MCP IDE Bridge MCP Server

1

Add it to Claude Code

Run this in a terminal.

Run in terminal
claude mcp add mcp-ide-bridge -- docker run -d --name mcp-ide-bridge -p 8111:8111 mcp-messaging-server
README.md

Stateless server for client-to-client communication between IDEs

MCP IDE Bridge

🎬 Demo Video

FRONT END WEB APPCURSOR IDE BACK END APICURSOR IDE
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Click the image above to watch the live demo of MCP IDE Bridge in action! This shows two Cursor IDEs (front end and back end) collaborating in real time via the IDE Bridge.

A stateless, open source MCP (Model Context Protocol) HTTP Streamable server that enables client-to-client communication between IDEs and development tools. This opens up a new dimension of collaboration beyond traditional MCP client-server interactions.

🚀 Perfect for: Cross-IDE collaboration, team development workflows, AI agent coordination, and seamless tool integration.

🌟 What Makes This Special?

Traditional MCP vs MCP IDE Bridge

Traditional MCP MCP IDE Bridge
Client ↔ Server Client ↔ Server ↔ Client
One-way communication Bidirectional messaging
Tool execution only Real-time collaboration
Single IDE focus Multi-IDE coordination

Real-World Use Cases

🎯 IDE Collaboration

  • Cursor ↔ Cursor: Share code snippets, debugging sessions, or pair programming
  • Cursor ↔ VS Code: Cross-editor communication and file sharing
  • Windsurf ↔ Any IDE: AI agent coordination across different development environments
  • Team Workflows: Coordinate multiple developers working on the same project

🤖 AI Agent Coordination

  • Agent-to-agent communication for complex workflows
  • Distributed AI processing across multiple tools
  • Human-in-the-loop collaboration with AI assistants

🏗️ Architecture

Client-to-Client Communication

IDE A (Cursor)  ←→  MCP IDE Bridge  ←→  IDE B (VS Code)
     ↑                    ↑                    ↑
  MCP Client         Message Relay        MCP Client

Key Components

  • Message Relay: Stateless server that routes messages between clients
  • Client Registry: Dynamic client discovery and registration
  • Message Queues: Per-recipient queues with automatic expiration
  • HTTP Streamable: Latest MCP transport for real-time communication

🚀 Quick Start

1. Start the Server

Docker (Recommended):

docker run -d --name mcp-ide-bridge -p 8111:8111 mcp-messaging-server

Default Configuration:

  • Port: 8111 (both external and internal)
  • Host: 0.0.0.0 (accepts connections from any interface)
  • Transport: HTTP Streamable (MCP latest)
  • Health Check: Built-in endpoint monitoring

Python (Development Setup):

# First-time setup (see Local Development section for full instructions)
pip install -r requirements.txt && pip install -e .

# Run server
python -m mcp_messaging.server --port 8111

2. Configure Your IDE

Create mcp_recipients.json in your project root. Each project gets ONE file with its own unique ID and list of recipients it can communicate with:

{
  "my_id": "myproject_cursor",
  "recipients": {
    "teammate_vscode": {
      "name": "Teammate's Project",
      "description": "My teammate's project in VS Code"
    },
    "aiagent_windsurf": {
      "name": "AI Agent Project", 
      "description": "AI agent development in Windsurf"
    }
  },
  "server_info": {
    "url": "http://localhost:8111/mcp/",
    "transport": "http_streamable"
  }
}

🤖 AI Agent Generation: Your IDE's AI agent can generate this file! Simply ask:

  • Cursor: "Generate an mcp_recipients.json for my project"
  • VS Code: "Create mcp_recipients.json configuration for my team"
  • Windsurf: "Help me set up mcp_recipients.json for collaboration"

📁 Multi-Project Examples: See examples/multi-project-setup/ for examples showing how different projects communicate. Each project file must be named mcp_recipients.json - the filename examples in that folder are just for reference.

3. Connect Your IDE

Cursor IDE: 1.

Configuration

claude_desktop_config.json
{"mcpServers": {"ide-bridge": {"command": "docker", "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "mcp-messaging-server"]}}}

Try it

Send a message to the teammate_vscode recipient with my current code snippet for review.
Register my current project as 'myproject_cursor' with the IDE bridge server.
Check the status of my connection to the aiagent_windsurf project.
Broadcast a debugging session update to all registered IDE clients.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key features of MCP IDE Bridge?

Bidirectional messaging between different IDEs. Stateless message relay architecture. Dynamic client discovery and registration. HTTP Streamable transport support. Per-recipient message queues with automatic expiration.

What can I use MCP IDE Bridge for?

Pair programming between Cursor and VS Code users. Coordinating AI agents across different development environments. Sharing code snippets and debugging sessions in real-time. Synchronizing team workflows across multiple IDE instances.

How do I install MCP IDE Bridge?

Install MCP IDE Bridge by running: docker run -d --name mcp-ide-bridge -p 8111:8111 mcp-messaging-server

What MCP clients work with MCP IDE Bridge?

MCP IDE Bridge works with any MCP-compatible client including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and other editors with MCP support.

Turn this server into reusable context

Keep MCP IDE Bridge docs, env vars, and workflow notes in Conare so your agent carries them across sessions.

Need the old visual installer? Open Conare IDE.
Open Conare