Failed to connect to MCP server (connection timed out)" when configuring Playwright MCP on Continue for VSCode

[rucka]

Before submitting your bug report

• [x] I've tried using the "Ask AI" feature on the Continue docs site to see if the docs have an answer
• [ ] I believe this is a bug. I'll try to join the Continue Discord for questions
• [x] I'm not able to find an open issue that reports the same bug
• [x] I've seen the troubleshooting guide on the Continue Docs

Relevant environment info

- OS: 26.0.1
- Continue version: 1.2.10
- IDE version: 1.105.1
- Model:
- config:
  
name: Playwright mcpServer
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: Browser search
    command: npx
    args:
      - '@playwright/mcp@latest'

Description

I’m unable to configure a custom MCP server in Continue for VSCode. Every time I add a new MCP server (in this case @playwright/mcp@latest), Continue shows the error:

Failed to connect to "Browser search" Error: Connection timed out

This happens even on a clean installation of the Continue VSCode extension. The MCP command itself works perfectly when executed directly from the terminal:

npx @playwright/mcp@latest --help

I followed the official documentation here: 👉 https://docs.continue.dev/customize/deep-dives/mcp

🧩 Environment

OS: macOS 26.0.1

VSCode version: 1.105.1

Continue extension version: 1.2.10

Ollama setup: autodetect (local)

MCP tested: @playwright/mcp@latest

⚙️ Configurations

config.yaml

name: Local Config version: 1.0.0 schema: v1 models:

• name: Autodetect provider: ollama model: AUTODETECT

.continue/mcpServers/playwright-mcp.yaml

name: Playwright mcpServer version: 0.0.1 schema: v1 mcpServers:

• name: Browser search command: npx args:
  • '@playwright/mcp@latest'

🧠 Steps to Reproduce

Install Continue extension on VSCode (clean setup)

Configure Ollama with autodetect local model

Create .continue/mcpServers/playwright-mcp.yaml as shown above

Reload Continue → Tools → MCP Servers

Observe error:

Failed to connect to "Browser search" Error: Connection timed out

💥 Expected Behavior

The MCP server should start successfully and appear as connected under Tools → MCP Servers.

❌ Actual Behavior

Continue displays:

Failed to connect to "Browser search" Error: Connection timed out

🧠 What I’ve Tried

Verified clean Continue configuration (removed .continue folder)

Confirmed MCP command works via CLI (npx @playwright/mcp@latest --help)

Restarted VSCode and system

Tested both local and global Node installations

Confirmed MCP YAML syntax and schema match the official docs

To reproduce

No response

Log output

[uinstinct]

Just tried the playwright mcp now and seems to be working fine to me.

Can you try increasing the timeout for the mcp connection and see if it works? (https://docs.continue.dev/reference#mcpservers)

[rucka]

Hello, thx for your help. Yes I tried to increase the connection timeout but the issue is still there. is there any super simple dummy mcp to test (something like an echo mcp)? I have the same behavior with all mcp so it sounds of some "general" issue probably from my side.

[uinstinct]

you can use the context7 mcp

[rucka]

Same results also trying with a custom echo declared in this way:

name: EchoMCP mcpServer
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: EchoMCP
    command: node
    args:
      - dist/server.js
    cwd: ../packages/mcp-servers/echo-mcp
    env:
      NODE_ENV: development

Running the echo from the console it works:

bash-3.2$ echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/echo","params":{"text":"hi ${env.USER}"}}' | node dist/server.js

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":{"output":"hi gianluca.carucci"}}

dist/server.js

[cesaregerbino]

The same for me ... the only one mcp server that works is

name: Continue Docs MCP
version: 0.0.2
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: Continue Docs MCP
    url: https://docs.continue.dev/mcp

For all the others ... Failed to connect to "<name_mcp_server>" Error: MCP error -32000: Connection closed

Any suggestion will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[uinstinct]

@cesaregerbino can you list an example mcp server that you are trying to use?

[cesaregerbino]

Following the Continue documentation here https://docs.continue.dev/customize/deep-dives/mcp I've tried the Playwright MCP Server ....

name: Playwright mcpServer
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: Browser search
    command: npx
    args:
      - "@playwright/mcp@latest"

I've obtained the error Failed to connect to "<name_mcp_server>" Error: MCP error -32000: Connection closed

I've noticed that the documentation says

so I've also tried this mcp.json that works with other copilots (GitHub Copilot and Roocode) ....

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@zereight/mcp-gitlab"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
        "GITLAB_API_URL": "https://gitlab.mycompany.it/",
        "GITLAB_READ_ONLY_MODE": "true"
      }
    },
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
        "postgresql://postgres:mypass@localhost:5432/Sakila"
      ]
    },
    "sonarqube": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sonarqube-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SONARQUBE_URL": "http://dv-sonarqube-mycompany.it/",
        "SONARQUBE_TOKEN": "squ_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }   
  }
}

but the error is always the same.

I'd like to use these mcp server:

• postgresql
• sonarqube
• gitlab
• playwright

I've tried to use the configurations in https://hub.continue.dev/hub?q=mcp, but the error is always the same

Thank you in advance !!!