Installation
Install Zephex from the Visual Studio Marketplace to use ten codebase tools in VS Code agent mode: project context, code search, test health, package/CVE checks, and more. Sign in once; your API key stays in SecretStorage—not in mcp.json.
# Quick Open (Ctrl/Cmd+P):ext install zephex.zephex-mcp # 1. Command Palette → Zephex: Sign In# 2. Agent/chat → Configure tools → enable Zephex# 3. Ask: "What stack is this repo?"Marketplace: zephex.zephex-mcp. Requires VS Code 1.101+. The same VSIX loads in Cursor and Windsurf when they support VS Code extensions.
VS Code also has an @mcp server gallery for config-only servers. Zephex is a Marketplace extension that registers an MCP provider—search Zephex in Extensions, not @mcp zephex.
The extension starts npx -y zephex locally with your API key so tools can read files on disk. HTTP https://zephex.dev/mcp in mcp.json often makes VS Code hang on OAuth during initialize—disable duplicate HTTP entries and use only the extension's Zephex server in the MCP picker. See HTTP vs stdio.
Windsurf/Cursor configs may autodiscover a second zephex entry and crash spawn. Run npx zephex doctor to find conflicts.
Zephex: Sign In (same session/poll API as Connect Zephex MCP).Zephex: Enter API Key (mcp_prod_* or mcp_sk_*).Canonical slugs (do not use legacy names like scope_task or audit_package):
get_project_context — stack, folders, entry pointsfind_code / read_code — search and read symbolsexplain_architecture — how subsystems connectcheck_test — Test Pulse: run/detect tests and triage failurescheck_package — package safety; task=upgrade|security for CVEsproject_memory — remember/recall across sessionsaudit_headers — live URL security reviewkeep_thinking / Zephex_dev_info — reasoning and playbooksFull reference: All 10 MCP tools · Connect MCP
npx zephex setup --vscode writes user-scope stdio mcp.json (not project .vscode/mcp.json from ~). Setup merges with existing MCP servers.
npx -y zephex setup --vscodenpx zephex doctorTerminal Mode 2 uses the same account and tools—no chat UI. Useful for SSH, scripts, or direct commands.
npx zephex doctornpx zephex statusSome Cursor/VSCodium paths use Open VSX in addition to Microsoft Marketplace. Zephex is published on Marketplace first; Open VSX publish is optional (Eclipse ECA + namespace token — see extension PUBLISH.md in the monorepo).