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MCP Currency Converter in VS Code

ECB reference rates with the rate date on every answer. It caches the European Central Bank's daily and historical euro reference rates, converts between any currencies the ECB quotes through EUR cross rates, and emits the exact fx_rates object the expense tracker needs to rebill a project in one currency.

fx_rates_for returns a plain JSON object, so in agent mode it can be written straight into a file in the workspace and committed next to the invoice it justifies, with the rate date in the same commit.

What you get in VS Code

You say	Tool
What is 4,500 EUR in USD today?	`convert`
What was the GBP rate on 30 August?	`rate_on`
Rebill Nova in USD using today's rates.	`fx_rates_for then expense_to_invoice`

Counted from the published history file: the ECB series runs 1999-01-04 to 2026-09-02, 10,104 calendar days holding 7,084 dates, so 29.9% of dates carry no rate. Every answer names the rate date it actually used.

Install it in VS Code

The file is .vscode/mcp.json, and the key inside it is servers.

Scope	Path
This workspace	`<workspace>/.vscode/mcp.json`
Every workspace	`the user profile mcp.json, opened by the MCP: Open User Configuration command`

// .vscode/mcp.json  (the key is "servers")
{
  "servers": {
    "currency": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@theluckystrike/mcp-currency"]
    }
  }
}

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"currency","command":"npx","args":["-y","@theluckystrike/mcp-currency"]}'

VS Code asks you to confirm you trust the server and its capabilities before it starts. Nothing runs until you answer.

The npm publish of @theluckystrike/mcp-currency is pending; until then use the .mcpb bundle or a clone and build from the latest release.

No install: the hosted endpoint

There is no hosted endpoint for this one yet. MCP Currency Converter runs locally over stdio with the config above, which is also the only form in which it reads and writes files on your own disk. Three of the servers in this collection are served at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/<name> over MCP streamable HTTP: time-tracker, price-tracker and invoice.

VS Code notes worth knowing first

The top-level key is "servers", not "mcpServers". A config pasted from a Claude Desktop or Cursor README parses cleanly, contributes no servers, and gives you no error to read, which makes it the most expensive one-word mistake here. Alongside it an "inputs" array holds secrets. The newer Agent Host reads a workspace .mcp.json instead.

Free: latest rates, convert, convert_many, fx_rates_for, history windows up to 90 days. Pro is $19 once, verified offline.

Questions

Why does my mcp.json do nothing?

The key is servers, not mcpServers. A config copied from a Claude Desktop README parses cleanly and contributes nothing. Rename it. On the newer Agent Host, use a workspace .mcp.json instead.

Do I have to edit the file at all?

No. code --add-mcp takes the server object on the command line, and MCP: Add Server in the palette asks whether the target is Workspace or Global.

Where do the MCP Currency Converter tools show up?

In Chat, behind the tools picker, once the server has started. Adding or changing one raises a prompt asking you to confirm you trust it; if the picker is empty, that prompt is usually still waiting.

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