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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`

If you also run Claude Desktop, the shortest path there is one click: currency.mcpb from the bundle catalog opens as an extension, with no JSON and no terminal. VS Code reads its own config, so here it is:

// .vscode/mcp.json  (the key is "servers")
{
  "servers": {
    "currency": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/currency/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"currency","command":"node","args":["/absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/currency/dist/index.js"]}'

The node command above wants a built file. From a clone, once:

git clone https://github.com/theluckystrike/mcp-servers.git
cd mcp-servers && npm install
npm run build -w packages/mcp-license -w servers/currency

That writes servers/currency/dist/index.js, and its absolute path is the one argument the config needs.

The npm packages are not published yet, so the form below returns a 404 today. It is here because it is what the entry becomes the day the publish lands, with nothing else changed:

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.

Nothing is published to npm yet, so the working install paths are the ones above: the .mcpb bundle from the bundle catalog, a clone and build, or the hosted URL.

No install: the hosted endpoint

The same server runs at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/currency over MCP streamable HTTP, no install. Mint a free token with curl https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/token, or use a Pro key. It has no filesystem, so a file comes back as a one-hour download link.

{
  "servers": {
    "currency": {
      "url": "https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/currency",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" }
    }
  }
}

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.

MCP Currency Converter in detail · The same server in Cursor and Windsurf · Every server in VS Code · Guides · VS Code docs · Buy Pro

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Convert currencies in Claude with real ECB rates, no API key · Currency conversion in an assistant, and which MCP server to use · Convert USD to cedis, rand and shillings in Claude with real rates