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How to use Ashby with VS Code

You want Ashby inside VS Code so it can prepare candidate debriefs, triage new applications, advance candidates through interviews, and record recruiting handoffs — without you copy-pasting between tabs. Here is the whole setup, once.

Create your Ashby gateway

The gateway is the thing VS Code connects to, and it is where you decide which Ashby tools an agent may use. You create it once and every client reuses it.

  1. Create an Arcade account

    Sign up and open the dashboard. The free tier is enough to follow this through.

  2. Create an MCP Gateway and select your Ashby tools

    In the dashboard, create a gateway and pick the Ashby tools you want to expose. The gateway is what your client connects to, and it is where tool access is decided.

  3. Copy your gateway URL

    Every client below needs it.

    https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/<YOUR-GATEWAY-SLUG>

Create a Ashby gateway Opens the gateway builder in your Arcade dashboard.

Connect the gateway to VS Code

  1. Add the server

    VS Code 1.107.0 or higher. Command Palette → MCP: Add Server… → choose HTTP, paste your gateway URL, and name it something like mcp-arcade.

  2. Start it and authenticate

    Click Start next to the server in mcp.json or under Extensions → MCP Servers - Installed, then approve the Arcade sign-in and consent screens.

  3. Try it out

    Open the chat pane, switch to Agent mode, and ask it to use one of your Ashby tools.

Full VS Code guide in the docs steps verified 2026-08-13

Try these Ashby prompts

VS Code can now act on your Ashby account. Click a prompt to copy it.

Use tool permissions to keep an agent read-only until you are ready to allow notes, stage changes, or application archiving. Pair it with Contextual Access policies so a recruiting agent can review candidates without rejecting applications or changing their stage.

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