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Installation and Initial Setup

Initial Setup and Configuration

Prerequisites

  • You have a an API Key for authenticating with Developer Assist

Installing and Configuring the Extension

  1. In the Windsurf IDE main navigation, click on the Extensions icon.

  2. Search for the Checkmarx Developer Assist extension, then click Install for that extension.

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    The Developer Assist extension is installed and the Checkmarx icon appears in the left-side navigation panel.

  3. Click on the Checkmarx extension icon.

    The Checkmarx Developer Assist Authentication sidebar opens:

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  4. In the Checkmarx Developer Assist Authentication sidebar, click Log in.

    The Log in window opens.

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  5. Enter your activation key in the Checkmarx Developer Assist API Key field and click Log in.

    The Checkmarx Developer Assist Authentication sidebar will now show that you are logged in.

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  6. A Checkmarx Developer Assist welcome page is displayed immediately after a successful login. Scroll down and click on Mark Done.

  7. Upon initial login, you will be prompted to allow Devin to copy the MCP configuration to the new location. Select Copy.

  8. To verify that the Checkmarx Developer Assist MCP server is running (depending on the AI Agent you intend to use):

    • Devin Local: Go to Settings > Devin Settings > Devin Local > Configuration, click Open Devin MCP Marketplace, and verify that the Checkmarx Developer Assist MCP is installed and enabled.

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    • Cascade: Go to Settings > Devin Settings > Cascade > Configuration, click Open MCP Marketplace, and verify that the Checkmarx Developer Assist MCP is installed and enabled.

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  9. You can optionally adjust the Checkmarx Developer Assist Settings as follows:

    1. Add Additional Params to set up custom configuraitions, such as proxy servers or to run in debug mode.

    2. Enable/disable specific realtime scanners. By default, all scanners are enabled.

    3. For IaC realtime scanner you can change the container platform used, Docker (default) or Podman.

    4. The IDE’s built-in AI assistant is enabled by default, and the selected AI Assistant is ignored. To use a different AI Assistant:

      1. Disable Prefer Native AI Assistant.

      2. Select the AI Assistant to use for remediation. Options are Copilot (default) or Claude.

Troubleshooting - Manually Configuring the MCP Server

In case the automatic procedure fails. You can manually configure access to the Checkmarx MCP server using the following procedure:

  1. If it does not already exist, create an mcp_config.json file at the following location: ${homeDir}\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json

    Notice

    If you are using windsurf-next, then the file location should be ${homeDir}\.codeium\windsurf-next\mcp_config.json

  2. Add the "Checkmarx Developer Assist" mcp using the following snippet, replacing <Activation_Key> - with your Developer Assist Activation Key.

    {
   "mcpServers":{
      "Checkmarx Developer Assist":{
         "url":"https://ast.checkmarx.net/api/security-mcp/mcp",
         "headers":{
            "cx-origin":"Devin",
            "Authorization":"<Activation_Key>"
         }
      }
   }
}

  3. Enable the Checkmarx Developer Assist MCP for Cascade

    1. Open the Command Pallette

    2. Run Migrate MCP Config

    3. When prompted, select the option to copy the MCP configuration to the new location.

    The Checkmarx Developer Assist MCP configuration is copied to the location used by Cascade.

  4. Verify the MCP configuration as described above: Step 8.

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