JetBrains MCP

How to Install and Use JetBrains MCP

JetBrains MCP is a tool that helps your JetBrains IDEs like IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, and Android Studio work better by connecting them to an external server using a model context protocol. Below are simple steps on how to install and use JetBrains MCP, including examples of the code you need.

Installing the MCP Server Plugin

To start using JetBrains MCP, you first need to install the MCP Server plugin in your JetBrains IDE.

1. Go to the MCP Server plugin page.
2. Click the install button to add the plugin to your IDE.
3. Restart your IDE after the installation is complete.

This plugin will allow the IDE to work with the MCP server.

Setting up MCP in VS Code

If you want to use JetBrains MCP with Visual Studio Code, here is a simple way to install it.

You can install the MCP Proxy with just one click:

• Use this one-click install link.

If you prefer to install it manually, add the following JSON block to your User Settings JSON file in VS Code. You can open this file by pressing Ctrl + Shift + P and typing Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON):

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "jetbrains": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@jetbrains/mcp-proxy"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, you can add the same block to a file named .vscode/mcp.json in your project workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "jetbrains": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jetbrains/mcp-proxy"]
    }
  }
}

Using MCP with Claude Desktop

To use JetBrains MCP with Claude Desktop, you need to update the Claude config file.

Add this JSON snippet to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jetbrains": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jetbrains/mcp-proxy"]
    }
  }
}

On macOS, this file is located at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json, and on Windows at %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.

After adding this, restart Claude Desktop and make sure your JetBrains IDE is open before restarting Claude.

Configuring the MCP Server

If you run more than one IDE with MCP server, you may want to connect to a specific one. To do that, set environment variables for your configuration:

• To specify the IDE's port, add:

"env": {
  "IDE_PORT": "<port of IDE's built-in webserver>"
}

• To change the host address (default is 127.0.0.1), add:

"env": {
  "HOST": "<host/address of IDE's built-in webserver>"
}

• To enable logging for troubleshooting, add:

"env": {
  "LOG_ENABLED": "true"
}

Replace <port of IDE's built-in webserver> and <host/address of IDE's built-in webserver> with actual values from your IDE setup.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you get a message like Cannot find module 'node:path', this means your Node.js version is too old. JetBrains MCP needs Node.js version 18 or newer. Upgrade your Node.js and make sure your configuration points to the correct Node.js path.

On macOS, if you installed Node.js with nvm and the plugin cannot detect it, create a symbolic link by running this command in the terminal:

which npx &>/dev/null && sudo ln -sf "$(which npx)" /usr/local/bin/npx

This will help the MCP Server Plugin to find Node.js properly.

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By following these steps, you can easily install and use JetBrains MCP with your JetBrains IDE or VS Code, making your development faster and smoother.