Vim MCP Server
About
An MCP server for driving Vim. Connect your coding agent to show you changed files in Vim, or get it to advise you on the code in your open buffers. Can also set your quickfix/location list to direct you to multiple points in your code.
Details
- Author
- breggles
- Downloads
- 160
- Categories
- Developer Tools, Other
Jump to
- List, read, edit, open, save, and close buffers.
- Get and set cursor position.
- Retrieve the current visual selection.
- Run arbitrary Ex commands (opt‑in).
- Manage quickfix and location lists.
- Read Vim message history.
- Show a side‑by‑side diff view in a new tab.
Setting up with Highlight
This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:
- Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
- Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
-
Configure the plugin with the settings below
Plugin Name
Vim MCP ServerCommand (node, npx, python, etc.)Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
- Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches
From the repository
Install the plugin using your preferred Vim plugin manager (e.g., vim‑plug, Vundle, or manual clone). Start the server in Vim with :McpServerStart (default port 8765). Optionally, set g:mcp_server_autostart = 1 in your vimrc to start it automatically. Point your MCP client at http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp.
Claude Desktop / Cursor
Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"vim mcp server": {
"vim": {
"type": "remote",
"url": "http://localhost:8765/mcp",
"enabled": true
}
}
}
}McpServers
{
"vim": {
"type": "remote",
"url": "http://localhost:8765/mcp",
"enabled": true
}
}vim-mcp-server
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server embedded in Vim. It exposes tools over
HTTP that let MCP-compatible clients — such as AI coding agents — read and
modify buffers, move the cursor, retrieve visual selections, manage quickfix
and location lists, open side-by-side diffs, read message history, and run Ex
commands.
Requirements
- Vim compiled with +python3
Installation
Use your preferred plugin manager.
vim-plug
Plug 'breggles/vim-mcp-server'
Vundle
Plugin 'breggles/vim-mcp-server'
Manual
Clone the repository into your Vim packages directory:
git clone https://github.com/breggles/vim-mcp-server.git \
~/.vim/pack/plugins/start/vim-mcp-server
Usage
Start the server
In Vim, run:
:McpServerStart
Auto-start the server on Vim launch by adding this to your vimrc:
let g:mcp_server_autostart = 1
MCP Client Configuration
Point your MCP client at http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp (or whichever port you
chose).
For example, for opencode add the server to your opencode.jsonc:
"mcp": {
"vim": {
"type": "remote",
"url": "http://localhost:8765/mcp",
"enabled": true
}
}
Commands
| Command | Description |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| :McpServerStart [port] | Start the server (default port 8765) |
| :McpServerStop | Stop the server |
| :McpServerStatus | Print server status and URL |
Options
| Variable | Default | Description |
| ------------------------------ | ------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| g:mcp_server_port | 8765 | Port the server listens on |
| g:mcp_server_autostart | 0 | Start the server automatically on VimEnter |
| g:mcp_server_allow_execute | 0 | Enable the execute_command tool |
| g:mcp_server_allow_save | 0 | Enable the save_buffer tool |
| g:mcp_server_allow_edit | 0 | Enable the edit_buffer tool |
Tools
The server exposes the following tools to MCP clients:
| Tool | Description |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| list_buffers | List all open buffers |
| get_buffer | Read buffer contents (optionally a line range) |
| edit_buffer | Replace, insert, or delete lines in a buffer |
| open_file | Open a file via :edit |
| save_buffer | Save a buffer via :write (opt-in, see above) |
| close_buffer | Close a buffer via :bdelete |
| get_cursor | Get current cursor position |
| set_cursor | Move cursor to a line and column |
| get_visual_selection | Get the current visual selection, if any |
| execute_command | Run an arbitrary Ex command (opt-in, see above) |
| get_quickfix_list | Get the current quickfix list entries |
| set_quickfix_list | Set the quickfix list |
| get_location_list | Get the location list for the current window |
| set_location_list | Set the location list for the current window |
| get_messages | Get Vim's message history (:messages output) |
| show_diff | Open a side-by-side diff view in a new tab (files or content) |
When a tool accepts a buffer argument it can be specified by number
(buffer_id) or by file path (buffer_path). When both are omitted, the
current buffer is used.
OpenCode Plan Mode
By default, OpenCode's plan mode disables all MCP tools. To allow read-only
vim tools in plan mode, add the following to your opencode.jsonc:
{
"agent": {
"plan": {
"tools": {
"vim_": false,
"vim_list_buffers": true,
"vim_get_buffer": true,
"vim_get_cursor": true,
"vim_get_visual_selection": true,
"vim_open_file": true,
"vim_set_cursor": true,
"vim_get_quickfix_list": true,
"vim_set_quickfix_list": true,
"vim_get_location_list": true,
"vim_set_location_list": true,
"vim_get_messages": true,
"vim_show_diff": true
}
}
}
}
This disables all vim_ tools first, then re-enables specific ones. Adjust
the list to suit your workflow.
Development
To work on the plugin without installing it, clone the repository and add it
to Vim's runtime path:
set rtp+=~/path/to/vim-mcp-server
Add this to your vimrc or run it manually. Changes take effect the next time
Vim is started.
Generate the help tags with:
:helptags ~/path/to/vim-mcp-server/doc
License
MIT
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