Add a Remote MCP Server to Continue (config.yaml)

Continue takes a remote MCP server as one entry under mcpServers with a type and a url [1]:

mcpServers:
  - name: My server
    type: streamable-http
    url: https://mcp.example.com/mcp

That entry goes in your config.yaml, which lives at ~/.continue/config.yaml on macOS and Linux and %USERPROFILE%\.continue\config.yaml on Windows [3], or in a block file of its own in your workspace's .continue/mcpServers/ folder [1].

Everything below is checked against Continue's MCP documentation and its config reference on 26 October 2026 [1][2][3].

TL;DR:

MCP only works in agent mode [1]. In chat or another mode, the server's tools are not offered.
Write type: streamable-http for a current server, or type: sse for an older one [1].
A key goes in requestOptions, as headers, the same way a model's request options are written [2].
A JSON config from Cursor, Claude or Cline works as-is when copied into .continue/mcpServers/ [1].

Where the entry goes

Where	Format	Applies to
`~/.continue/config.yaml` (`%USERPROFILE%\.continue\config.yaml` on Windows)	An `mcpServers` list inside your main config [1][3]	Every workspace
`.continue/mcpServers/` at the top of the workspace	One file per server, YAML or a copied JSON config [1]	That workspace

A YAML file in .continue/mcpServers/ is a standalone block, so it needs three metadata fields at the top [1]:

name: My server
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: My server
    type: streamable-http
    url: https://mcp.example.com/mcp

The folder name is plural, mcpServers, not mcpServer [1].

Reuse a config from Cursor, Claude or Cline

If a server's README gives you a JSON entry for another client, you do not have to rewrite it. Continue's docs say you can copy those JSON config files directly into .continue/mcpServers/, for example as .continue/mcpServers/mcp.json, and Continue picks them up [1]. The Cursor and Cline guides show what those files look like.

Add the server

The entry at the top is the whole configuration for an open server [1]:

name: anything; it labels the server.
type: streamable-http, or sse for a server still on the legacy SSE transport.
url: the server's MCP endpoint, usually ending in /mcp, not the product's homepage or its docs page.

connectionTimeout is optional and limits how long Continue waits for the initial connection to the server [2]. Is SSE deprecated in MCP? covers why new servers use Streamable HTTP.

Add an API key

A key goes in requestOptions, which Continue's reference describes as request options for sse and streamable-http servers, in the same format as a model's request options, where headers holds custom HTTP headers [2]:

mcpServers:
  - name: My server
    type: streamable-http
    url: https://mcp.example.com/mcp
    requestOptions:
      headers:
        Authorization: Bearer ${{ secrets.MY_SERVER_TOKEN }}

${{ secrets.NAME }} is how Continue references a secret instead of writing it into the file [1]. Its MCP docs show it in a local server's env block, so if you use it in a header, check that the server connects after saving before you share the file.

Continue's MCP documentation does not describe an OAuth sign-in flow [1][2]. A server that only accepts OAuth and answers a plain request with 401 is one to try in a client whose documentation covers that sign-in, such as Cline or Claude Code. MCP OAuth explains what that sign-in involves.

When it will not connect

What you see	Usual cause	Fix
The server's tools never show up	Continue is not in agent mode	Switch to agent mode; MCP only works there [1]
A file in the folder is ignored	It sits in `.continue/mcpServer/`, singular	Move it to `.continue/mcpServers/` [1]
A YAML block file does not load	It is missing `name`, `version` or `schema`	Add the three metadata fields [1]
No tools, or an error from the server	The URL is the homepage or docs page	Use the endpoint, usually ending in `/mcp`
A server written for SSE fails as Streamable HTTP	The server only speaks the legacy transport	Set `type: sse` [1]
`401` with a key set	The header is not under `requestOptions.headers`, or the secret is not set	Check the nesting and the secret [2]
`401` with no way to sign in	The server only accepts OAuth	See the section above
Continue gives up while connecting to a slow server	The initial connection took too long	Raise `connectionTimeout` [2]

For what the server's own error codes mean, see MCP server errors and MCP server connection failed.

Continue connects from your own machine, so a server on localhost or your VPN works for you and for nobody else. Our MCP connection test calls your server from our network, runs the handshake and tools/list, and reports what a stranger on the internet gets back, with a dated URL you can share. If it passes there and fails in Continue, the problem is in your config, not the server.

The same setup in other clients is in Cline, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Kiro, Roo Code, LM Studio, Raycast, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, Claude Desktop and ChatGPT, and remote MCP server vs stdio covers whether your server should have a public address at all.