MCP in Cline

Add Onto to Cline (VS Code) so any agent task can call read_url, score_url, or read_and_score directly.

ℹ

One command, any host: npx -y @ontosdk/mcp@latest with ONTO_API_KEY in the env. Only Cline's wrapper JSON differs.

Install steps

Get an API key

Grab a key from app.buildonto.dev/read/keys. Free tier: 1,000 requests / month.

Install Cline

If you don't already have it, install the Cline extension from the VS Code marketplace.

Open MCP settings

In the Cline panel, click the MCP icon (server-stack icon at the top) → "Edit MCP Settings". This opens cline_mcp_settings.json.

Add the Onto server

jsoncline_mcp_settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "onto": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ontosdk/mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ONTO_API_KEY": "onto_sk_live_your_key_here"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Save and reload

Cline picks up MCP changes without a full restart. Reopen the Cline panel — the MCP servers list should now show onto as connected.

Or edit the file directly

The file path depends on your VS Code data directory but is usually under your user settings folder. The fastest way to find it: "Edit MCP Settings" from the Cline panel opens it for you. The settings JSON uses the standard mcpServers schema, same as Claude Code or Cursor.

Verify

The Cline MCP panel should show onto with three connected tools: read_url, score_url, read_and_score. Test in chat:

◈

Try it: "Use Onto to read https://stripe.com/pricing and give me its AIO score."