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Connect MCPM Tools to Windsurf

Set up Windsurf with MCP tools from mcpm. Leverage AI agents with real-world capabilities inside your editor.

·2 min read·xapable

Connect MCPM Tools to Windsurf

Windsurf supports MCP tools natively. This guide connects mcpm tools to your Windsurf workflow.

How It Works

Windsurf's Cascade agent discovers MCP tools automatically. When you ask Cascade to do something, it checks available tools and picks the right one.

mcpm.dev → install via CLI → Windsurf detects → Cascade agent uses

Step 1: Install Tools

mcpm-dev add github-assistant
mcpm-dev add weather-mcp
mcpm-dev add docs-search

Step 2: Configure Windsurf

Open Windsurf Settings → MCP Servers → Add.

Or manually edit the Windsurf MCP config:

  • macOS: ~/.windsurf/mcp.json
  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.windsurf\mcp.json
  • Linux: ~/.windsurf/mcp.json
<span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;mcpServers&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
    <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;github-assistant&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
      <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;command&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-string">&quot;npx&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span>
      <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;args&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">[</span><span class="hljs-string">&quot;-y&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span> <span class="hljs-string">&quot;github-assistant&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">]</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span>
      <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;env&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
        <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;GITHUB_TOKEN&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-string">&quot;${GITHUB_TOKEN}&quot;</span>
      <span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>
    <span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span>
    <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;weather-mcp&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
      <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;command&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-string">&quot;npx&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span>
      <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;args&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">[</span><span class="hljs-string">&quot;-y&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span> <span class="hljs-string">&quot;weather-mcp&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">]</span>
    <span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>
  <span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>
<span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>

Step 3: Start Using Cascade

Open Cascade (Cmd+K / Ctrl+K) and ask:

  • "What's the weather in San Francisco?" → calls weather-mcp
  • "Create an issue for this bug" → calls github-assistant
  • "Search the project docs for authentication setup" → calls docs-search

Cascade automatically routes requests to the appropriate tool.

Workspace vs Global Config

Windsurf supports both:

Global (~/.windsurf/mcp.json) — tools available in all projects:

<span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;mcpServers&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
    <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;weather-mcp&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span> <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;command&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-string">&quot;npx&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span> <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;args&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">[</span><span class="hljs-string">&quot;-y&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span> <span class="hljs-string">&quot;weather-mcp&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">]</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>
  <span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>
<span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>

Workspace (.windsurf/mcp.json in project root) — project-specific tools:

<span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;mcpServers&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
    <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;project-api&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
      <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;command&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-string">&quot;node&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span>
      <span class="hljs-attr">&quot;args&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">[</span><span class="hljs-string">&quot;./mcp-server/index.js&quot;</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">]</span>
    <span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>
  <span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>
<span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>

Tool Discovery

Windsurf shows available tools in the Cascade panel. Click the MCP icon to see:

  • Connected servers
  • Available tools per server
  • Last invocation status

Debugging

If a tool doesn't work:

  1. Check connection: Settings → MCP → Server status
  2. Test manually: Run the command in terminal
    npx -y github-assistant
  3. Check logs: ~/.windsurf/logs/mcp.log
  4. Restart Windsurf: Sometimes a full restart resolves connection issues

Best Practices

  • Start with one tool — verify it works before adding more
  • Use environment variables for API keys, never hardcode
  • Keep tools updated: mcpm-dev outdated && mcpm-dev update
  • Share workspace config with your team via git

Windsurf + mcpm turns your editor into an AI-powered command center.

#MCP #Windsurf #Tutorial #mcpm #AIAgents

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