sdods mcp install vscode -p demo-shop reported that it created .vscode/mcp.json and the file looks right to me. Reloaded the window twice. The chat has the built-in tools and nothing from sdods.
Claude Code on the same repo works, so the server itself is fine.
Accepted answer
VS Code does not start a server because the config exists — it starts it when you tell it to, from the MCP section, and it will happily sit there showing nothing until you do. Open the file and use the start action on the sdods entry; the output panel then shows the handshake or the reason there isn't one.
Two things to check in the file while it is open. It needs servers (not mcpServers, which is the Claude and Cursor shape), and the entry needs "type": "stdio":
{
"servers": {
"sdods": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["sdods", "mcp", "--project", "demo-shop"]
}
}
}If the panel shows the server dying on start, run the same argv yourself — npx sdods mcp --project demo-shop --list-tools — from the folder VS Code has open, and you will get the real error rather than a silent one.
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