Cursor Cloud specific instructions

Overview

Nx Console is an Nx monorepo producing a VS Code extension (apps/vscode), a JetBrains IntelliJ plugin (apps/intellij), an MCP server (apps/nx-mcp), and a shared Nx Language Server (apps/nxls). No databases or external services are required.

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18 (LTS Hydrogen) — pinned in .nvmrc
• Yarn 3.2.3 — pinned via .yarnrc.yml yarnPath; uses node-modules linker
• Java 21 + Gradle — only for the IntelliJ plugin (apps/intellij); not needed for TS-only work

Key commands

All commands documented in CONTRIBUTING.md. Quick reference:

• Lint: yarn nx run-many --target=lint
• Test: yarn nx run-many --target=test (Jest for TS projects, Gradle check for IntelliJ)
• Build: yarn nx build vscode / yarn nx build nxls / yarn nx build nx-mcp
• Format check: node ./tools/scripts/check-formatting.js (also the pre-commit hook)
• Format fix: yarn nx format:write

Environment file

The .env file at the workspace root sets NX_ISOLATE_PLUGINS=true and NX_NATIVE_COMMAND_RUNNER=false. Do not remove it.

Launching the Extension Development Host

VS Code is not pre-installed but can be installed on-the-fly:

sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y code

Then launch the Extension Development Host against a test workspace:

npx nx run vscode:build:debug
code --extensionDevelopmentPath=/workspace/dist/apps/vscode /path/to/nx-workspace --no-sandbox

After VS Code opens, trust the workspace when prompted, then reload (Ctrl+R) to fully activate the extension. The Nx Console panel will appear in the sidebar.

Testing the nx-mcp server with MCP Inspector CLI

After building (nx build nx-mcp), use the MCP Inspector CLI to test the server programmatically via stdio — no manual SSE wiring needed:

# List all available tools
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node dist/apps/nx-mcp/main.js /workspace --method tools/list

# Call a specific tool (target args go before --method)
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node dist/apps/nx-mcp/main.js /workspace --method tools/call --tool-name nx_workspace
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node dist/apps/nx-mcp/main.js /workspace --method tools/call --tool-name nx_docs --tool-arg userQuery=caching
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node dist/apps/nx-mcp/main.js /workspace --method tools/call --tool-name nx_project_details --tool-arg projectName=nxls

Gotchas

• The yarn watch / nx run vscode:watch:debug command requires the Nx Daemon (npx nx daemon --start). In headless/containerized environments the daemon's file watcher may not initialize properly, causing watch to fail. Use one-off builds (nx run vscode:build:debug) instead.
• The nxls language server is designed for stdio communication with IDE clients. It can be verified to start with node dist/apps/nxls/main.js --stdio but will error on connection disposal when stdin closes — this is expected.