Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Codebank search my local bank for a debounce function and insert it here"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Codebank is a local-first VS Code extension, CLI, and MCP server that banks reusable code and recalls it in any project. Entries are plain files under ~/.codebank/. Nothing is written into a project until you accept it.
The repository is public and licensed under MIT. Implementation follows spec/CODEBANK-SPEC.md, milestones M1 through M4, each shippable on its own.
Open the Codebank walkthrough in VS Code. It is enough for a first insert:
Run Codebank: Scan This Machine. Matches land in the Inbox and no project file is changed.
Accept three candidates.
In chat, type #codebank and what you need, then insert the card.
Related MCP server: Snippets MCP
Select a function and run Codebank: Deposit Selection.
Run Codebank: Search and pick a result.
Insert it. Codebank writes the files and can type an install command into a terminal without running it.
From a terminal, the same bank is codebank add, codebank search, and codebank get. codebank mine looks through local repositories and leaves candidates in the inbox until you accept one. codebank mcp speaks the agent protocol on standard input.
An insert keeps a marker so a later version shows up under Updates. External mode stores that link and does not add marker text. Taking an update is one editor edit, so one undo puts the old copy back. A conflict is never applied on its own.
Codebank does not send telemetry and does not open its own network connections. If you allow a deposit draft, the selected code goes to the editor's language model, which may be remote. The statement is packages/vscode/PRIVACY.md. Settings are reviewed in the extension manifest under codebank.*.
main is locked. Changes merge only through pull requests, CI must pass, and force-pushes and branch deletion are blocked. Administrators do not bypass those rules.
Only collaborators with write access can open pull requests. The maintainer account is bobrowsse-tech. Add another maintainer from the repository collaborators settings; everyone else can clone and use the code, and cannot open a pull request.
Sponsor the work if Codebank saves you time.
spec/CODEBANK-SPEC.md is the build specification.
ui/png/ has screenshots of every screen (Main is the S1 first-run scan, then S2 to S8, and Tokens). ui/html/ is the same screens as static HTML. Colors map to VS Code theme variables. Never hard-code hex values in the extension.
ui/source/ has the original design files. They need the design tool's runtime, so use ui/html/ instead.
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