ContextBolt SEO in VS Code (2026 Setup Guide)

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 writes the whole session to disk.

Every lookup is mirrored to a ./seo-findings/ folder in your workspace as markdown, so your research is version-controlled next to the code it informed.

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/YOUR_TOKEN"
    }
  }
}

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.

Because your token sits in the URL path, you do not need a headers block. VS Code supports one for servers that want a bearer token.

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 lookups.

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 in the repo: the ./seo-findings/ folder is plain markdown. Commit it, and the reasoning behind every page target stays with 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.

How to connect ContextBolt SEO to VS Code

1. 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.

2. Open the MCP config

   For one project, create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace root. For every project, run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette. VS Code has shipped full MCP spec support including streamable HTTP since mid-2025, so no bridge is needed.

3. Add the server under servers

   Add: "contextbolt-seo": { "type": "http", "url": "https://seo.contextbolt.app/mcp/YOUR_TOKEN" }. Note the top-level key is servers, not mcpServers, and type must be http. Those two details are the usual reason a copied config fails in VS Code.

4. Switch to agent mode and check it

   Open Chat, switch the mode dropdown to Agent, then open the tools picker and confirm contextbolt-seo is listed and enabled. Ask 'what SEO tools do you have?'. Then ask 'connect my Google Search Console' and approve read-only access, which is free and never spends lookups.

Example prompts for ContextBolt SEO + VS Code

Once connected, try asking VS Code:

What you can do with ContextBolt SEO in VS Code