Creativity · MCP — client

Windsurf as an MCP Client

Windsurf by Codeium is an agentic code editor built around Cascade, a multi-step AI agent. Since 2025 it acts as a Model Context Protocol client — you configure MCP servers in Windsurf's settings and their tools, resources, and prompts become available to Cascade alongside native file and terminal actions.

MCP facts

Kind: client
Ecosystem: anthropic-mcp
Language: TypeScript (editor); servers can be any language
Transports: stdio

Capabilities

Launches stdio MCP servers and surfaces tools to Cascade
Per-workspace enable/disable of configured servers
Exposes approved tools alongside Windsurf's own file-system and terminal tools

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/projects"]
    },
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_..." }
    }
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

Where does Windsurf store its MCP config?

Most builds read ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json. The editor's Settings > MCP panel edits this file for you.

Does Windsurf support remote MCP servers?

Initially stdio only; SSE and streamable-HTTP support has shipped in newer releases. Check your version's release notes.

How does it differ from Cursor's MCP support?

Both support stdio MCP servers with nearly identical JSON config shapes. Cascade and Cursor's Composer schedule tools differently, but server config portability is high.

Sources

Windsurf documentation — accessed 2026-04-20
Model Context Protocol spec — accessed 2026-04-20