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Connect ModelBrain to Cline

Cline keeps its MCP servers in its own settings file, and the easiest way to find that file is to let Cline open it for you.

Where Cline keeps that file depends on which editor it runs in, so a path copied from a blog post is often wrong for you. Letting Cline open its own file is more reliable than any path we could print.

Where the program lives

This client needs the full path to ModelBrain's mcp_server program. The commands and snippets on this page show the macOS path; on Windows or Linux, put the path for your system in the same place. Write the full path rather than a variable such as %LOCALAPPDATA% or ~, because a client may not expand it.

macOS

/Applications/ModelBrain.app/Contents/MacOS/mcp_server

Windows

C:\Users\you\AppData\Local\Programs\ModelBrain\mcp_server.exe (that is %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ModelBrain\mcp_server.exe, with your own user name). Inside JSON, TOML or a quoted YAML string, double each backslash.

Linux

/home/you/.local/lib/modelbrain/mcp_server, with your own home folder. The install script puts ModelBrain in ~/.local/lib/modelbrain.

Steps
  1. Install ModelBrain if you haven't yet (macOS, Windows or Linux).
  2. Open Cline's MCP settings from inside Cline. Choose the MCP Servers icon in the Cline panel, then Configure MCP Servers. Cline opens cline_mcp_settings.json in your editor.
  3. Add ModelBrain inside mcpServers. Keep any servers already listed.
    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "modelbrain": {
      "command": "/Applications/ModelBrain.app/Contents/MacOS/mcp_server"
    }
  }
}
  4. Save the file. Cline picks up the change and shows ModelBrain in its server list.
  5. Check it is connected. The server should show a green status. Ask Cline to remember something, then recall it in a new task.
Or use the setup wizard

Available in 0.5.0. Setup for Cline is in ModelBrain 0.5.0 and later. It is tested on sample files only, and the settings location comes from Cline's docs. We have not yet tried it on a real Cline install. If anything differs on your machine, use the manual steps above and tell us through the Support page.

  1. Open Setup guide from the ModelBrain menu bar or tray icon.
  2. Find the Cline card and click Set up Cline. The card appears only when Cline has been used on this computer (its ~/.cline settings folder exists). The wizard never creates a client's folders for you.
  3. Let it write the entry. It adds modelbrain to Cline's cline_mcp_settings.json, keeps your other servers, and saves a one-time copy of the original file next to it with the suffix .bak-original. If the file cannot be read as valid, the wizard stops and leaves it alone.
  4. Reload the editor window, then check that ModelBrain appears in Cline's MCP servers.

Running the wizard twice is safe: it recognises its own entry and does nothing. The uninstaller removes only the entry that points at ModelBrain.app.

Questions

Why not give a file path?

Cline's file lives in a different place for the VS Code extension, the editor forks and the Cline command line tool. Opening it from the Configure MCP Servers button always lands on the right one.

Does ModelBrain set Cline up for me?

Not yet. The setup code exists but is not in a released build, and its Cline file locations have not been confirmed on a real install.

How do I undo it?

Remove the modelbrain entry from mcpServers and save. Your memories are not stored in that file.

Has this been tested?

We have tested this configuration against sample files and the ModelBrain setup code, but not yet by hand on a real install of Cline. If ModelBrain does not appear in Cline after you follow these steps, tell us through the Support page and we will fix this guide.

Not installed yet?

Start with the install guide.

Install ModelBrain →
Then

A 10-minute walkthrough: add a folder, ask something that needs two notes, see the citation.

Quickstart →