ElevenLabs MCP for VS Code: Setup & Config

What you can do with ElevenLabs in VS Code

Use the official audio integration when resource delivery matters as much as generating the audio.

• Develop character voices by requesting variants before choosing one for a voice library.
• Work with transcription and speaker distinctions from recorded speech.

Before you start: ElevenLabs in VS Code

• uv installed so the client can invoke uvx
• ElevenLabs account credential
• Credits available for ElevenLabs operations
• Assistant or editor with MCP support

The launch matches the Claude Desktop quickstart. Only the API key is needed from this environment list for the basic example; the other entries describe documented options. Windows setup calls for Claude Desktop Developer Mode. If uvx cannot be found, the troubleshooting section suggests configuring its absolute executable path.

ElevenLabs VS Code configuration

1. Choose VS Code configuration scope

   For ElevenLabs MCP, open Workspace: .vscode/mcp.json. Merge into servers; preserve existing inputs.

2. Add ElevenLabs MCP to VS Code

   Use the elevenlabs-mcp entry below in servers. Keep ElevenLabs MCP's documented stdio connection fields and your other VS Code entries.

3. Check ElevenLabs MCP in VS Code

   ElevenLabs MCP: Start in VS Code’s MCP controls; inspect output and trust prompts.

{
  "servers": {
    "elevenlabs-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "elevenlabs-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ELEVENLABS_API_KEY": "<credential from your ElevenLabs account>",
        "ELEVENLABS_MCP_BASE_PATH": "<optional root used when resolving relative file paths>",
        "ELEVENLABS_MCP_OUTPUT_MODE": "<optional delivery mode: files, resources, or both>",
        "ELEVENLABS_API_RESIDENCY": "<optional region for enterprise data residency>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting ElevenLabs in VS Code

• Make uvx elevenlabs-mcp (from uv, for Python tools) available in the workspace, container, or remote environment hosting ElevenLabs MCP. Start through VS Code's MCP controls; inspect output and trust prompts.
• For ElevenLabs MCP, keep ELEVENLABS_API_KEY, ELEVENLABS_API_RESIDENCY, ELEVENLABS_MCP_BASE_PATH, ELEVENLABS_MCP_OUTPUT_MODE out of version control; VS Code documents input variables and secret handling.
• ElevenLabs MCP uses stdio here: VS Code must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
• Known limitation: Calling the audio capabilities depends on an API credential and available ElevenLabs credits.
• Known limitation: Regional data residency is restricted to enterprise use.
• Known limitation: Some lengthy requests can exceed development-inspector time limits.
• General VS Code troubleshooting lives in the /clients/vscode guide.

Frequently asked questions