Cognee MCP Server for Windsurf 4 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
Windsurf brings agentic AI coding to a purpose-built IDE. Connect Cognee through Vinkius and Cascade will auto-discover every tool. ask questions, generate code, and act on live data without leaving your editor.
ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER
Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.
Vinkius Desktop App
The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Cognee and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.
{
"mcpServers": {
"cognee": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
}
}
}
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
About Cognee MCP Server
Connect your AI agent to Cognee — the open-source knowledge graph platform that transforms unstructured data into structured, searchable knowledge.
Windsurf's Cascade agent chains multiple Cognee tool calls autonomously. query data, analyze results, and generate code in a single agentic session. Paste Vinkius Edge URL, reload, and all 4 tools are immediately available. Real-time tool feedback appears inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor.
What you can do
- Add Data — Ingest raw text, documents, or structured data into named datasets. Cognee processes and stores the data for subsequent graph construction
- Cognify — Transform ingested data into a structured knowledge graph by automatically extracting entities, relationships, and semantic connections
- Search Knowledge — Query the knowledge graph using four retrieval strategies: graph-aware completion (LLM + graph traversal), summaries, structured insights, or raw vector similarity
- Get Insights — Retrieve structured entity relationships showing how concepts connect across your knowledge base
Why Cognee over standard RAG?
- Relationship-aware — understands HOW facts connect, not just what they say
- Graph + Vector hybrid — combines graph traversal with semantic search for superior recall
- Temporal awareness — tracks when facts were added and reason over time-based connections
The Cognee MCP Server exposes 4 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Windsurf in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect Cognee to Windsurf via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the Cognee MCP Server with Windsurf.
Open MCP Settings
Go to Settings → MCP Configuration or press Cmd+Shift+P and search "MCP"
Add the server
Paste the JSON configuration above into mcp_config.json
Save and reload
Windsurf will detect the new server automatically
Start using Cognee
Open Cascade and ask: "Using Cognee, help me...". 4 tools available
Why Use Windsurf with the Cognee MCP Server
Windsurf provides unique advantages when paired with Cognee through the Model Context Protocol.
Windsurf's Cascade agent autonomously chains multiple tool calls in sequence, solving complex multi-step tasks without manual intervention
Purpose-built for agentic workflows. Cascade understands context across your entire codebase and integrates MCP tools natively
JSON-based configuration means zero code changes: paste a URL, reload, and all 4 tools are immediately available
Real-time tool feedback is displayed inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor without switching contexts
Cognee + Windsurf Use Cases
Practical scenarios where Windsurf combined with the Cognee MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Automated code generation: ask Cascade to fetch data from Cognee and generate models, types, or handlers based on real API responses
Live debugging: query Cognee tools mid-session to inspect production data while debugging without leaving the editor
Documentation generation: pull schema information from Cognee and have Cascade generate comprehensive API docs automatically
Rapid prototyping: combine Cognee data with Cascade's code generation to scaffold entire features in minutes
Cognee MCP Tools for Windsurf (4)
These 4 tools become available when you connect Cognee to Windsurf via MCP:
cognee_add_data
After ingestion, use the cognify tool to process the data into a structured knowledge graph with entities and relationships. Ingest text or documents into the Cognee knowledge base. This is the first step before building a knowledge graph
cognee_cognify
This step extracts entities, identifies relationships, generates embeddings, and creates the graph structure needed for intelligent search. Process ingested data into a structured knowledge graph. Extracts entities, relationships, and builds a searchable graph structure
cognee_get_insights
Useful for understanding relationships between topics, discovering hidden connections, and building comprehensive knowledge views. Retrieve structured entity relationships and insights from the knowledge graph
cognee_search
Search the knowledge graph using natural language. Returns context-aware answers using graph traversal and semantic search
Example Prompts for Cognee in Windsurf
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Windsurf agent to start working with Cognee immediately.
"Add this research data to my knowledge base: 'Transformer models were introduced by Vaswani et al. in 2017 in the paper Attention Is All You Need. They use self-attention mechanisms and have become the foundation for models like GPT, BERT, and T5.'"
"Process my data into a knowledge graph."
"What is the relationship between Transformers and GPT?"
Troubleshooting Cognee MCP Server with Windsurf
Common issues when connecting Cognee to Windsurf through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
Server not connecting
Cognee + Windsurf FAQ
Common questions about integrating Cognee MCP Server with Windsurf.
How does Windsurf discover MCP tools?
mcp_config.json file on startup and connects to each configured server via Streamable HTTP. Tools are listed in the MCP panel and available to Cascade automatically.Can Cascade chain multiple MCP tool calls?
Does Windsurf support multiple MCP servers?
mcp_config.json. Each server's tools appear in the MCP panel and Cascade can use tools from different servers in a single flow.Connect Cognee with your favorite client
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Connect Cognee to Windsurf
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 4 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.