Setup · Cline

Mako, meet Cline.

How to add an MCP server to Cline (VS Code)

agentmako is a local-first MCP server that drops into Cline, the VS Code extension that runs autonomous coding tasks. Cline already speaks MCP — adding Mako takes one settings panel and a reload.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 20 or newer
  • VS Code with the Cline extension installed
  • agentmako on PATH
// install & attach 
$ npm install -g agentmako
$ cd /path/to/your/project
$ agentmako connect . --no-db
$ agentmako doctor

Add the MCP server

Through the Cline UI

  1. Open the Cline panel in VS Code
  2. Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline header
  3. Choose Configure MCP Servers
  4. Paste the snippet below into cline_mcp_settings.json
  5. Save — Cline reloads MCP servers automatically
// cline_mcp_settings.json 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mako-ai": {
      "command": "agentmako",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": [
        "context_packet",
        "reef_scout",
        "repo_map",
        "cross_search"
      ]
    }
  }
}
autoApprove Cline asks for permission before each tool call by default. For read-only Mako tools that's friction, not safety — the autoApprove list above lets the obvious-safe tools run without prompts. Leave write-capable tools off the list.

Verify in Cline

Open the Cline panel. The MCP Servers icon should show mako-ai with a green status. Click it to expand the tool list and confirm context_packet, reef_scout, and friends are present.

First task

Start a new Cline task in the workspace where you ran agentmako connect:

// prompt 
Before doing anything else, call the mako-ai server's
context_packet tool with this query:

  "refactor the auth callback to use PKCE"

Report what the packet returned, then plan your edits.
Do not grep — Mako already indexed this repo.

Custom instructions

Cline supports custom instructions that ride with every task. Add this to Cline → Settings → Custom Instructions:

// custom instructions 
When working in a project that has the mako-ai MCP server
available, ALWAYS call context_packet or reef_scout
before searching with grep or reading files speculatively.

Use context_packet for concrete coding tasks (returns the
target file, routes, and "read next" pointers). Use
reef_scout for exploratory questions (returns ranked
candidates with reasons).

Only fall back to grep if Mako returns no candidates.

The full guidance from agentmako/AGENTS.md also works as a drop-in for Cline's instruction field.

Troubleshooting

mako-ai shows red in the MCP panel

Click it to expand the error. Most common: VS Code launched before agentmako was on PATH. Reload the window (⌘ ⇧ P → "Developer: Reload Window").

Tools call but return "no project attached"

Cline runs in the workspace's working directory. If your attached project is a different folder than the workspace, open that folder as the workspace, or run agentmako connect . again from the new working directory.

Slow first response

Initial repo indexing happens once on agentmako connect. Subsequent context_packet calls are fast.