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IDE and MCP Setup

After completing the base setup in Getting Started, connect FineCode to your IDE and AI tooling.

VSCode setup

Install the FineCode VSCode extension.

The extension:

  • Starts the FineCode LSP server when you open a workspace
  • Shows diagnostics inline
  • Provides code actions and quick fixes
  • Supports formatting on save
  • Exposes FineCode actions in the sidebar
  • Integrates with the native VS Code Testing panel (discover and run tests)

Requirements

  • FineCode installed in .venvs/dev_workspace (see Setup)
  • python -m finecode prepare-envs run at least once

Configuration

The extension auto-discovers .venvs/dev_workspace/. No extra extension-side project configuration is required.

Testing integration

The Testing panel (beaker icon) is populated automatically when the workspace loads. It is driven by two actions from finecode_extension_api:

  • ListTestsAction — discovers tests and builds the file → class → function tree
  • RunTestsAction — executes tests and reports pass/fail/skip/error per test case

To use the Testing panel, you need handlers registered for both actions. The fine_python_test preset provides pytest-based handlers for both. If you are already using fine_python_recommended, testing support is included — no extra preset needed, since fine_python_recommended already pulls in fine_python_test.

MCP setup for AI clients

FineCode exposes an MCP server so any MCP-compatible client can invoke FineCode actions directly.

At a minimum, your client should launch:

.venvs/dev_workspace/bin/python -m finecode start-mcp

Client configuration format depends on the MCP client.

Example: Claude Code

Create .mcp.json in the workspace root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "finecode": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": ".venvs/dev_workspace/bin/python",
      "args": ["-m", "finecode", "start-mcp", "--workdir=."]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code discovers this file and prompts for approval on first use.

Manual server startup is mainly for debugging and custom integration development. See LSP and MCP Architecture.