Cline
Add the DebugAI tools to Cline in VS Code with one command.
Cline gets the three DebugAI tools: lookup_error, debug_error and report_outcome. You need Node.js 18.14.1 or later. node -v prints your version.
setup knows where Cline keeps its MCP settings inside VS Code. Cline in another editor keeps them in that editor's own folder, which setup does not look in. There, add the entry to Cline's settings file by hand.
Run setup
npx -y @debugai/mcp setupIt signs you in through your browser with a short code (free account, 10 debugs a day, no card). Then it adds DebugAI to every MCP client it finds on this machine, Cline included, and finishes by running doctor to check the result.
To change Cline's config and nothing else:
npx -y @debugai/mcp login
npx -y @debugai/mcp install --client=clineAdd --dry-run to the install line to print the change without writing anything.
Open Cline's MCP servers
Open the Cline panel and go to MCP Servers. Cline reconnects on its own, without a VS Code restart.
Check it works
Run npx -y @debugai/mcp doctor. Under MCP clients you want this line:
✓ Cline (VS Code) — debugai configuredThen hand Cline an error and ask for the lookup by name:
Use the debugai lookup_error tool on this error: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'name')lookup_error makes no model call and does not count against your daily limit, so this check is free.
You'll know it worked when
Cline calls lookup_error and gets back a line like Not seen before in this project (shop). Call debug_error with the full error for an analysis. The name in brackets is your project's folder.
Cline and the DebugAI extension
Cline and the DebugAI extension can run in the same VS Code. They are separate: Cline's agent uses the MCP server from this page, and the extension gives you the editor commands and fixes you apply as a diff.
The config it writes
setup adds one entry to mcpServers in Cline's settings file, inside VS Code's user folder:
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json{
"mcpServers": {
"debugai": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@debugai/mcp@latest"]
}
}
}- Your key is never written into this file. It lives in
~/.debugai/config.jsonwith0600permissions, and every MCP client on the machine reads it from there. - Before changing the file,
installsaves a copy beside it, namedcline_mcp_settings.json.debugai-backup-<timestamp>. Every other setting in the file is kept. - If the file has comments, the rewrite drops them, and
installwarns you when it does. The backup keeps them. npx -y @debugai/mcp uninstalltakes the entry out of every client config again.
Next
- Work with your agent: the lookup, debug and report loop, and how to point an answer at the right project.
- MCP server troubleshooting:
doctoroutput, sign-in from inside a chat, and the errors an agent can get back.