Use BiOS from Cline

Open-source VS Code agent extension

Works today

Cline is an open-source coding agent that runs inside VS Code and has a dedicated MCP panel. It picks up config changes automatically, so setup takes about a minute.

Before you start

You need a BiOS API key. In your dashboard, open API Keys, click Create API Key, pick a permission preset, and copy the sk_live_ key. It is shown only once.

Node.js 18 or newer must be installed; the server runs with npx, so there is nothing else to install.

Setup

1
Open Cline MCP settings
In the Cline sidebar, click the MCP Servers icon, switch to the Installed tab, and click Configure MCP Servers. This opens cline_mcp_settings.json.
2
Add the BiOS server
Paste this and save. Cline restarts its servers automatically when the file changes:
cline_mcp_settings.json
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "usfbios": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@usfbios/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "USFBIOS_API_KEY": "sk_live_your_api_key"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}
```
Leave autoApprove empty so tools that spend credits always ask first. You can add read-only tools like list_datasets later if the prompts get repetitive.
3
Ask Cline to use it
Back in the chat, give Cline a BiOS task. It plans the tool calls and asks for approval on each one.

Check that it works

The MCP Servers panel shows usfbios with a green indicator and its tool list expanded.
Ask "Which BiOS models support QLoRA at 70B?" and confirm a search_models call.

Try these prompts

“Search for Llama models under 13B parameters and recommend a GPU for LoRA fine-tuning”

“Upload ~/data/support-qa.jsonl and start an SFT job on Llama 3.1 8B with LoRA”

“What is the status of my running training jobs? Show the loss curve for the latest one”

“Deploy my finished fine-tune and give me the endpoint URL”

Your assistant has 38 BiOS tools in total. The tool reference documents each one.

Troubleshooting

usfbios shows a red indicator in the MCP panel

Click it to read the error. Missing Node.js and JSON syntax errors cover nearly every case. Fix, save, and Cline reconnects on its own.

The server never starts, or logs show "npx: command not found"

The MCP server runs on Node.js. Install Node 18 or newer from nodejs.org, restart your client, and try again. Run npx -y @usfbios/mcp-server in a terminal to confirm it starts (it waits for input; press Ctrl+C to exit).

Tools appear but every call fails with an authentication error

Check that USFBIOS_API_KEY is set to a key that starts with sk_live_ and has not expired. Keys are shown only once at creation, so if in doubt create a fresh one under Dashboard, then API Keys.

A tool call fails with a permission error

Your key may be scoped too narrowly. Ask the assistant to call introspect_api_key to see exactly which scopes the key has, then create a key with the preset you need (Read Only, Training, or Full Access).

Frequently asked questions

Does this also work in Roo Code and other Cline forks?

Yes. Forks keep the same MCP settings mechanism; only the settings file name may differ. Use the same JSON block.

Is it safe to auto-approve BiOS tools?

Auto-approve read-only tools if you like (lists, previews, status checks). Keep manual approval for create_training_job, create_inference, and delete tools, since those spend money or remove data.