Add Kin to VS Code

Before you start

• Create a Kin account at app.kinlab.ai and connect at least one account. See Get started.
• Kin's address for every AI app is https://app.kinlab.ai/mcp. A profile has its own address, shown on the profile. See Profiles.
• Signing in is the recommended way. Use a token only when the app cannot sign in. You create one in Kin under AI apps, with Connect an AI app and then Paste a token (advanced), and Kin shows it once.

Sign in

1. Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Open User Configuration. To use Kin in one project only, edit .vscode/mcp.json in that project.

2. Add Kin under servers:

   {
     "servers": {
       "kin": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://app.kinlab.ai/mcp"
       }
     }
   }

3. Save the file and start the server: run MCP: List Servers, choose kin, then Start Server.

4. VS Code says the server wants to authenticate to Kin. Select Allow, then Open. In the browser window, choose what VS Code may use, then approve.

Use a token instead

Replace YOUR_TOKEN with the token you created in Kin under AI apps. See Sign in, or use a token.

1. Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Open User Configuration. To use Kin in one project only, edit .vscode/mcp.json in that project.

2. Add Kin under servers. The inputs entry makes VS Code ask for the token once, so it is not saved in the file:

   {
     "inputs": [
       {
         "type": "promptString",
         "id": "kin-token",
         "description": "Kin token",
         "password": true
       }
     ],
     "servers": {
       "kin": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://app.kinlab.ai/mcp",
         "headers": {
           "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:kin-token}"
         }
       }
     }
   }

3. Save the file and start the server. When VS Code asks for the Kin token, paste your token.

Good to know

• On Copilot Business and Enterprise, an admin first turns on the MCP servers in Copilot policy. It is off by default.
• The first time the server starts, VS Code asks whether you trust it. Trust it to continue.
• Recent versions of VS Code also have an MCP: Add Server command that walks you through adding a server. If you use it, paste the address when it asks.
• VS Code's Copilot harness skips servers whose settings ask for input, such as the token prompt above. If kin is missing from a Copilot harness chat, sign in instead of pasting a token.
• If the file already lists other servers, add the kin entry beside them.

After you connect

Ask the app to do something with an account you connected, such as "list my open Linear issues". The app searches Kin for a matching action and runs it if your rule allows it. An action set to Ask me waits for you. See Approvals and questions.

To change what this app may use, open AI apps in Kin. See What each AI app may use.

How we checked this guide

These steps follow VS Code documentation as of October 13, 2026. We have not run every step.

Microsoft documents this file format and its fields. Signing in relies on VS Code registering itself, which we saw work in VS Code's browser-based build, version 1.139. The desktop app has not been run.

Source: VS Code documentation. These apps change their setup screens often, so check there if a step looks different.