ContextBolt SEO in VS Code (2026 Setup Guide)

One entry in .vscode/mcp.json, and every Copilot Chat gets live SEO data.

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SEO MCP server for Claude, Cursor & Codex VS Code · ContextBolt connected live data

What should I write next?

Used keyword_research

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It connects in 3 minutes.

Prepare your account Use your active SEO trial or subscription.

Add the shared server URL Use MCP: Open User Configuration. Under servers, add contextbolt-seo with type http and url https://seo.contextbolt.app/mcp.

Sign in to ContextBolt Start the server in VS Code and follow the browser authentication prompt. Enter your ContextBolt SEO account email and email code, then allow the connection.

Check the tools Ask the agent what ContextBolt tools it has. Check authentication if the list is empty.

The guide covers every client and the compatibility options. The full setup guide

Then ask it something real.

“What should this landing page target, and who already ranks for it?” Chains keyword_research and serp_overview so you pick the target and see the live top 10 without leaving the file you are editing.

“How hard is 'vs code mcp server' to rank for?” Calls keyword_difficulty and returns a score plus the referring-domain count you would realistically need to compete.

“What does my competitor rank for that I don't?” Runs competitor_keywords to place the rival, then ranked_keywords on both sides for the gap, so your next few pages are chosen from data rather than instinct.

“Audit this page I just built and tell me what's weak” Calls page_audit against the live URL and returns title, heading, and internal-link issues in a fix list you can work straight through.

What it can do in VS Code.

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

Get a shareable SEO Board that fills itself with your research, free

The longer story.

VS Code has shipped full Model Context Protocol support, including streamable HTTP, since mid-2025. That means ContextBolt SEO connects natively with a single config entry: no mcp-remote bridge, no local proxy, no API keys to juggle.

Once connected, Chat in Agent mode can pull live keyword, SERP, domain, and competitor data straight into the editor where you are already building the page.

Why SEO belongs in the editor

The best moment to decide what a page should rank for is while you are building it, not three weeks later in a separate dashboard. With ContextBolt SEO connected, you highlight a component, ask “what should this target and who owns it?”, and the answer lands in the chat panel.

Because these are MCP tools, the agent chains them. “Find five low-difficulty keywords for this features page, check who ranks for each, and note where the gaps are” is one prompt that calls several tools and files the whole session on your board.

Every lookup lands on your SEO Board, so the research that informed the code is one URL away rather than lost in a chat.

The .vscode/mcp.json entry

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace root, or run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette for a global setup:

{
  "servers": {
    "contextbolt-seo": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://seo.contextbolt.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Start the server from VS Code’s MCP controls and complete the browser sign-in. Enter your ContextBolt SEO account email and email code, then allow access. Switch Copilot Chat to Agent mode and check that the SEO tools are available.

Two details matter here, and both trip people up. The top-level key is servers, not mcpServers, which is what Cursor and Claude Code use. And type must be http, or VS Code treats the entry as a local stdio server and fails without a useful error. If you have pasted a working config from another editor and nothing appears, those two lines are almost always why.

OAuth handles authentication after browser sign-in, so this configuration needs no manual headers block. The shared URL contains no token. If you use the personal-URL compatibility option instead, its secret is in the path and the whole URL must stay private.

After the config: switch to Agent mode

MCP tools in VS Code are consumed by Chat in Agent mode. If the mode dropdown still says Ask, the tools will not fire no matter how correct your config is. Switch to Agent, open the tools picker, and confirm contextbolt-seo is listed and ticked.

Then ask “what SEO tools do you have?” to confirm, and “connect my Google Search Console” to link your own data read-only. The Search Console tools are free and never spend your monthly credits.

Working patterns worth stealing

Plan the page before you write it: ask for keyword ideas and difficulty scores while the file is open, then write against a real target rather than a guess.

Audit after you ship: point page_audit at the deployed URL and work through the returned fix list in the same session.

Keep the research somewhere you can return to: every lookup lands on your SEO Board, so the reasoning behind every page target is a link away from the code.

The full tour of tools and workflows is in the ContextBolt SEO guide. If you want the background on how an SEO MCP server works before you set one up, start there.

Common questions.

Is the key servers or mcpServers?

servers. VS Code uses a top-level servers object in .vscode/mcp.json, where Cursor, Claude Code, and most other clients use mcpServers. If you paste a config copied from another tool, VS Code will quietly ignore it. This is the single most common setup failure.

Do I need type: http?

Yes. VS Code needs an explicit type field, and http is the value for a remote streamable-HTTP server like ContextBolt SEO. Leaving it out makes VS Code treat the entry as a local stdio server and the connection fails without an obvious error.

Does this work with Copilot agent mode?

Yes, and agent mode is how you use it. MCP tools in VS Code are consumed by Chat in Agent mode, so switch the mode dropdown from Ask to Agent or the tools never fire. If you want the GitHub-hosted cloud agent instead, that is configured separately in your repository settings.

Where should the config live, workspace or user?

Workspace, if the SEO work belongs to one site. Put .vscode/mcp.json in that repo and the server only loads there. Use MCP: Open User Configuration for a global setup across every project. The shared OAuth URL contains no personal key, so each user signs in separately. If you use a personal compatibility URL instead, keep it out of the repository.

Where does my research get saved?

To your ContextBolt account, and it shows up on your SEO Board, a private page that fills itself as you work. It is one URL, so the research follows you between machines and between agents instead of living in one project folder. Saving is free and never counts against your 1,000 monthly credits.

How many credits does a question cost?

Research tools cost one credit each. Backlink tools cost three each. The plan includes 1,000 a month, top-ups never expire, and checking your balance is free.

ContextBolt SEO in VS Code (2026 Setup Guide)

It connects in 3 minutes.

Then ask it something real.

What it can do in VS Code.