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vscode-mcp

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edit_file

Replace an exact string that appears exactly once in a file with a new string, ensuring precise single-occurrence replacement.

Instructions

Replace an exact string in a file. The old_string must appear exactly once.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
pathYesFile path
old_stringYesExact text to find and replace
new_stringYesText to replace it with
workspace_rootNoWorkspace root directory (optional)

Implementation Reference

  • src/index.ts:194-207 (schema)
    Input schema definition for the edit_file tool specifying path, old_string, new_string, and workspace_root parameters.
    {
  name: "edit_file",
  description: "Replace an exact string in a file. The old_string must appear exactly once.",
  inputSchema: {
    type: "object",
    properties: {
      path: { type: "string", description: "File path" },
      old_string: { type: "string", description: "Exact text to find and replace" },
      new_string: { type: "string", description: "Text to replace it with" },
      workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
    },
    required: ["path", "old_string", "new_string"],
  },
},
  • src/index.ts:166-422 (registration)
    The TOOLS array where edit_file is registered alongside all other MCP tools.
    const TOOLS: Tool[] = [
  {
    name: "read_file",
    description: "Read the contents of a file. Optionally specify a line range.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        path: { type: "string", description: "File path (absolute or relative to workspace root)" },
        start_line: { type: "number", description: "First line to read (1-indexed, inclusive)" },
        end_line: { type: "number", description: "Last line to read (1-indexed, inclusive)" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["path"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "write_file",
    description: "Write or overwrite a file with new content. Creates parent directories automatically.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        path: { type: "string", description: "File path" },
        content: { type: "string", description: "Content to write" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["path", "content"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "edit_file",
    description: "Replace an exact string in a file. The old_string must appear exactly once.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        path: { type: "string", description: "File path" },
        old_string: { type: "string", description: "Exact text to find and replace" },
        new_string: { type: "string", description: "Text to replace it with" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["path", "old_string", "new_string"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "list_directory",
    description: "List files and directories at a given path.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        path: { type: "string", description: "Directory path" },
        recursive: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether to list recursively (default false)" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["path"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "create_directory",
    description: "Create a directory (and all parent directories).",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        path: { type: "string", description: "Directory path to create" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["path"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "delete_path",
    description: "Delete a file or directory.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        path: { type: "string", description: "File or directory path to delete" },
        recursive: { type: "boolean", description: "Required true to delete non-empty directories" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["path"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "move_path",
    description: "Move or rename a file or directory.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        source: { type: "string", description: "Source path" },
        destination: { type: "string", description: "Destination path" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["source", "destination"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "search_files",
    description: "Search for a regex pattern inside files. Returns matching lines with file and line number.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        directory: { type: "string", description: "Directory to search in" },
        pattern: { type: "string", description: "Regex pattern to search for" },
        file_glob: { type: "string", description: "Glob to filter files (e.g. '*.ts')" },
        ignore_case: { type: "boolean", description: "Case-insensitive search" },
        max_results: { type: "number", description: "Max results to return (default 100)" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["directory", "pattern"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "find_files",
    description: "Find files by name glob pattern (e.g. '*.ts', 'index.*').",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        directory: { type: "string", description: "Directory to search in" },
        pattern: { type: "string", description: "Glob pattern for filename (e.g. '*.ts')" },
        max_results: { type: "number", description: "Max results to return (default 200)" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["directory", "pattern"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "run_command",
    description: "Execute a shell command in the given working directory. Returns stdout, stderr, and exit code.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        command: { type: "string", description: "Command to run" },
        cwd: { type: "string", description: "Working directory (defaults to workspace root or cwd)" },
        timeout_ms: { type: "number", description: "Timeout in milliseconds (default 30000)" },
      },
      required: ["command"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "get_workspace_info",
    description: "Get information about the current workspace: root directory, platform, Node version, git status summary.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
    },
  },
  {
    name: "get_file_info",
    description: "Get metadata about a file or directory (size, modification time, type).",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        path: { type: "string", description: "File or directory path" },
        workspace_root: { type: "string", description: "Workspace root directory (optional)" },
      },
      required: ["path"],
    },
  },

  // ── Cursor bridge tools (require the cursor-mcp-bridge extension running) ──
  {
    name: "cursor_status",
    description: "Check if the Cursor MCP Bridge extension is running and get workspace info.",
    inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: {} },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_list_commands",
    description: "List Cursor/VS Code commands available in the IDE. Use filter to narrow results.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        filter: { type: "string", description: "Optional keyword filter (e.g. 'chat', 'model', 'cursor')" },
      },
    },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_open_chat",
    description: "Open a new chat, composer, or agent panel in Cursor.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        mode: {
          type: "string",
          enum: ["chat", "composer", "agent"],
          description: "Which panel to open (default: chat)",
        },
        message: { type: "string", description: "Optional initial message to send" },
      },
    },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_send_message",
    description: "Open the Cursor chat and send a message (starts a new conversation).",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        message: { type: "string", description: "Message to send in the chat" },
      },
      required: ["message"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_get_model",
    description: "Get the currently configured AI model in Cursor.",
    inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: {} },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_set_model",
    description: "Change the active AI model in Cursor (e.g. claude-sonnet-4-5, gpt-4o, gemini-pro).",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        model: { type: "string", description: "Model identifier to set" },
      },
      required: ["model"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_open_model_picker",
    description: "Open the model selector UI in Cursor so the user can pick a model visually.",
    inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: {} },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_open_file",
    description: "Open a file in the Cursor editor, optionally jumping to a specific line.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        path: { type: "string", description: "Absolute file path to open" },
        line: { type: "number", description: "Line number to jump to (1-indexed)" },
      },
      required: ["path"],
    },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_editor_state",
    description: "Get the current editor state: active file, cursor position, selected text, open editors.",
    inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: {} },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_diagnostics",
    description: "Get all errors and warnings (diagnostics) from the IDE's language servers.",
    inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: {} },
  },
  {
    name: "cursor_run_command",
    description: "Execute any VS Code / Cursor command by its ID. Use cursor_list_commands to discover IDs.",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        command: { type: "string", description: "Command ID (e.g. 'workbench.action.reloadWindow')" },
        args: { type: "array", description: "Optional arguments to pass to the command" },
      },
      required: ["command"],
    },
  },
];
  • src/index.ts:451-462 (handler)
    Handler implementation for edit_file: reads the file, finds the old_string (must appear exactly once), replaces it with new_string, and writes the file back.
    case "edit_file": {
  const filePath = resolveWorkspacePath(a.path as string, a.workspace_root as string | undefined);
  const original = await readFile(filePath, "utf-8");
  const oldStr = a.old_string as string;
  const idx = original.indexOf(oldStr);
  if (idx === -1) throw new Error("old_string not found in file");
  const lastIdx = original.lastIndexOf(oldStr);
  if (idx !== lastIdx) throw new Error("old_string appears more than once — be more specific");
  const updated = original.slice(0, idx) + (a.new_string as string) + original.slice(idx + oldStr.length);
  await writeFile(filePath, updated, "utf-8");
  return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `Edited: ${filePath}` }] };
}

Tool Definition Quality

C2.9/5.0
Behavior2/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

No annotations provided. The description mentions one behavioral trait (exact match uniqueness) but omits crucial details: what happens if string not found? Is it destructive? Does it create backups? No safety or error behavior described.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Two sentences with no fluff. Front-loaded with action. Every word earns its place.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness2/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

No output schema, no error handling, no edge cases (e.g., binary files, large files). For a file editing tool, more context is needed for safe use.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%. The description adds the uniqueness constraint and reinforces purpose, but schema already describes each parameter adequately.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description clearly states the action ('replace') and the resource ('string in a file'), and adds a specific constraint (must appear exactly once). It distinguishes from siblings like write_file (full overwrite) and read_file. However, it does not explicitly name alternatives.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines2/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

No guidance on when to use this tool vs alternatives. The constraint about exact match is implicit but not developed into usage advice.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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