VS Code + Short URL MCP

You wrote a technical blog that references 7 or 8 external links—GitHub Issues, Stack Overflow, RFC documents... Each URL is 70 to 80 characters long.

Pasting them into WeChat groups or DingTalk? The links wrap awkwardly, making them hard to click. Putting them on a PPT? They take up half the screen.

The old way: open a bit.ly tab, paste each URL one by one, shorten it, then copy it back. Now you can just tell Copilot in VS Code, and Short URL MCP will handle everything for you without switching windows.

  1. Open the VS Code Extensions Marketplace (Cmd+Shift+X)
  2. Search for Short URL MCP or directly search the extension ID: acedatacloud.mcp-shorturl
  3. Click Install, then reload the window as prompted after installation

Step 2: Obtain and Enter the API Key

  1. Open Ace Data Cloud Console / Applications
  2. Copy your API Key (the same key can be used for all Ace Data Cloud MCPs)
  3. Press Cmd+Shift+P and run: Short URL MCP: Set Ace Data Cloud API Key
  4. Paste the API Key and press Enter to save (stored in VS Code SecretStorage / system keychain)

If you want to change the key, run Short URL MCP: Clear Ace Data Cloud API Key and then set it again.

Step 3: Verify Connectivity

  1. Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode
  2. Directly make a request and mention shorturl, for example: Use shorturl to help me complete this task
  3. On the first call, it will automatically route to this extension and use your saved API Key

Advanced: Manual mcp.json Configuration (Optional)

If you prefer manual configuration, you can also write .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "shorturl": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://shorturl.mcp.acedata.cloud/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:acedata-api-key}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "acedata-api-key",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "Ace Data Cloud API Key",
      "password": true
    }
  ]
}

Step 3: Verify Connectivity

  1. Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode
  2. Directly make a request and mention shorturl, for example: Use shorturl to help me complete this task
  3. On the first call, it will automatically route to this extension and use your saved API Key

Advanced: Manual mcp.json Configuration (Optional)

If you prefer manual configuration, you can also write .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "shorturl": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://shorturl.mcp.acedata.cloud/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:acedata-token}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "acedata-token",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "Ace Data Cloud API key",
      "password": true
    }
  ]
}

Step 3: Verify Connectivity

  1. Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode
  2. Directly make a request and mention shorturl, for example: Use shorturl to help me complete this task
  3. On the first call, it will automatically route to this extension and use your saved API Key

Advanced: Manual mcp.json Configuration (Optional)

If you prefer manual configuration, you can also write .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "shorturl": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://shorturl.mcp.acedata.cloud/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:acedata-token}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "acedata-token",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "Ace Data Cloud API key",
      "password": true
    }
  ]
}

Use Cases

API Documentation Sharing

You wrote an API document and want to send the link to frontend colleagues. The original URL is a long Notion link with parameters:

> Shorten this link: https://www.notion.so/workspace/API-Documentation-v2-Final-Review-abc123def456...

shorturl_create generates a clean and neat short link like https://surl.id/xxx.

Batch Links in Release Notes

You are writing release notes and referencing 5 GitHub PR links and 3 Issue links. Let Copilot help you process them one by one:

> Help me convert all these links into short links:
> https://github.com/org/repo/pull/142
> https://github.com/org/repo/pull/145
> https://github.com/org/repo/issues/89

QR Code Friendly

Short URLs generate smaller and easier-to-scan QR codes—especially useful on PPTs or posters. The shorter the URL, the lower the QR code density and the higher the scanning success rate.

Tool List

Tool Description
shorturl_create Generate a short URL
shorturl_batch_create Batch generate short URLs (up to 10 at a time)

Other Editor Configurations

  • Cursor — .cursor/mcp.json, configure similarly under mcpServers
  • Claude Code — terminal CLI configuration, see Claude Code + Short URL MCP Tutorial
  • Claude Desktop — macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json