Skip to main content

Manual MCP Configuration

If vai mcp install doesn't work for your setup, you can configure the MCP server manually.

Claude Desktop​

Edit ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vai": {
      "command": "vai",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "VOYAGE_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "MONGODB_URI": "mongodb+srv://user:pass@cluster.mongodb.net"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor​

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vai": {
      "command": "vai",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "VOYAGE_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code​

Edit ~/.vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "vai": {
      "command": "vai",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "VOYAGE_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using Full Path​

If vai isn't on the PATH in the AI tool's environment, use the full path:

# Find the full path
which vai
# e.g., /usr/local/bin/vai or /Users/you/.nvm/versions/node/v20/bin/vai

Then use it in the config:

{
  "command": "/usr/local/bin/vai",
  "args": ["mcp"]
}

With Default Database​

Pass --db and --collection so MCP tools know where to search:

{
  "command": "vai",
  "args": ["mcp", "--db", "myapp", "--collection", "docs"]
}

Further Reading​