Connect LeadOcean to VS Code

Add one http server to mcp.json, sign in through your browser, and VS Code chat can search, count and enrich people and companies. No API key is pasted anywhere. The free plan gets the same server as Pro.

This page covers VS Code only. Other clients are on the MCP hub, including Claude Code.

Before you start

You need a LeadOcean account and VS Code with chat set up. Create a free account. It has no card and 1,000 records, one-off, and it needs a work email.

The VS Code MCP docs, September 2026, name no paid plan for adding an MCP server. The chat setup docs, September 2026, say signing in without a plan enrolls an eligible account in Copilot Free. Organizations can restrict MCP servers through GitHub policies, so ask your admin if the server is blocked.

Add the server

The server URL is https://api.leadocean.io/mcp. Create .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "leadocean": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.leadocean.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

That is the whole configuration. For every project, run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette and add the same entry there. VS Code also reads a portable .mcp.json at the project root, but that file uses a top-level mcpServers key instead of servers.

Do not add a headers entry with a key or token. LeadOcean uses OAuth, so there is nothing to paste. Commit the file if you want teammates to get the same server.

Sign in

Sign-in is OAuth 2.1 in your browser. Run MCP: List Servers, pick leadocean, and choose Start Server. VS Code docs say a browser window opens for authorization on the first connection when OAuth is in play. They do not describe the prompt for a server with no oauth block, so follow what your VS Code shows.

You do not register an OAuth client or set a clientId. The LeadOcean OAuth server supports dynamic client registration at https://api.leadocean.io/oauth/register (scope mcp), so clients can register themselves.

Sign in to LeadOcean, approve, and return to VS Code. If VS Code asks whether you trust the server, confirm it. Then open the Configure Tools button in the chat input to see the tools. To revoke, remove the app under API keys, Connected apps in your LeadOcean account.

Your first prompt

Start with a count. Counting is free.

How many C-level engineering leaders are in Germany? Count only. Do not pull anyone.

The agent calls leadocean_count_leads with jobLevel set to C-Team, jobFunction set to Engineering and country set to DE. That costs 0 records. We ran those filters on 2026-10-01 and the tool returned 3,456, an exact total.

That figure uses the tool's default email filter: best email verified, catch_all_valid or catch_all. It is not everyone we hold for those filters.

When the count looks right, ask for a sample: "Pull five of them with title and company." That calls leadocean_search_leads and costs 1 record per person returned, so 5. For a larger sizing exercise, see size your TAM in VS Code. If your filters use industry codes, read NAICS vs SIC first.

The 12 tools

The agent lists them as leadocean_ plus the name below. Six of them spend no records.

A leadocean_get_lead call that finds nobody costs nothing. Exports reserve up to your limit when they start, so count first. Source: LeadOcean MCP docs, September 2026.

Troubleshooting

FAQ