VSCode MCP Setup: Connect Servers to GitHub Copilot

To set up MCP in VS Code, add a server to an mcp.json file and use it from GitHub Copilot Chat in Agent mode. The quickest route is the Command Palette command MCP: Add Server. VS Code's file uses a top-level servers key, not the mcpServers key that Claude Desktop and Cursor use.

Add a remote server in one line

Say you have an MCP endpoint and an API key. Run this in a terminal and VS Code writes the entry into your user-profile mcp.json:

code --add-mcp "{\"name\":\"mcpifex\",\"type\":\"http\",\"url\":\"https://mcpifex.com/mcp\",\"headers\":{\"Authorization\":\"Bearer <YOUR_MCPX_KEY>\"}}"

No dialog appears, so this is handy in a machine setup script. Prefer clicking? Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P), run MCP: Add Server, and pick workspace or global. For a local server, it can install straight from an npm, PyPI or Docker package name.

Where does VS Code keep MCP config?

On disk, the user file is %APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json on macOS and ~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json on Linux. A server defined in a dev container's devcontainer.json, under customizations.vscode.mcp, travels with the container instead.

Write the entry by hand

Every entry under servers needs a type, and the type decides the other fields:

• stdio: a local process. Uses command, args, env, envFile and cwd.
• http: a remote server over Streamable HTTP, VS Code's recommended remote transport. Uses url, headers and an optional oauth.
• sse: the older remote transport. Still supported for servers that haven't moved to Streamable HTTP.

A local server looks like this:

{
  "servers": {
    "my-local-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "some-mcp-package"]
    }
  }
}

A remote server needs no command. Point an http entry at the URL and put the key in a header:

{
  "servers": {
    "mcpifex": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcpifex.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_MCPX_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

The file is strict JSON, so no comments, and you need a comma after any existing server. Save it and reload the window if VS Code doesn't pick it up.

Keep your key out of a committed file

A workspace .vscode/mcp.json goes into source control, which is the wrong home for a plaintext token. Declare a promptString input with password: true and reference it as ${input:id}. VS Code asks for the value the first time the server starts and never writes it into the JSON:

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "mcpifex-key",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "MCPifex API key (mcpx_...)",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "mcpifex": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcpifex.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:mcpifex-key}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use the tools in Copilot Chat

Switch Copilot Chat to Agent mode and ask it to use a tool. As of September 2026, MCP tools show up in Agent mode, not in Ask or Edit. The first time a server starts, VS Code shows a one-time trust prompt.

Agent mode can edit files and run terminal commands, so think before you leave a write tool on. Note also that GitHub Copilot CLI is a separate product with its own MCP config. Don't paste its config into mcp.json.

If it doesn't work

• The server never appears. Check that the top-level key is servers, not mcpServers. That is the most common copy-paste mistake from other clients.
• The file shows JSON errors. Look for a missing comma after the previous server, or a comment. mcp.json is strict JSON.
• 401 from the server. The key is missing, mistyped or revoked. Keys from MCPifex start with mcpx_.
• Tools are missing in chat. You are probably in Ask or Edit mode. Switch to Agent mode.

Use hosted servers instead of installing them

With MCPifex, one http entry gives you every server you have set up. You create an instance of a server such as PostgreSQL in the portal, choose which tools are on (write tools start off), and generate a key. The gateway refuses any tool you haven't enabled, whatever VS Code sends.

See instances and tools for how the tool list works, and API keys and authentication for the key itself. Registration is free.