Install Ricord in Cline (VS Code)

Prerequisites

• VS Code installed with the Cline extension (search "Cline" in Extensions; previously called Claude Dev).
• bun on your PATH (install Bun if you don't have it).
• A Ricord account — sign up if you don't have one.

Step 1 — Install the Ricord CLI

bun add -g ricord

Verify:

ricord --version
# → ricord vX.Y.Z

Step 2 — Log in

ricord login

Sign in via the browser tab. API key lands in the OS keychain.

Step 3 — Wire into Cline

ricord install

For Cline, this writes to its VS Code globalStorage settings file. Cline lives at the path below depending on your OS:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json

Cline uses the standard MCP mcpServers JSON key. The added block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ricord": {
      "command": "ricord",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Existing entries under mcpServers are merged, not overwritten. Cline-specific fields like disabled and autoApprove are set to safe defaults.

Step 4 — Refresh MCP from the Cline tab

Open the Cline tab in VS Code's activity bar (robot icon). At the top of the panel, click the MCP Servers icon (it looks like a server stack). You should see ricord in the list with a green status indicator. If it doesn't appear, hit the Refresh button next to it, or reload the VS Code window with Cmd+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window.

You can also edit servers visually from this panel — click the Ricord entry to expand it. The 13 tools should be listed.

Step 5 — 30-second smoke test

Inside the Cline chat, type:

Remember that we deploy this project to Cloud Run via deploy.sh.

Cline calls ricord_save. You'll see the tool-call card and a checkmark when it completes.

Reload the VS Code window (or close + reopen VS Code), open the Cline tab, type:

How does this project deploy?

Cline calls ricord_recall and answers Cloud Run via deploy.sh. Install is good.

Cline's auto-approve list

By default Cline asks for permission on every tool call. For frequently-used Ricord tools like ricord_recall and ricord_get_context, you can add them to autoApprove so they run without interrupting the flow:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ricord": {
      "command": "ricord",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": ["ricord_recall", "ricord_get_context"]
    }
  }
}

Read-only calls are safe to auto-approve. Save / forget / correct should still ask — they mutate memory, and you want to see what the agent decided to write.

What to expect over the next week

• Day 1: Cline saves and recalls across VS Code reloads when you ask explicitly.
• Day 3: Cline calls ricord_get_context when you open VS Code to a new repo — pulls in what it learned in previous sessions without you re-explaining.
• Day 7: Open the dashboard — wiki pages per repo with the architectural decisions, deploy commands, and patterns Cline helped you figure out.

Cline alongside Cursor or Claude Code

Plenty of developers run Cline in VS Code, Cursor as a separate editor, and Claude Code in the terminal — three agents, three memory needs. Ricord makes them share one memory store. Save a fact in Cline, recall it in Cursor or Claude Code — same wiki, same recall. No syncing on your part.

Troubleshooting

Ricord doesn't show in the MCP Servers panel. Check that cline_mcp_settings.json is valid JSON (a trailing comma is the most common breakage). Hit Refresh in the panel, or reload the VS Code window.

Server shows red, tools don't load. Open the Output panel in VS Code, switch the dropdown to Cline (MCP). Look for the spawn error — most commonly "command not found: ricord".

Command-not-found: ricord.VS Code on macOS launched from Finder doesn't inherit shell PATH. Either launch VS Code from a terminal (code .), or use an absolute path in the settings file:

"command": "/Users/you/.bun/bin/ricord"

Tools loaded but recall is empty. Background indexing runs every ~10 minutes. If still empty after an hour, run ricord usage outside VS Code to verify the account is healthy.

Same install, other clients

ricord installauto-detects Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Zed, Gemini CLI, and Windsurf if they're on the machine. Memory follows you across all eight MCP clients — switch from Cline in VS Code to Cursor mid-debugging, the wiki and recall stay consistent.