Generic MCP Configuration

Configure Scout with any MCP-compatible client.

Install paths

With Node available, the simplest setup runs Scout through npx -y @glidermcp/scout. Machines without Node install the same native binary with the install script or Homebrew.

# Linux/macOS
curl -fsSL https://glidermcp.com/install.sh | sh

# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install glidermcp/tap/scout

Recommendation: Project/Workspace Scope

When possible, configure Scout per project/workspace so it indexes the repository the agent is working in. Scout resolves the workspace root from the working directory (or --root <dir> to pin it when the launch directory is not the repo). Most clients read a project-scoped config file: Claude Code .mcp.json, Cursor .cursor/mcp.json, VS Code / GitHub Copilot .vscode/mcp.json, Gemini CLI .gemini/settings.json, OpenCode opencode.json, and Pi .mcp.json. Claude Desktop only supports one global config; Scout works in any repository, so global scope is reasonable there.

Agent system prompt instruction

Add this product-specific instruction to your MCP client system prompt or project instructions after connecting Scout.

Use the scout mcp find tool as the primary workspace search instead of shell grep, rg, or find. Strict modes (literal, regex, word) are exhaustive; fuzzy is ranked. If glider (C#) or tglider (TypeScript/JavaScript) is installed, prefer it for its language; use scout for every other language and as the universal fallback. Text search is the exception: tglider has no text-search tool, so literal and regex hunts in TypeScript and JavaScript belong to scout even when tglider is installed, and glider searches only the documents its workspace loaded.

Working alongside Glider and TGlider

Scout detects sibling compiler servers and defers to them for their languages. Results in C# or TypeScript/JavaScript carry a hint naming the sibling tool to use instead. server_status reports what it found under siblings. Neither sibling calls Scout. Glider searches the documents its workspace has loaded, and TGlider ships no text search at all. Scout therefore covers text hunts for both.

Stdio Transport (common: mcpServers JSON)

Many clients use this shape. Replace the file location with your client's recommended project or workspace config file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scout": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@glidermcp/scout"]
    }
  }
}

Stdio with the native binary

After installing with the install script or Homebrew, launch the binary directly - no Node involved.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scout": {
      "command": "scout"
    }
  }
}

VS Code / Copilot (mcp.json)

VS Code uses a different server map shape. Use this for GitHub Copilot Chat or compatible VS Code MCP flows.

{
  "servers": {
    "scout": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@glidermcp/scout"]
    }
  }
}