Add the Vonage MCP server to VS Code

Config last verified Jun 1, 2026

The exact config to run Vonage in VS Code — paste it in, restart, and the tools load.

Prerequisites

VS Code installed.
VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID — Vonage application ID used with the Messages and Voice APIs. Required.
VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY64 — Base64-encoded private key for your Vonage application. Required.
VONAGE_API_KEY — Vonage account API key. Required.
VONAGE_API_SECRET — Vonage account API secret. Required.

Setup

1. Open `.vscode/mcp.json`

2. Add this configuration

Add to .vscode/mcp.json

.vscode/mcp.json

json

{
  "servers": {
    "vonage": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@vonage/vonage-mcp-server-api-bindings"
      ],
      "env": {
        "VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID": "<VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID>",
        "VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY64": "<VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY64>",
        "VONAGE_API_KEY": "<VONAGE_API_KEY>",
        "VONAGE_API_SECRET": "<VONAGE_API_SECRET>",
        "VONAGE_VIRTUAL_NUMBER": "<VONAGE_VIRTUAL_NUMBER>",
        "VONAGE_WHATSAPP_NUMBER": "<VONAGE_WHATSAPP_NUMBER>",
        "RCS_SENDER_ID": "<RCS_SENDER_ID>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Heads up

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

3. Restart VS Code and confirm the Vonage tools load.

Gotchas

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

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.

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