---
title: Client Configuration
description: Configuring bobbin MCP with Claude Code, Cursor, and other clients
tags: [mcp, claude-code, cursor, configuration]
status: draft
category: mcp
related: [mcp/overview.md, getting-started/agent-setup.md]
---
# Client Configuration
Step-by-step MCP configuration for each supported AI coding client.
## Claude Code
### MCP Server
Add to `.claude/settings.json` (project-level) or `~/.claude/settings.json` (global):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"bobbin": {
"command": "bobbin",
"args": ["serve"],
"env": {}
}
}
}
```
Claude Code will launch the bobbin MCP server automatically when you start a session. The agent can then call tools like `search`, `context`, and `find_refs` directly.
### Hook Integration
For automatic context injection without manual tool calls:
```bash
# Project-local hooks
bobbin hook install
# Global hooks (all projects)
bobbin hook install --global
# With custom settings
bobbin hook install --threshold 0.3 --budget 200
```
The hook system and MCP server work independently. You can use either or both.
### Verifying
Ask Claude Code: "What MCP tools do you have available?" It should list the bobbin tools (search, grep, context, etc.).
## Cursor
Add to `.cursor/mcp.json` in your project root:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"bobbin": {
"command": "bobbin",
"args": ["serve"]
}
}
}
```
Restart Cursor after adding the configuration. The MCP server will start automatically.
## Windsurf
Add to your Windsurf MCP configuration:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"bobbin": {
"command": "bobbin",
"args": ["serve"]
}
}
}
```
## Generic MCP Client
Any MCP-compatible client can connect to bobbin. The server uses stdio transport by default:
```bash
# The client launches this command and communicates via stdin/stdout
bobbin serve
```
The server advertises:
- **Protocol version**: `2024-11-05`
- **Server name**: `bobbin`
- **Capabilities**: tools, resources, prompts
## Remote Server
For shared or centralized deployments, use HTTP mode instead of stdio:
```bash
# Start HTTP server on port 3030
bobbin serve --server --port 3030
```
Then configure your client to use the `--server` flag for thin-client mode:
```bash
# CLI queries hit the remote server
bobbin search "auth" --server http://localhost:3030
```
See [HTTP Mode](http-mode.md) for details.
## Multi-Repository Setup
Bobbin indexes one repository at a time. For multi-repo setups, run a separate bobbin instance per repository. Each MCP server is scoped to its repository root.
## Troubleshooting
**"Bobbin not initialized"**: Run `bobbin init && bobbin index` in your project first.
**"No indexed content"**: Run `bobbin index` to build the search index.
**Tools not appearing**: Check that `bobbin` is on your PATH. Try running `bobbin serve` manually to verify it starts without errors.
**Slow first query**: The first query after startup loads the ONNX model (~1–2 seconds). Subsequent queries are fast.