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MCP Deposits in VS Code

Security and retainer deposits held per client, applied to the invoices the invoice server already holds. It records a deposit when the money arrives, in minor units and in the currency it arrived in, then answers for it: what is held per client and per currency, since when, and what has already gone. Applying a deposit to an invoice writes the payment onto that invoice under both locks, adding to what was already paid rather than replacing it, and it can never pay out more than the deposit still holds or more than the invoice still owes. Refunds hand the money back without touching the invoice, and the statement is one client in one currency, as text or as an A4 PDF that matches the invoice and credit note beside it.

In agent mode deposit_balance and deposits_report are reads the agent can lean on before it decides anything: how much of theirs you hold, per currency, and what has sat unapplied for ninety days is the whole basis for "who should we settle with first".

What you get in VS Code

deposit_apply ADDS to the invoice's amount paid rather than setting it. Measured through a real client on 2026-09-05: an invoice already carrying a EUR 200.00 bank transfer ended at paid_minor 50000 after a EUR 300.00 deposit was applied, reported as paid EUR 500.00 of EUR 1,230.00 with EUR 730.00 due. Writing this server against the same field is what surfaced that invoice_mark_paid was assigning rather than adding, which silently lost the earlier payment; the invoice server was fixed the same day and now adds too.

Install it in VS Code

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

If you also run Claude Desktop, the shortest path there is one click: deposits.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": {
    "deposits": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/deposits/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"deposits","command":"node","args":["/absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/deposits/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/deposits

That writes servers/deposits/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":"deposits","command":"npx","args":["-y","@theluckystrike/mcp-deposits"]}'

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/deposits 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": {
    "deposits": {
      "url": "https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/deposits",
      "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: 5 deposits recorded a calendar month, counted by received date. Applying to invoices, refunds, lists, balances and the text statement are unlimited on every tier: a cap that trapped a client's deposit would be a limit on their money rather than on yours. 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 Deposits 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.

Related

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

Related guides & tools

Client deposits and retainers from chat, applied to your real invoices · Loan and lease schedules from chat, closing exactly on zero