💻VS Code Setup Guide

Connect SonicAura MCP to VS Code

Add SonicAura's audio tools to VS Code's Copilot Chat. VS Code natively supports remote HTTP MCP servers and OAuth, so setup is simpler than Cursor — no bridge needed.

⏱ ~2 min setup🔐 Native OAuth 2.1✅ No bridge needed

Before you start

• VS Code 1.99 or newer
• GitHub Copilot extension installed
• GitHub Copilot Pro or higher (Agent mode is a paid feature)
• A SonicAura account with at least 1 credit

Step-by-step setup

Install VS Code

Install VS Code 1.99 or newer from code.visualstudio.com. Native MCP support was introduced in 1.102, and OAuth support in 1.105.

Install GitHub Copilot

Install the GitHub Copilot extension from the VS Code Marketplace. MCP tools in VS Code are consumed through Copilot Chat.

Open the MCP config file

VS Code reads MCP servers from a JSON config file. You can use the command palette or edit the file directly. The file lives here:

macOS

~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json (macOS)

Windows

%APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json (Windows)

Linux

~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json (Linux)

Paste the SonicAura config

VS Code natively supports remote HTTP MCP servers, so no bridge is needed. Copy the JSON below into the file.

{
  "servers": {
    "sonicaura": {
      "url": "https://api.sonicaurastudio.com/mcp",
      "type": "http"
    }
  },
  "inputs": []
}

No API key needed — VS Code handles OAuth automatically when a tool returns 401.

Reload VS Code

Run "Developer: Reload Window" from the command palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P). VS Code will reconnect to the SonicAura MCP server.

Authorize & verify

Open Copilot Chat, switch to Agent mode, and ask it to check SonicAura status. On first use, VS Code shows an authorization prompt — click Allow, then complete sign-in in the browser.

Verify the connection

Open Copilot Chat (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + I), switch to Agent mode, then type:

Check SonicAura service status for me.

Copilot should call check_service_status and reply with your available credits. On the first call, VS Code shows an authorization prompt — click Allow.

Available tools

check_service_status

Check if the service is ready and how many credits you have.

get_my_credits

Query your remaining separation credits.

get_upload_url

Get a presigned URL to upload large audio files.

upload_audio

Upload small audio files (<1MB) via base64.

submit_separation

Submit a stem separation task (2/4/6 tracks).

check_separation_status

Check task progress and download the separated stems.

Troubleshooting

Why does VS Code use "servers" instead of "mcpServers"?

VS Code's MCP config uses the key "servers" (not "mcpServers"), which is slightly different from Claude Desktop and Cursor. Both keys work, but VS Code officially documents "servers".

MCP tools do not appear in Copilot Chat.

Make sure you are in Agent mode (not Ask or Edit). Agent mode is the only mode that can call MCP tools. If you still don't see them, run "MCP: List Servers" from the command palette to check the connection status.

The authorization prompt did not appear.

Try calling a tool again — VS Code triggers OAuth when a tool returns 401 Unauthorized. You can also run "MCP: List Servers" and click on "sonicaura" to manually trigger authentication.

How do I see what tools are registered?

Run "MCP: List Servers" from the command palette. It shows each configured server, its status, and the number of tools it exposes.

Ready to connect another client?

We support Claude Desktop, Cursor, and WorkBuddy too.

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