# Roo Code

Open-source AI coding agent extension for VS Code with multiple modes, MCP support, and rich rule/skill customization.

Schema: 1.0 · Data: ee5de863c30bdbe4fe7dd3e07c7e22ea9bf4ab2248dbc7c35cdbf60bc28be1db

## Configuration

### MCP

Status: supported

MCP servers configured under mcpServers in a project .roo/mcp.json or the global mcp_settings.json. Supports STDIO, Streamable HTTP, and legacy SSE transports.

- project: `.roo/mcp.json` (json) — key: mcpServers — Committed project-level servers; created via 'Edit Project MCP' in the MCP settings view.
- global: `mcp_settings.json` (json) — key: mcpServers — Global servers; stored in VS Code extension global storage and opened via 'Edit Global MCP' in the MCP settings view.
- `command`: string (required) — Executable to run for a STDIO server (e.g. node, python, npx, or an absolute path). Required for stdio servers.
- `args`: string[] — Arguments passed to the command. Supports ${env:VARIABLE_NAME} interpolation.
- `cwd`: string — Working directory to launch the server process from. Defaults to the first workspace folder.
- `env`: record<string, string> — Environment variables set for the server process.
- `type`: "stdio" | "streamable-http" | "sse" — Transport type. Defaults to stdio for command-based configs; required for URL-based configs. Values: stdio, streamable-http, sse
- `url`: string — Endpoint URL for a remote Streamable HTTP or SSE server.
- `headers`: record<string, string> — Custom HTTP headers for remote servers (e.g. authentication tokens).
- `alwaysAllow`: string[] — Tool names from this server to auto-approve.
- `disabledTools`: string[] — Tool names to disable from this server.
- `disabled`: boolean — Set true to disable this server configuration.
- `timeout`: number — Per-server response timeout override in seconds (1-3600, default 60).
- `watchPaths`: string[] — File paths to watch; the server restarts automatically when they change (stdio servers).
- transports: stdio, http, sse
- auth: headers, env
- Tools: supported — Invoked via the use_mcp_tool tool.
- Resources: supported — Accessed via the access_mcp_resource tool.
- Project-level servers take precedence over global servers with the same name.
- System environment variables can be referenced in args and env via ${env:VARIABLE_NAME}.
- SSE is legacy; Streamable HTTP (type = "streamable-http") is recommended for remote servers. URL-based configs must set type explicitly.
- Per-tool auto-approval via alwaysAllow plus the global 'Use MCP servers' auto-approve setting.

Local STDIO server
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "local-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["server.js"],
      "env": { "API_KEY": "your_api_key" },
      "alwaysAllow": ["tool1"],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

```


Remote Streamable HTTP server
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "remote-server": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://your-server.com/api/mcp-endpoint",
      "headers": { "X-API-Key": "your-secure-api-key" }
    }
  }
}

```

Source: https://docs.roocode.com/features/mcp/using-mcp-in-roo
Checked: 2026-07-12

### Skills

Status: supported

SKILL.md instruction packages following the Agent Skills format, loaded on demand when a request matches the skill description. Supports mode-specific and cross-agent (.agents) locations.

- project: `.roo/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` (markdown) — Roo-specific project skills (highest priority).
- project: `.agents/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` (markdown) — Cross-agent project skills shared with other agent tools.
- global: `~/.roo/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` (markdown) — Roo-specific global skills.
- global: `~/.agents/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` (markdown) — Cross-agent global skills.
- `name`: string (required) — Skill identifier; must exactly match the directory (or symlink) name. 1-64 chars, lowercase alphanumeric and hyphens, no leading/trailing/consecutive hyphens.
- `description`: string (required) — What the skill does and when to use it (1-1024 chars). Roo matches requests against this text.
- invocation: automatic (request matches skill description), skill tool (explicit load, e.g. "use the pdf-processing skill")
- Progressive disclosure: only frontmatter metadata is indexed at startup; the full SKILL.md loads when a request matches, and bundled files are read on demand.
- Override priority: project .roo > project .agents > global .roo > global .agents; mode-specific beats generic within each location.
- Mode-specific variants live in skills-{modeSlug}/ directories (e.g. .roo/skills-code/).
- Skills can bundle helper scripts, templates, and reference files alongside SKILL.md.
- Symlinked skill directories are supported; the skill name comes from the symlink name.

SKILL.md
```markdown
---
name: pdf-processing
description: Extract text and tables from PDF files using Python libraries
---

# PDF Processing Instructions

When the user requests PDF processing:
1. Check if PyPDF2 or pdfplumber is installed
2. For text extraction, use pdfplumber for better table detection
3. Always handle encoding errors gracefully

```

Source: https://docs.roocode.com/features/skills
Checked: 2026-07-12

### Rules

Status: supported

Persistent custom instructions from .roo/rules/ directories (global and workspace), mode-specific rules-{modeSlug}/ variants, .roorules fallback files, and AGENTS.md.

- project: `.roo/rules/` (markdown) — Preferred workspace-wide rules directory; any text/markdown files, read recursively.
- project: `.roo/rules-{modeSlug}/` (markdown) — Mode-specific rules (e.g. .roo/rules-code/), applied only in that mode.
- project: `.roorules` (markdown) — Single-file fallback when .roo/rules/ is missing or empty. Plain text also accepted.
- project: `AGENTS.md` (markdown) — Agent Rules standard file in the workspace root; AGENT.md used as fallback.
- global: `~/.roo/rules/` (markdown) — Global rules applied to all projects.
- global: `~/.roo/rules-{modeSlug}/` (markdown) — Global mode-specific rules.
- Loading order: global rules (~/.roo/) first, then workspace rules (.roo/); workspace rules win on conflict. Mode-specific rules load before generic rules.
- Rules directories are read recursively and appended to the system prompt in alphabetical order by filename.
- Fallback single files (.roorules, .roorules-{modeSlug}) are used only when the corresponding rules directory is missing or empty; legacy .clinerules is also read.
- AGENTS.md loading is controlled by the roo-cline.useAgentRules VS Code setting (default true); AGENT.md is a fallback when AGENTS.md is absent.
- Additional plain-text instructions can be set per-mode and globally in the Prompts tab UI.

Workspace rule file (.roo/rules/coding-standards.md)
```markdown
# Global Coding Standards

1. Always use TypeScript for new projects
2. Write unit tests for all new functions
3. Use descriptive variable names
4. Add JSDoc comments for public APIs

```

Source: https://docs.roocode.com/features/custom-instructions
Checked: 2026-07-12

### Hooks

Status: unsupported

Roo Code does not expose user-configurable lifecycle hooks.

- The official documentation has no hooks feature; no hook configuration file exists in docs or the extension repo.
- Task lifecycle events (taskStarted, taskCompleted, etc.) exist only as an internal extension API for programmatic consumers, not as a user-facing hook surface.
Checked: 2026-07-12

### Commands

Status: supported

Custom slash commands as markdown files in .roo/commands/ (project) or ~/.roo/commands/ (global); the filename becomes the command name.

- project: `.roo/commands/<name>.md` (markdown)
- global: `~/.roo/commands/<name>.md` (markdown)
- `description`: string — Shown in the command menu to explain the command's purpose.
- `argument-hint`: string — Hint displayed next to the command showing expected arguments (e.g. <endpoint-name> <http-method>).
- `mode`: string — Mode slug to switch to before running the command (e.g. code, architect).
- invocation: /command-name
- Project commands override global commands with the same name; built-in commands (e.g. /init and mode-switching commands like /code) cannot be overridden.
- Commands can also be created and managed from Settings > Slash Commands.
- Command subdirectories and symlinked command directories are supported.

Command with frontmatter (.roo/commands/api-endpoint.md)
```markdown
---
description: Generate a new REST API endpoint with best practices
argument-hint: <endpoint-name> <http-method>
---

Create a new REST API endpoint with the following specifications:
- Proper error handling
- Input validation
- Unit tests

Follow our project's API conventions and patterns.

```

Source: https://docs.roocode.com/features/slash-commands
Checked: 2026-07-12

### Settings

Status: supported

Settings live in the Roo Code settings UI backed by extension storage, exportable/importable as JSON. Agent-relevant knobs (command allowlists, AGENTS.md loading, timeouts) are VS Code settings under the roo-cline.* namespace.

- project: `.vscode/settings.json` (json) — key: roo-cline — VS Code workspace settings; all Roo settings are prefixed roo-cline.* (also settable in user settings).
- global: `~/Documents/roo-code-settings.json` (json) — Default filename for exported settings; any path can be used and wired to auto-import.
- `roo-cline.allowedCommands`: string[] — Commands auto-executed without approval. Default: ["git log", "git diff", "git show"].
- `roo-cline.deniedCommands`: string[] — Commands always blocked from execution.
- `roo-cline.commandExecutionTimeout`: number — Timeout in seconds for command execution (0-600; 0 = no timeout).
- `roo-cline.useAgentRules`: boolean — Enable loading of AGENTS.md files for agent-specific instructions (default true).
- `roo-cline.autoImportSettingsPath`: string — Path to a settings JSON automatically imported on VS Code startup.
- `roo-cline.customStoragePath`: string — Custom directory for Roo Code storage (task history, settings).
- `roo-cline.apiRequestTimeout`: number — Timeout in seconds for AI provider API requests (0-3600, default 600).
- `roo-cline.newTaskRequireTodos`: boolean — Require a todo list when creating new tasks via subtasks (default false).
- Export/Import produces a roo-code-settings.json file containing provider profiles (including plaintext API keys) and global settings.
- roo-cline.autoImportSettingsPath auto-imports a settings JSON on every VS Code start, useful for syncing machines or standardizing teams.
- MCP servers, rules, skills, and commands have their own dedicated files (see the other surfaces).

Auto-approve safe commands (VS Code settings.json)
```json
{
  "roo-cline.allowedCommands": ["git log", "git diff", "npm test"],
  "roo-cline.useAgentRules": true,
  "roo-cline.autoImportSettingsPath": "~/roo-code-settings.json"
}

```

Source: https://docs.roocode.com/features/settings-management
Checked: 2026-07-12

## Search, browser & identification

Not researched. Unknown does not mean unsupported.