yvgude--lean-ctx/docs/reference/appendix-ide-quickstarts.md

Appendix — Per-IDE Quickstarts

Concrete, copy-paste setup for the most common editors. Every quickstart is the same three beats: install → what gets wired → verify. For the full per-agent path table see the installation matrix; for fixing a broken wiring see Journey 12.

One command does it all: lean-ctx onboard (recommended) or lean-ctx setup detects every installed editor and wires each one. The quickstarts below are for when you want to set up — and verify — one specific editor.

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Cursor — Hybrid (MCP + shell hooks)

lean-ctx init --agent cursor       # or: lean-ctx setup

Wires:

• MCP server → ~/.cursor/mcp.json
• Shell hooks → ~/.cursor/hooks.json + ~/.cursor/hooks/lean-ctx-*.sh
• Rules → ~/.cursor/rules/lean-ctx.mdc
• Skill → ~/.cursor/skills/lean-ctx/SKILL.md

Verify:

lean-ctx doctor integrations       # expect Cursor: MCP config ✓, Hooks ✓

Then fully restart Cursor (MCP servers and hooks load at startup).

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Claude Code — Hybrid (MCP + hooks)

lean-ctx init --agent claude       # or: lean-ctx setup

Wires:

• MCP server → ~/.claude.json (MCP enabled)
• Hooks → ~/.claude/settings.json (Bash rewrite + Read redirect)
• Instructions → <!-- lean-ctx --> block in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (no rules file since 3.8)
• Skill → ~/.claude/skills/lean-ctx/SKILL.md

Verify:

lean-ctx doctor integrations       # expect Claude Code: MCP config ✓, Hooks ✓, Instructions ✓

Restart Claude Code. Optional: lean-ctx harden forces the compressed ctx_* path (see Journey 13).

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Codex CLI — Hybrid (MCP + hooks.json)

lean-ctx init --agent codex        # or: lean-ctx setup

Wires:

• MCP server → ~/.codex/config.toml (MCP enabled)
• Hooks → ~/.codex/hooks.json (SessionStart + PreToolUse)
• Rules → ~/.codex/LEAN-CTX.md + ~/.codex/AGENTS.md
• Skill → ~/.codex/skills/lean-ctx/SKILL.md

Verify:

lean-ctx doctor integrations       # expect Codex CLI: Codex MCP ✓, Codex hooks ✓, hooks.json ✓

Restart the Codex CLI session so it re-reads config.toml and hooks.json.

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VS Code — native MCP

lean-ctx init --agent vscode       # or: lean-ctx setup

Wires: the native, user-global MCP config (VS Code 1.102+ reads it directly):

• ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json (macOS)
• ~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json (Linux)

The repo also ships an optional VS Code extension (vscode-extension) — a convenience UI panel (live savings, repo-map, semantic search, one-click MCP setup) you do not need for the MCP server to work, and setup does not install it. Get it from the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX (Cursor, VSCodium, Windsurf), or run code --install-extension LeanCTX.lean-ctx.

Verify:

lean-ctx doctor integrations       # expect VS Code: VS Code MCP ✓

Reload the VS Code window.

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JetBrains IDEs — manual snippet (no auto-wiring)

JetBrains AI Assistant does not auto-load a file, so this one has a manual step:

lean-ctx init --agent jetbrains    # writes a ready-to-paste snippet

Wires: a snippet at ~/.jb-mcp.json plus rules at ~/.jb-rules/lean-ctx.md.

Manual step: open Settings → Tools → AI Assistant → Model Context Protocol (MCP) and paste the lean-ctx server from ~/.jb-mcp.json.

Verify:

lean-ctx doctor integrations       # JetBrains IDEs: MCP snippet ✓ (shows the paste location)

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Cursor vs Claude vs Codex — at a glance

	Cursor	Claude Code	Codex CLI
Mode	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid
MCP config	~/.cursor/mcp.json	~/.claude.json	~/.codex/config.toml
Hooks	hooks.json + scripts	settings.json	hooks.json
Rules	*.mdc	CLAUDE.md + rules	AGENTS.md + LEAN-CTX.md
Skill	yes	yes	yes
After setup	restart Cursor	restart Claude Code	restart session

All three intercept terminal commands via their hook and expose ctx_* MCP tools. MCP-only editors (Zed, Cline, Roo, JetBrains, …) get the tools but not the shell-hook compression — see the installation matrix for the full list.