IDE Setup¶

MCPKernel can be installed as an MCP server in your IDE, giving your AI agent native security tools.

Supported IDEs¶

IDE	Command	Config Location
Claude Desktop	`mcpkernel install claude`	`~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Cursor	`mcpkernel install cursor`	`~/.cursor/mcp.json`
VS Code	`mcpkernel install vscode`	`.vscode/mcp.json`
Windsurf	`mcpkernel install windsurf`	`~/.windsurf/mcp.json`
Zed	`mcpkernel install zed`	`~/.config/zed/settings.json`
OpenClaw	`mcpkernel install openclaw`	`~/.openclaw/mcp.json`
Goose	`mcpkernel install goose`	`~/.goose/mcp.json`

Tutorial: Install for Claude Desktop¶

Step 1: Install MCPKernel as an MCP server¶

mcpkernel install claude

Output:

✓ Installed MCPKernel MCP server for Claude Desktop
  Config: ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  Tools available: 5
  Restart Claude Desktop to activate.

Step 2: Restart Claude Desktop¶

The agent now has these tools available:

Tool	Description
`mcpkernel_scan_tool`	Scan a tool definition for poisoning attacks
`mcpkernel_check_taint`	Check if data contains secrets or PII
`mcpkernel_validate_policy`	Validate a YAML policy file
`mcpkernel_doctor`	Run health checks on the MCPKernel installation
`mcpkernel_discover`	Find all MCP servers installed on this system

Step 3: Test it¶

Ask Claude: "Use mcpkernel_doctor to check my system"

Uninstall¶

mcpkernel uninstall claude

Tutorial: Multi-IDE Discovery¶

Find all MCP servers installed across all your IDEs:

mcpkernel discover

Output:

Discovered MCP servers:
  Claude Desktop:
    ✓ filesystem (stdio) — npx @mcp/server-filesystem
    ✓ github (stdio) — npx @mcp/server-github
    ✓ mcpkernel (stdio) — mcpkernel mcp-serve

  Cursor:
    ✓ filesystem (stdio) — npx @mcp/server-filesystem

  VS Code:
    (no MCP servers configured)

Tutorial: Running as MCP Server Directly¶

Instead of using the install command, you can run MCPKernel as an MCP server manually:

# Start as a stdio MCP server (for IDE integration)
mcpkernel mcp-serve

# Start as an HTTP MCP server
mcpkernel mcp-serve --transport http --port 8001

Manual Claude Desktop configuration¶

Add to ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcpkernel": {
      "command": "mcpkernel",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"]
    }
  }
}

Manual Cursor configuration¶

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcpkernel": {
      "command": "mcpkernel",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"]
    }
  }
}

Doctor Command¶

Run diagnostics on your MCPKernel installation:

mcpkernel doctor

Output:

MCPKernel Doctor
================
  ✓ Python 3.13.12
  ✓ mcpkernel 0.1.3 installed
  ✓ Dependencies OK
  ✓ Policy files valid
  ✓ Audit database accessible
  ✓ DEE trace store OK