Add MCP servers to Visual Studio

Manage Visual Studio’s MCP servers from one canonical config with mcpfold — the free, open-source CLI. Write your servers once and fold them out to Visual Studio’s own servers config, with secrets kept as references, not hardcoded values.

Set up Visual Studio in 4 steps

Install mcpfold. Install the free, open-source mcpfold CLI — no account required.npm install -g mcpfold
Create your config. Create one canonical mcp.config.jsonc — the single source of truth mcpfold folds out to every client.mcpfold init
Add a server. Add an MCP server from the registry (secrets stay references, versions stay pinned), or run `mcpfold import` to pull in servers you already configured.mcpfold add <server> --from-registry
Fold it out to Visual Studio. Write your servers into Visual Studio's own config (/Users/you/.mcp.json) under its `servers` key.mcpfold sync

What mcpfold writes for Visual Studio

Config file

/Users/you/.mcp.json

Windows: C:\Users\you\.mcp.json

Config key

servers

Secrets

Visual Studio prompts for secrets itself, so mcpfold folds them to native input references — no token is ever written to disk.

Remote servers

Visual Studio reaches http/sse remotes natively — mcpfold writes a native remote entry, no bridge needed.

After sync

Changes are picked up without restarting Visual Studio.

Looking for servers to add? Browse the MCP server directory — every entry adds in one mcpfold add. Or see the install options.

mcpfold is an independent, open-source project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Visual Studio. Names are used only to describe compatibility.