Manual Installation

Some AI tools don't have a dedicated VS Code command or CLI integration yet, but still support MCP servers through a config file. This guide walks through a manual setup using Roo Code as an example — an open-source, model-agnostic AI coding assistant for VS Code.

The same approach applies to any tool that accepts a standard MCP mcpServers JSON config.

Step 1 — Download the extension from OpenVSX

The MCP server is bundled inside the Meterian Security extension. Download it as a .vsix file from the OpenVSX Registry.

Get the latest version

Query the OpenVSX API to find the current version and download URL:

curl -s https://open-vsx.org/api/Meterian/meterian-heidi | \
  python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['downloads']['universal'])"

Download the `.vsix`

curl -Lo meterian-heidi.vsix \
  "https://open-vsx.org/api/Meterian/meterian-heidi/latest/file/Meterian.meterian-heidi.vsix"

Or pin to a specific version (e.g. 1.20.3):

curl -Lo meterian-heidi.vsix \
  "https://open-vsx.org/api/Meterian/meterian-heidi/1.20.3/file/Meterian.meterian-heidi-1.20.3.vsix"

Step 2 — Extract the MCP server files

A .vsix file is a ZIP archive. Extract it and move the server files to a stable location:

unzip meterian-heidi.vsix -d meterian-heidi
mkdir -p ~/.meterian/mcp-server
cp -r meterian-heidi/extension ~/.meterian/mcp-server/

The MCP server entry point will be at:

~/.meterian/mcp-server/extension/src/mcp/server/entry.js

Verify it starts correctly:

node ~/.meterian/mcp-server/extension/src/mcp/server/entry.js
# Expected output: [MCP SERVER] booting...  [MCP SERVER] ready

Press Ctrl+C to stop it once confirmed.

Step 3 — Configure your AI tool

Roo Code

Roo Code is a VS Code extension with 1.4M+ installs. It supports MCP servers via a JSON config file and requires no CLI commands.

Open the MCP settings:

Click the Roo Code icon in the activity bar to open the Roo Code panel
Click the settings icon (gear) at the top of the panel
Scroll to the bottom and click "Edit Global MCP"

This opens the global config file mcp_settings.json for editing.

Project-level config

Click "Edit Project MCP" instead to scope the server to a single project. This creates .roo/mcp.json in your project root and takes precedence over the global config.

Add the Meterian MCP server entry:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "meterian-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/.meterian/mcp-server/extension/src/mcp/server/entry.js"]
    }
  }
}

Use the full absolute path

Replace /absolute/path/to/ with your actual home directory path (e.g. /home/yourname on Linux, /Users/yourname on macOS). Many tools do not expand ~ in config files.

Save the file. Roo Code picks up the change automatically.

Verify:

Ask Roo Code:

"Are any of my project's dependencies currently vulnerable?"

If the server is connected, Roo Code will call the advisories_get tool and return results.

General pattern for other tools

Any tool that accepts a standard mcpServers JSON config block can be connected the same way:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "meterian-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/.meterian/mcp-server/extension/src/mcp/server/entry.js"]
    }
  }
}

Consult your tool's documentation for where its MCP config file lives.