Monk MCP Is Enabled Automatically
The Monk MCP server is enabled automatically as part of the one-time setup. No command palette step, no manual toggle — it just works. If you ever need to check the status, the setup screen in the Monk chat window shows whether the MCP server is running. You can get back to it from the Monk icon in the bottom-left of your IDE’s status bar.Connect Your Agent
The MCP server is running, but each agent needs one more step on its side to trust it. Follow the guide for your agent:VS Code / GitHub Copilot
Enable Monk tools in Copilot chat
Cursor
Approve Monk tool usage in Cursor
Windsurf
Enable MCP tools in Cascade
Claude Code
Project-local MCP config for Claude Code
Codex
Codex CLI or the Codex IDE extension
Gemini CLI
Project-scoped settings for Gemini
Antigravity
MCP management UI in Antigravity
Two Patterns
IDE-embedded agents like Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf, and Antigravity run inside the same IDE as Monk. Monk sets up MCP automatically — you just need to allow the agent to use Monk tools. Standalone agents like Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and Codex run in a separate terminal. Keep Monk open in your IDE with the project loaded, then launch the standalone agent in the same directory. Monk writes the config file the agent needs automatically.What Monk Configures
During setup, Monk writes client-native config for the current project:| Agent | Config location |
|---|---|
| VS Code / Copilot | .vscode/mcp.json |
| Cursor / Windsurf | .cursor/mcp.json |
| Claude Code | ~/.claude.json (project-local entry) |
| Gemini / Antigravity | .gemini/settings.json |
| Codex | .codex/config.toml |
Next Steps
First deployment
Deploy your first application through your agent
MCP support details
How Monk MCP works under the hood