Connect your IDE

In a local setup, your IDE starts the AI Assist server whenever it needs it, by running the container. Every IDE runs the same command; only the format of its configuration differs. Before you start, get and configure the server, and check that its check command reports ready.

The command your IDE runs

podman run -i --rm \
  -e AIPS_DB_PLATFORM -e AIPS_DB_CONNECT -e AIPS_DB_USER \
  --secret aips_db_password,type=env,target=AIPS_DB_PASSWORD \
  aipeoplesoft-mcp:1.0

-i keeps standard input open. MCP’s stdio transport sends every request over it. Don’t add -t: a terminal would mix control characters into the stream of messages.
--rm removes the container when your IDE stops the server.
-e NAME, without a value, passes a variable through from your IDE, so the values stay off the command line.
--secret gives the container the password from the Podman secret you created.

The examples on this page connect to an Oracle database. For SQL Server, set AIPS_DB_PLATFORM to sqlserver and use the SQL Server host, port, and database name in AIPS_DB_CONNECT.

Claude Code

Add the server with claude mcp add. Everything after -- is the command Claude Code runs:

claude mcp add aipeoplesoft \
  -e AIPS_DB_PLATFORM=oracle \
  -e AIPS_DB_CONNECT=hrdb.example.com:1521/HRDEV \
  -e AIPS_DB_USER=AIPS_MCP \
  -- podman run -i --rm \
     -e AIPS_DB_PLATFORM -e AIPS_DB_CONNECT -e AIPS_DB_USER \
     --secret aips_db_password,type=env,target=AIPS_DB_PASSWORD \
     aipeoplesoft-mcp:1.0

By default, the server is available only to you, in the current project. Add --scope user to use it in all your projects, or --scope project to share it with your team through a .mcp.json file in the repository. The password lives in each person’s Podman secret, so the shared file contains no secrets:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aipeoplesoft": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "podman",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_PLATFORM",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_CONNECT",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_USER",
        "--secret",
        "aips_db_password,type=env,target=AIPS_DB_PASSWORD",
        "aipeoplesoft-mcp:1.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AIPS_DB_PLATFORM": "oracle",
        "AIPS_DB_CONNECT": "hrdb.example.com:1521/HRDEV",
        "AIPS_DB_USER": "AIPS_MCP"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code asks each person to approve a project’s servers before it uses them for the first time. To confirm the server works, run claude mcp list, or type /mcp in a Claude Code session to see its status and tools.

VS Code

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace to share the server with everyone who opens it, or add the same entry to your user configuration to use it everywhere:

{
  "servers": {
    "aipeoplesoft": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "podman",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_PLATFORM",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_CONNECT",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_USER",
        "--secret",
        "aips_db_password,type=env,target=AIPS_DB_PASSWORD",
        "aipeoplesoft-mcp:1.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AIPS_DB_PLATFORM": "oracle",
        "AIPS_DB_CONNECT": "hrdb.example.com:1521/HRDEV",
        "AIPS_DB_USER": "AIPS_MCP"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code starts the server when you use chat in agent mode, and the server’s tools appear in the chat’s tools list.

Without Podman secrets, let VS Code ask for the password. It asks once and stores the answer encrypted. Add an input, pass the password through the environment, and replace the --secret arguments with "-e", "AIPS_DB_PASSWORD":

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "aips-db-password",
      "description": "PeopleSoft database password",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "aipeoplesoft": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["…"],
      "env": {
        "AIPS_DB_PASSWORD": "${input:aips-db-password}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add the server to ~/.cursor/mcp.json to use it in every project, or to .cursor/mcp.json in a project to share it with that project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aipeoplesoft": {
      "command": "podman",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_PLATFORM",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_CONNECT",
        "-e", "AIPS_DB_USER",
        "--secret",
        "aips_db_password,type=env,target=AIPS_DB_PASSWORD",
        "aipeoplesoft-mcp:1.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AIPS_DB_PLATFORM": "oracle",
        "AIPS_DB_CONNECT": "hrdb.example.com:1521/HRDEV",
        "AIPS_DB_USER": "AIPS_MCP"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor’s settings list your MCP servers with their status and tools. With Docker, set AIPS_DB_PASSWORD in your environment, replace the --secret arguments with "-e", "AIPS_DB_PASSWORD", and add "AIPS_DB_PASSWORD": "${env:AIPS_DB_PASSWORD}" to env.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop reads its servers from claude_desktop_config.json:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

The entry has the same format as Cursor’s, under mcpServers. Restart Claude Desktop after you edit the file.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to check
The server fails to start, and the log says the image isn’t found	The image must be tagged `aipeoplesoft-mcp:1.0`. Run `podman images` to see what’s loaded.
Podman says the secret doesn’t exist	Create it with the same Podman installation, and on Windows or macOS the same Podman machine, that your IDE uses.
`ORA-01017`, or SQL Server error 18456	The user name or password is wrong. Run the `check` command with the same settings.
`ORA-12541`, or a connection timeout	The container can’t reach the database listener. Check the host and port, and your network. For a database on your own machine, use `host.containers.internal`.
`ORA-00942`, or “invalid object name”	A grant is missing, or the tables belong to a different owner: set `AIPS_DB_SCHEMA`.
The server is running, but chat doesn’t use its tools	Use your IDE’s agent mode, and check that the server’s tools are enabled.

Your IDE shows the server’s log, which the server writes to standard error. In it, the server reports each problem with the same messages as the check command.