Client guide

Install MCP Servers in VS Code with Pharos

VS Code picks up MCP servers for GitHub Copilot from a JSON config in the mcpServers format. Writing it by hand is the usual source of typos. Pharos does the write: one command downloads the server, verifies it, and adds the entry.

This guide covers installing pharos, adding your first server to VS Code, and the other VS Code family clients pharos supports.

1

Install the Pharos CLI

Pharos ships as a single Go binary. Pick the install path for your system:

# macOS / Linux / WSL
curl -fsSL https://getpharos.dev/install | sh

# Windows PowerShell (not cmd.exe)
irm https://getpharos.dev/install.ps1 | iex

# Go developers
go install github.com/Wpnx330/pharos-cli@latest
Verify
# Check the CLI is on your PATH
pharos version
2

Install a server into VS Code

The package name is the ID from search results. Install it with the --client flag pointed at VS Code:

pharos install echo-mcp-server-for-testing --client vscode

To add the same server to more clients in one pass, list them comma-separated. The interactive picker does the same job with a menu:

Multiple clients
pharos install echo-mcp-server-for-testing --client vscode,windsurf
Interactive picker
pharos install echo-mcp-server-for-testing --select-clients

Transport decides what install does. stdio servers are downloaded as tarballs and verified before any config entry is written. Remote servers, the kind that run over HTTP, get a URL-based config entry instead, so there is nothing to download.

3

Where the config lands

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
~/.copilot/mcp-config.json (mcpServers format)

Pharos writes the config the VS Code family reads, in the mcpServers format it expects. Entries you added by hand stay as they are.

Every install writes an install receipt: a machine-readable record that shows exactly which config files changed. When you want to know what pharos touched, read the receipt.

4

Verify the install

Restart VS Code so it reloads its config. Then start a Copilot Chat session and ask what MCP tools you have; the new server should be in the list.

The receipt from the install names the file that changed, so you can confirm the write landed where you expected.

Troubleshooting

The server is not listed in Copilot Chat

Restart the client so it reloads its config. If it is still missing, re-run the install and check the receipt for the file path pharos wrote.

Installed into the wrong client

Pharos only writes the config files for the --client ids you pass. Install again with the right id, or use --select-clients and pick from the interactive list of clients pharos can configure.

Removing a server

pharos remove echo-mcp-server-for-testing takes the server back out. Use the same package ID you installed with.

Coming from mcpm or manual configs?

Run pharos import. It reads the client config files you already have and adopts the servers in them into pharos.lock. From then on, pharos tracks every change through install receipts, and you can install and update without editing client JSON by hand.

pharos import

Also supported

The wider VS Code family reads the same mcpServers JSON shape, and pharos writes each one with its own client id: Windsurf (--client windsurf), Roo Code (--client roo-code), and Cline (--client cline). Pharos supports 16 clients in total; the full list is on the CLI page.

Frequently asked questions

Which file does pharos write for VS Code?

~/.copilot/mcp-config.json, the mcpServers-format config that VS Code (GitHub Copilot) reads. The install receipt records the exact file that changed.

Does the same command work for Windsurf, Roo Code, or Cline?

Yes, with each client's own id: --client windsurf, --client roo-code, or --client cline. You can also run pharos install <name> --select-clients and pick from every client pharos supports.

Will pharos overwrite the MCP servers I already configured?

No. Pharos writes the entry for the server you are installing and preserves the rest of the file. To bring existing configs under pharos management, run pharos import. Every install then records a receipt that shows exactly which files changed.

Get the Pharos CLI

Everything on this page runs on the pharos CLI. Install it with:

# macOS / Linux / WSL
curl -fsSL https://getpharos.dev/install | sh

The full command reference, including every flag pharos install accepts, is on the CLI page.