MCP Made Easy

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What’s an MCP Server?

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MCP Marketplace Walkthrough

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1. Access the Marketplace

• In Cline, click the “Extensions” button (square icon) in the top toolbar
• The MCP marketplace will open, showing available servers by category

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2. Browse and Select a Server

• Browse servers by category (Search, File-systems, Browser-automation, Research-data, etc.)
• Click on a server to see details about its capabilities and requirements

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3. Install and Configure

• Click the install button for your chosen server
• If the server requires an API key (most do), Cline will guide you through:
  • Where to get the API key
  • How to enter it securely
• The server will be added to your MCP settings automatically

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4. Verify Installation

• Cline will show confirmation when installation is complete
• Check the server status in Cline’s MCP settings UI

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5. Using Your New Server

• After successful installation, Cline will automatically integrate the server’s capabilities
• You’ll see new tools and resources available in Cline’s system prompt
• Simply ask Cline to use the capabilities of your new server
• Example: “Search the web for recent React updates using Perplexity”

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What Happens Behind the Scenes

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1. Installation Process

• The server code is cloned/installed to /Users/<username>/Documents/Cline/MCP/
• Dependencies are installed
• The server is built (TypeScript/JavaScript compilation or Python package installation)

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2. Configuration

• The MCP settings file is updated with your server configuration
• This file is located at: /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• Environment variables (like API keys) are securely stored
• The server path is registered

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3. Server Launch

• Cline detects the configuration change
• Cline launches your server as a separate process
• Communication is established via stdio or HTTP

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4. Integration with Cline

• Your server’s capabilities are added to Cline’s system prompt
• Tools become available via use_mcp_tool commands
• Resources become available via access_mcp_resource commands
• Cline can now use these capabilities when prompted by the user

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Troubleshooting

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System Requirements

• Node.js 18.x or newer
  • Check by running: node --version
  • Install from: https://nodejs.org/
  • Required for JavaScript/TypeScript implementations
• Python 3.10 or newer
  • Check by running: python --version
  • Install from: https://python.org/
  • Note: Some specialized implementations may require Python 3.11+
• UV Package Manager
  • Modern Python package manager for dependency isolation
  • Install using:
    Copy

    Ask AI

    curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
    

    Or: pip install uv
  • Verify with: uv --version

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Common Installation Issues

• Ensure your internet connection is stable
• Check that you have the necessary permissions to install new software
• Verify that the API key was entered correctly (if required)
• Check the server status in the MCP settings UI for any error messages

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How to Remove an MCP Server

1. Open the MCP settings file: /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
2. Delete the entire entry for your server from the mcpServers object
3. Save the file
4. Restart Cline

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I’m Still Getting an Error

• Check the MCP settings file for errors
• Use a Claude Sonnet model for installation
• Verify that paths to your server’s files are correct
• Ensure all required environment variables are set
• Check if another process is using the same port (for HTTP-based servers)
• Try removing and reinstalling the server (remove from both the cline_mcp_settings.json file and the /Users/<username>/Documents/Cline/MCP/ directory)
• Use a terminal and run the command with its arguments directly. This will allow you to see the same errors that Cline is seeing

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MCP Server Rules

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How MCP Rules Work

{
	"mcpRules": {
		"webInteraction": {
			"servers": ["firecrawl-mcp-server", "fetch-mcp"],
			"triggers": ["web", "scrape", "browse", "website"],
			"description": "Tools for web browsing and scraping"
		}
	}
}

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Configuration Structure

1. Categories: Group related servers (e.g., “webInteraction”, “mediaAndDesign”)
2. Servers: List server names in each category
3. Triggers: Keywords that activate these servers
4. Description: Human-readable category explanation

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Benefits of MCP Rules

• Contextual Tool Selection: Cline selects appropriate tools based on conversation context
• Reduced Friction: No need to manually specify which tool to use
• Organized Capabilities: Logically group related tools and servers
• Prioritization: Handle ambiguous cases with explicit priority ordering

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Example Usage

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Quick Start Template

{
	"mcpRules": {
		"category1": {
			"servers": ["server-name-1", "server-name-2"],
			"triggers": ["keyword1", "keyword2", "phrase1", "phrase2"],
			"description": "Description of what these tools do"
		},
		"category2": {
			"servers": ["server-name-3"],
			"triggers": ["keyword3", "keyword4", "phrase3"],
			"description": "Description of what these tools do"
		},
		"category3": {
			"servers": ["server-name-4", "server-name-5"],
			"triggers": ["keyword5", "keyword6", "phrase4"],
			"description": "Description of what these tools do"
		}
	},
	"defaultBehavior": {
		"priorityOrder": ["category1", "category2", "category3"],
		"fallbackBehavior": "Ask user which tool would be most appropriate"
	}
}