Cline is the open-source AI coding agent for VS Code. It supports the Model Context Protocol, including remote servers, so you can connect ContextBolt SEO and pull live keyword, SERP, domain, and competitor data into the editor you already work in.
Cline has file access, so every lookup you run is mirrored to a ./seo-findings/ folder in your workspace as markdown. Your research lives next to your code, searchable and version-controlled.
SEO in your VS Code flow
When you are building a page, deciding what it should rank for shouldn’t mean opening a separate dashboard. With ContextBolt SEO in Cline you ask “what should this target, and who already owns it?” right in the chat and the numbers come back inline.
Because these are MCP tools, Cline chains them. “Find five low-difficulty keywords for my landing page, check who ranks for each, and list the gaps” is one prompt that calls several tools and writes the session to disk.
Adding it as a remote server
ContextBolt SEO is hosted, so it goes under Cline’s Remote Servers tab, not the local option. Open the MCP Servers panel in Cline, switch to Remote Servers, give it a name like contextbolt-seo, and paste your MCP URL. Cline saves it to cline_mcp_settings.json and loads the tools.
Your URL contains a personal token, so treat it like a password and keep the settings file off public repos. Once the tools appear, ask “what SEO tools do you have?” to confirm. The full tour of tools and workflows is in the ContextBolt SEO guide.
How to connect ContextBolt SEO to Cline
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Subscribe and get your MCP URL
Subscribe to ContextBolt SEO ($35/month for 1,000 lookups). Your private MCP URL arrives by email and looks like https://seo.contextbolt.app/mcp/YOUR_TOKEN. Keep it private, like a password.
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Open Cline's MCP servers panel
In VS Code, open Cline, click the MCP Servers icon at the top of the panel, and switch to the Remote Servers tab. This is where Cline manages hosted MCP servers like ContextBolt SEO.
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Add the server
Enter a name (contextbolt-seo) and paste your MCP URL, then click Add. Cline writes it to cline_mcp_settings.json for you. The server appears in the list and its tools load automatically.
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Check it and connect Search Console (optional, free)
In the chat, ask 'what SEO tools do you have?' to confirm the tools loaded. Then ask 'connect my Google Search Console' and approve read-only access to read your real clicks, positions, and quick wins. The Search Console tools are free and never spend your monthly lookups.
Example prompts for ContextBolt SEO + Cline
Once connected, try asking Cline:
Cline calls keyword_research and returns related terms with volume, difficulty, and intent, so you get a content shortlist without leaving VS Code.
Chains keyword_difficulty and serp_overview so you get a difficulty score and the live page-one results to model your page on.
Runs ranked_keywords then competitor_keywords for a content map plus the rivals chasing the same keywords.
Calls backlink_gap and returns a spam-scored prospect list, a ready-made outreach shortlist. Backlink calls cost three lookups each.
What you can do with ContextBolt SEO in Cline
Run keyword research in plain English inside VS Code
Score how hard a keyword is to rank for before you write
See who ranks in Google's top 10 for any query
Size up any domain's traffic, keywords, and authority
Find the keywords a competitor already ranks for
Spot backlink gaps: who links to rivals but not you
Connect your own Google Search Console, read-only and free
Save every lookup to ./seo-findings/ in your workspace as markdown