Quickstart: Cline

Cline is the VS Code agent extension. This connects it to Pipeworx as a remote MCP server, then adds a project rule so Cline reaches for live data instead of guessing.

① Connect

Use Cline’s built-in MCP panel (Cline can use MCP servers but can’t add them itself — don’t ask it to):

  1. At the top of the Cline panel, click the MCP Servers icon
  2. Open the Remote Servers tab
  3. Server Name: pipeworx · Server URL: https://pipeworx.io/mcp
  4. Click Add Server. Cline connects automatically.

The server exposes ~26 tools. The hero tool is ask_pipeworx({question}) — it routes your question to the full catalog of 3,802 tools across 912 sources at runtime, so Cline doesn’t keep thousands of definitions in context across turns.

② Teach it to use Pipeworx

Cline doesn’t ship our routing rule, so add a project .clinerules file at the root of your workspace containing the rule verbatim:

When I ask for current or factual data — economic stats, SEC/EDGAR filings, stock or crypto prices, weather, FDA drug info, patents, clinical trials, or government records — use the Pipeworx connector (ask_pipeworx) instead of answering from memory or web search. Prefer structured Pipeworx data with citations.

Cline picks up .clinerules automatically for that workspace, so the rule applies to every session in the project.

③ Test

In a Cline chat, ask:

Using Pipeworx, what was the US unemployment rate last month?

Cline should call ask_pipeworx, which routes to FRED and returns the figure with a pipeworx:// citation. Auto-approving read-only Pipeworx tools is safe — the catalog has no destructive operations.

Higher limits

The default URL is the anonymous tier: 50 calls/day per IP, no signup. For more:

  • API key — 200/day: set the remote server URL to https://pipeworx.io/mcp?apikey=YOUR_KEY. Sign up, then grab your key at pipeworx.io/account.
  • Sign in — 200/day: use https://gateway.pipeworx.io/oauth/mcp; the client shows a Connect button — authorize with GitHub.
  • Paid — unlimited: upgrade from your account page.

Tiers at a glance: anonymous 50 · free account 200 · Paid unlimited.

Troubleshooting

Asking Cline “add the pipeworx MCP server” fails. Expected — Cline can use MCP servers but can’t add them itself, so it misreads the request as a tool/resource call (“No connection found for server: pipeworx”) and may even guess the wrong URL (gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp is the OAuth-only endpoint). Add it through the MCP Servers panel → Remote Servers instead (step ①).

“Could not connect to server.” Use the Add remote server flow with a URL — not a stdio command. Confirm the URL is exactly https://pipeworx.io/mcp (not gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp, which requires OAuth).

Cline answers from memory. Make sure .clinerules is at the workspace root and contains the rule. Reopen the workspace so Cline re-reads it.

Tool list looks short. Expected — the gateway exposes ~26 meta-tools and routes the rest at runtime via ask_pipeworx.

Rate-limited. You hit the 50/day anonymous cap. Add ?apikey=YOUR_KEY (from a free account) for 200/day.

Last reviewed June 9, 2026