Using MCP Servers in Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) with GitHub Copilot. This gives agent mode access to external tools. This guide walks through configuring and using MCP servers based on the official documentation.

is an open standard that lets models interact with development tools. An AI can use those tools to read and write source files or run commands alongside its text responses. VS Code supports MCP tools in agent mode.

To add a server, follow these steps.

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "perplexity-key",
      "description": "Perplexity API Key",
      "password": true
    },
  ],
  "servers": {
    "Perplexity": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-perplexity-ask"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "${input:perplexity-key}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Copilot can now use that server. To enable a server in every workspace, specify it in the MCP section of VS Code user settings. If you run MCP: add Server from the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P), VS Code automatically adds the new configuration to your user settings. VS Code can discover and reuse servers defined in other tools, such as Claude Desktop. Enable automatic discovery with the chat.mcp.discovery.enabled setting. Run MCP: list Servers from the Command Palette to view and manage configured servers.

The mcp.json file uses JSON to define how MCP servers run. The mcp.json configuration includes the following elements.

For details, see the official documentation↗.

Copilot can use MCP tools when agent mode is enabled. Configure it as follows.

{
  "chat.agent.enabled": true
}

Agent mode is now available in the chat interface. For example, ask Copilot to create a test file and it can find and run the relevant tool.

To add and use an MCP server from Smithery, follow these steps.

You can select and manage tools by MCP server. The tool picker shows the available tools and lets you select the ones you want to use.

Tools are loaded dynamically from MCP servers, so the available list can vary with the project's configuration.