# Royal MCP for AI IDEs and CLIs

> Configure Royal MCP with any MCP-compliant AI IDE or CLI, including Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Claude Code, Zed, JetBrains, Continue, Cline and LM Studio.

- Canonical: <https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/ai-ide-compatibility/>
- Last updated: 2026-09-22
- HTML version: <https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/ai-ide-compatibility/>

---

Royal MCP works with any MCP-compliant client, not just Claude Desktop. The same API-key-plus-URL pattern configures Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Claude Code, Zed, JetBrains AI Assistant, Continue, Cline, LM Studio, and any other IDE or CLI that speaks the Model Context Protocol.

## How Royal MCP fits into any MCP client

Quick definitions

**IDE** stands for *Integrated Development Environment*, the app a developer writes code in. VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains, and Zed are all AI-native IDEs. **CLI** is a *command-line interface* like Claude Code or Continue. **MCP** is *Model Context Protocol*, the open standard that lets any of these clients talk to Royal MCP running on your WordPress site.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard. Any client that implements the protocol can talk to any MCP server, including Royal MCP running on your WordPress site. The client sends tool discovery and invocation requests to the MCP endpoint; Royal MCP responds with tool schemas and results.

Practically, connecting any AI IDE to Royal MCP comes down to three values: the server URL, your API key, and where to put the authorization header. The exact JSON shape varies by client, but the values are identical across all of them.

## Supported IDEs and clients

Claude Desktop

Native MCP connector via OAuth 2.0 (recommended) or API key. See the Claude Desktop setup guide.

Claude Code

Anthropic’s terminal CLI. Add via `claude mcp add royal-mcp ...`.

VS Code (with MCP extension)

Microsoft’s MCP extension reads `.vscode/mcp.json` for server config.

Cursor

MCP server config under **Settings → MCP → Add Server**.

Windsurf

Codeium’s IDE. Add MCP servers via the Cascade settings panel.

Continue

Open-source AI coding assistant. Add to `~/.continue/config.json`.

Cline

VS Code extension for autonomous coding. Config file: `cline_mcp_settings.json`.

Zed

High-performance editor. MCP support via the assistant config.

JetBrains AI Assistant

PyCharm, WebStorm, IntelliJ. MCP server config lives in AI Assistant settings.

LM Studio

Local LLM runtime with native MCP support. See the LM Studio walkthrough below.

Ollama (via frontend)

Ollama itself is not an MCP client. Pair with Continue, OpenWebUI, LibreChat, or Cline (walkthrough below).

Postman / Bruno / Insomnia

For testing. Send the API key as `Authorization: Bearer <key>`.

## Common configuration pattern

Most clients want the same three values: the server URL, your API key, and a header name. The JSON shape looks like this:

```
{
  "name": "Royal MCP",
  "url": "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/royal-mcp/v1/mcp",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer your-api-key-here"
  }
}
```

For OAuth-capable clients, drop the `headers` block and the client will negotiate the access token via the OAuth metadata endpoint instead.

Finding your client’s config file

Every MCP client stores its config in a different place. Search the client’s docs for “MCP server” or “custom connector” to locate the right path. The URL and API key stay the same regardless of where you put them.

## LM Studio setup

LM Studio added native MCP support in version 0.3.x. It expects a config file called `mcp.json` in your LM Studio config directory.

**Config file location by OS:**

- macOS: `~/.lmstudio/mcp.json`
- Windows: `%USERPROFILE%\.lmstudio\mcp.json`
- Linux: `~/.lmstudio/mcp.json`

### Option 1: direct HTTP (recommended for LM Studio 0.3.x+)

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "royal-mcp": {
      "url": "https://example.com/wp-json/royal-mcp/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Option 2: mcp-remote bridge (works on every LM Studio version)

The bridge form also works as a fallback for any stdio-only MCP client that can’t speak HTTP directly:

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "royal-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://example.com/wp-json/royal-mcp/v1/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:Bearer your-api-key-here"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

After saving the file, restart LM Studio or press the “Reload MCP servers” button in newer versions. Royal MCP’s tools will appear in the model’s available-tools list.

Common gotchas

- The `mcp-remote` form’s `--header` argument has **no space after the first colon** (`Authorization:Bearer VALUE`, not `Authorization: Bearer VALUE`). It’s a single CLI argument that `mcp-remote` splits on the first colon, not an HTTP header literal. The resulting HTTP request still goes out with the standard `Authorization: Bearer VALUE` spacing.
- The `mcp-remote` bridge requires Node.js on the client machine for `npx` to work.
- The URL is the **REST endpoint** at `/wp-json/royal-mcp/v1/mcp`, not the wp-admin page.

## Ollama setup

Ollama needs a frontend

Ollama itself does **not** have native MCP client support. It’s an LLM runtime, not an MCP host. To use Royal MCP “with Ollama,” you need a frontend that wraps Ollama and speaks MCP.

Recommended frontends that pair Ollama with MCP servers:

| Frontend | MCP support | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Continue** (VS Code / JetBrains) | Native | Same `mcpServers` JSON format. Set Ollama as the model provider in `~/.continue/config.json` alongside the MCP server config. |
| **OpenWebUI** | Via `mcpo` plugin | The `mcpo` bridge converts MCP to OpenAPI for OpenWebUI’s tool-calling layer. |
| **LibreChat** | Native (0.7.x+) | Configure MCP servers in `librechat.yaml` and select an Ollama-served model in the chat UI. |
| **Cline** | Native | Same JSON format as the other clients. Cline supports any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including Ollama. |

The simplest “Ollama + Royal MCP” path: install **Continue** in VS Code or JetBrains, point it at your local Ollama install for the model, then use the same `mcpServers` config from the LM Studio section above.

## Related setup guides

These pages walk through the client-specific setup steps for the most common Royal MCP connection paths:

[Setup

Connecting Royal MCP to Claude

Web, Desktop, and Terminal (Claude Code). Three OAuth flows explained side by side.](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/connecting-to-claude/)
[Setup

Connect Claude Desktop via API Key

Skip OAuth entirely. Faster to set up on stubborn hosts. Trade-offs explained.](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/connect-claude-desktop-api-key/)
[Setup

Connecting to ChatGPT

Custom GPT MCP setup plus the two known compatibility footguns.](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/connecting-to-chatgpt/)
[Diagnostic

Diagnose with curl

Six-line curl checklist that isolates the failure layer if any client can’t connect.](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/diagnose-mcp-with-curl/)

[Back to Royal MCP Support](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/)
[API Keys Reference](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/api-keys/)