAuth.

Where the config lives

macOS / Linux: .vscode/mcp.json

Worked example: Fetch

Here's the exact config to add the Fetch MCP server to VS Code. Every server in the directory has a ready-to-paste VS Code config like this.

Add to .vscode/mcp.json

.vscode/mcp.json

json

{
  "servers": {
    "fetch": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-server-fetch"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Heads up

VS Code uses the `servers` key (not `mcpServers`) and requires `type`.