VS Code mcp Prompt/explain_error
How to: VS Code mcp explain_error
Add mcp to VS Code
-
01
Open .vscode/mcp.json and merge this in. Keep any servers already there.
{
"servers": {
"mcp": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp.doc.cheap/mcp"
}
}
}-
02
Save the file and restart VS Code.
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03
explain_error is surfaced in the client's prompt or command menu. Unlike a tool, you invoke it deliberately — VS Code will not call it for you.
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04
If it does not appear, check that mcp is connected and that you are looking at its prompts rather than its tools.
Requires agent mode. MCP: Open User Configuration puts the same block in every workspace. VS Code docs
Set these first
mcp will not start until these are set, so it never reaches VS Code.
-
DOC_CHEAP_API_KEY -
DOC_CHEAP_API_BASE
Same prompt, other clients
Read from the server itself, by connecting to it and calling prompts/list on 24 September 2026.
A listing does not declare its prompts, so asking is the only way to know them, and this
is what the server actually offers rather than what its listing claims. Names only are
stored; connect the server for each prompt's arguments.