Connect Talindrew to VS Code
Talindrew's MCP server gives VS Code a molecular biology toolkit: plasmid maps, restriction digests and gels, primer and CRISPR design, PubMed search, your saved sequences and lab notebook, and structure prediction. Use Talindrew from Copilot's agent mode; turn on chat.mcp.apps.enabled to see the interactive panels.
Server URL
https://mcp.talindrew.com/mcpAuthentication: OAuth in your browser (CIMD, falling back to dynamic registration).
Install in VS CodeSet it up
- Click Install in VS Code above, or run the command, or add the JSON to .vscode/mcp.json.
- Start the server from the MCP: List Servers command and sign in when VS Code asks.
- In Copilot Chat (agent mode), ask it to use Talindrew.
Terminal
code --add-mcp '{"name":"talindrew","type":"http","url":"https://mcp.talindrew.com/mcp"}'.vscode/mcp.json
{
"servers": {
"talindrew": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.talindrew.com/mcp" }
}
}Or let VS Code set it up
Paste this into VS Code; it adds Talindrew for you and checks the connection.
Add the Talindrew MCP server to this workspace: create or update .vscode/mcp.json so that "servers" contains "talindrew": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.talindrew.com/mcp" } (keep any servers already there). Then tell me to start it from "MCP: List Servers" and sign in.First things to ask
Use Talindrew to find the restriction sites in pUC19 and show me the map.With Talindrew, design PCR primers for bases 100-600 of this sequence: <paste DNA>Ask Talindrew for the melting temperature of CGTTGTAAAACGACGGCCAGTGAAT.Search PubMed with Talindrew for recent Golden Gate assembly protocols.
Other ways to connect
- Copilot Business/Enterprise: an org admin must turn on the “MCP servers in Copilot” policy first.
Remove or sign in again
Extensions view → MCP SERVERS → talindrew → Uninstall, or delete it from mcp.json.
You can also disconnect any app from Talindrew itself under Settings → Connected apps.
Microsoft's documentation: code.visualstudio.com
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Talindrew is a remote MCP server at https://mcp.talindrew.com/mcp. VS Code connects to it over Streamable HTTP and signs in with OAuth; OAuth in your browser (CIMD, falling back to dynamic registration).
Experimentally. VS Code can render MCP Apps when its setting is on; otherwise it gets the same results as text and data, with links that open them in the Talindrew app.
Yes, to start. Connecting is free, and the sequence analysis, primer, CRISPR, literature and lab-notebook tools include 25 calls a week on the free plan; Plus ($9 a month, 7-day free trial) makes them unlimited. Structure prediction and FoldRx drug-discovery runs use the monthly allowance of a Pro or Max plan, exactly as in the app.
Try: "Use Talindrew to find the restriction sites in pUC19 and show me the map." or "Ask Talindrew for the melting temperature of CGTTGTAAAACGACGGCCAGTGAAT." Talindrew has 90 tools covering sequence analysis, digests and gels, primers, CRISPR guides, protein properties, cloning reactions in a workspace, PubMed and Europe PMC, NCBI Gene, Addgene, your saved sequences and notebook, and structure prediction.
Other apps
Start free
Free includes 25 tool calls a week; Plus ($9/month) makes them unlimited. Pro and Max add structure prediction and FoldRx.