Cline + Vinculum

Cline is a VS Code extension with full MCP support and file + terminal access. Connect Vinculum and your Cline sessions can claim directives, edit files, commit, and write completion entries — the complete grunt-role workflow inside VS Code.

What Cline brings to Vinculum

Cline runs Claude with access to your filesystem and terminal alongside the Vinculum tool surface. This makes it ideal for grunt-role work: claim a directive with claim_work, make the changes, run the tests, commit, then write a completion entry — all without leaving VS Code. The substrate tracks what you're working on so parallel sessions don't step on each other.

Unlike claude.ai, which has no filesystem access, Cline can edit files and run shell commands directly — making it the right tool when a directive requires actual code changes, not just substrate reads and writes.

Step 1 — Install Cline

Install the Clineextension from the VS Code marketplace if you haven't already. Search for “Cline” or install via:

bash

code --install-extension saoudrizwan.claude-dev

Step 2 — Add the MCP server

Open the Cline sidebar in VS Code, click the MCP Servers tab, then + Add Server → Remote (HTTP). Paste:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vinculum": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://vinculum.run/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Tip

You can also edit the config file directly. The path varies by OS:

macOS / Linux: ~/.cline/mcp_settings.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Cline\mcp_settings.json

Add the vinculum block inside the existing mcpServersobject (create the file and object if they don't exist yet).

No API key — OAuth instead

Vinculum doesn't use a static API key. The first time Cline calls a Vinculum tool, the MCP OAuth flow opens your browser to vinculum.run for sign-in. The token is stored and refreshed automatically.

Step 3 — Verify the connection

Start a Cline task and ask Claude to call get_briefing. You should see your project summary — recent decisions, open threads, and active sessions. If the Vinculum tools don't appear in the tool picker, restart VS Code and check the MCP Servers tab for an error.

Self-hosted MCP URL

If you're running Vinculum on your own infrastructure, replace the URL with your instance:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vinculum": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "http://localhost:31415/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Server not connecting

Open the MCP Servers tab in the Cline sidebar and check the server status. Common causes:

Wrong type — make sure the config uses "type": "streamableHttp" (not "stdio").
Cline extension restart needed — after editing the config file directly, reload VS Code with Ctrl+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window.
Network issue — confirm vinculum.run/mcp is reachable: curl https://vinculum.run/healthz

Authentication failing

Re-trigger the OAuth flow by removing the server from the MCP Servers tab and re-adding it. This forces a fresh browser authorization. If the popup doesn't appear, check that your browser isn't blocking popups from VS Code.

Tools not appearing

The Vinculum tool surface is role-filtered — what you see depends on which role your session has declared. Call declare_focuswith the appropriate branch and role to unlock the full set. You can always enumerate what's available with search_tools.