Setup

Install whatsdiff globally first (see Installation). The whatsdiff-mcp binary comes with it, so all that remains is telling your assistant where to find it.

#Claude Code

claude mcp add whatsdiff -- whatsdiff-mcp

The -- separates Claude's own flags from the command that starts the server. By default the server is private to you in the current project. Use --scope to change that:

# Shared with your team, written to .mcp.json in the project root
claude mcp add --scope project whatsdiff -- whatsdiff-mcp

# Available to you in every project
claude mcp add --scope user whatsdiff -- whatsdiff-mcp

Confirm it connected with claude mcp list.

#VS Code and GitHub Copilot

Run MCP: Add Server from the Command Palette, or write .vscode/mcp.json yourself. Note the root key here is servers:

{
  "servers": {
    "whatsdiff": {
      "command": "whatsdiff-mcp"
    }
  }
}

There is also a one-liner:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"whatsdiff","command":"whatsdiff-mcp"}'

#Cursor

Cursor reads .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project, and uses mcpServers as the root key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsdiff": {
      "command": "whatsdiff-mcp"
    }
  }
}

#JetBrains IDEs

PhpStorm, WebStorm, and the rest configure MCP through Junie. Press Shift twice, search for MCP Settings, and add the server there, or write the file directly. Project scope goes in .junie/mcp/mcp.json and user scope in ~/.junie/mcp/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsdiff": {
      "command": "whatsdiff-mcp"
    }
  }
}

MCP support in AI Assistant landed in the 2026.1 release.

#Cline

Click Configure MCP Servers in the Cline panel and add the entry to the settings file it opens:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsdiff": {
      "command": "whatsdiff-mcp"
    }
  }
}

#Codex CLI

codex mcp add whatsdiff -- whatsdiff-mcp

Or add it to ~/.codex/config.toml by hand. Codex uses TOML rather than JSON:

[mcp_servers.whatsdiff]
command = "whatsdiff-mcp"

#Windsurf

Add the server to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsdiff": {
      "command": "whatsdiff-mcp"
    }
  }
}

#Visual Studio

Create .mcp.json in the solution directory, or at %USERPROFILE%/.mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "whatsdiff": {
      "command": "whatsdiff-mcp"
    }
  }
}

#When the binary is not found

If your client reports that whatsdiff-mcp does not exist, Composer's global bin directory is probably not on the PATH your editor sees. Locate the binary and use the absolute path instead:

which whatsdiff-mcp  # macOS and Linux
where whatsdiff-mcp  # Windows

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsdiff": {
      "command": "/Users/username/.composer/vendor/bin/whatsdiff-mcp"
    }
  }
}

#Checking it works

Restart your client first. Most of them read their MCP configuration at startup and ignore changes until they reload.

Then ask something only the registry can answer:

What are the available upgrades for laravel/framework from version 11.0.0?

If the setup is right, you get real Packagist data back. See usage for more of what it can answer.