Using MCP in the CLI

The Kilo Code CLI supports MCP servers, but uses a different configuration path than the VS Code extension.

Configuration Location

MCP servers configured in VS Code are not automatically available in the CLI. You must configure them separately.

Configuration Format

Edit ~/.kilocode/cli/global/settings/mcp_settings.json:

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"server-name": {
			"command": "node",
			"args": ["/path/to/server.js"],
			"env": {
				"API_KEY": "your_api_key"
			},
			"alwaysAllow": ["tool1", "tool2"],
			"disabled": false
		}
	}
}

Transport Types

STDIO (Local Servers)

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"local-server": {
			"command": "node",
			"args": ["/path/to/server.js"],
			"env": {}
		}
	}
}

Streamable HTTP (Remote Servers)

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"remote-server": {
			"type": "streamable-http",
			"url": "https://your-server.com/mcp",
			"headers": {
				"Authorization": "Bearer token"
			}
		}
	}
}

Project-Level Configuration

You can define MCP servers per-project by creating .kilocode/mcp.json in your project root. Project-level servers take precedence over global settings.

Configuration Options

Auto-Approval

MCP auto-approval is controlled via CLI config (kilocode config):

{
	"autoApproval": {
		"mcp": {
			"enabled": true
		}
	}
}

Or via environment variable:

export KILO_AUTO_APPROVAL_MCP_ENABLED=true

Per-tool auto-approval uses the alwaysAllow array in the server configuration.