Astra exposes Salesforce intelligence through the extension and through the bundled MCP server. These are related, but they are not the same thing.
1. Extension-native use in VS Marketplace-compatible IDEs
The Kognyt extension itself can run in VS Code, Cursor, and other IDEs that support VS Code extensions.
That gives you the extension-native experience:
- Kognyt sidebar and org management
- sign-in and connected-org flows
- status bar state
- retrieve, deploy, validation, and drift commands
This is the direct extension path. It is separate from MCP.
2. GitHub Copilot in VS Code
Astra registers Salesforce capabilities as VS Code Language Model Tools. In supported Copilot workflows, those tools can be referenced in prompts and invoked by the model.
3. MCP-based use through the bundled Astra MCP server
Astra also ships with a built-in MCP server. The extension can configure MCP access for detected hosts and AI tools that consume MCP, including:
- Cursor
- Windsurf
- Claude Code
- Cline
- Kilo Code
- Roo Code
- Continue
This MCP path is what lets those tools use Kognyt's Salesforce context through the extension's bundled server.
Important distinction
- VS Code and Cursor can run the Kognyt extension directly
- Some tools also consume Astra through MCP configuration
So a tool or environment can be relevant in more than one way. Cursor is the clearest example: it can run the extension directly, and it also has an MCP configuration path.
Kilo Code, Cline, Roo Code, and Continue are detected as AI-tool integrations that the extension can wire up to the bundled MCP server.
Claude Code is handled as a separate CLI-based MCP integration path.
Use Kognyt: Setup AI Provider when you need to run the setup flow manually.
Auto-configuration behavior
On activation, Astra detects supported providers and offers to configure MCP for them. It writes the Astra MCP entry while keeping a stable launcher path across extension upgrades.
Privacy note
By default, astra.sendFileContent is false. When that setting stays off, Astra sends only the active file path and detected Salesforce entities for context requests, not raw file contents.