How to Install MCP Servers in VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
How to add MCP servers to VS Code for GitHub Copilot agent mode — the .vscode/mcp.json file, the servers key, and enabling tools in Copilot Chat.
Step-by-step installation guide
Create the MCP config
Run "MCP: Add Server" from the Command Palette, or create .vscode/mcp.json in your project. Note that VS Code nests servers under a "servers" key — not "mcpServers" like other clients.
Add the server definition
Add a named entry with a "command" and "args". For secrets, use VS Code "inputs" so the value is prompted for and stored securely instead of hard-coded in the file.
Enable it in Copilot agent mode
Open Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode, then start the server from the MCP prompt. The tools become available for Copilot to call during agent tasks.
Configuration
.vscode/mcp.jsonLocation
.vscode/mcp.json in your project rootSnippet
{
"servers": {
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/allowed/dir"]
}
}
}Popular MCP servers to try in VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
- The official MCP server for AllMCPs.com - submit and manage tools directly from your AI. The open directory for MCP servers. Connect Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and AI agents to databases, tools, files, and APIs. Explore 10,000+ servers. AllMCPs is the premier, open directory for discovering, evaluating, and installing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to equip AI agents and LLMs with real-world superpowers.83 20
- Define, ship & query your analytics tracking from one source of truth, trusted by humans and agents.65 0
- Tools to read, search, and manipulate Git repositories.60 0
- Influxdb3 MCP ServerInfluxDataOfficial MCP server for InfluxDB 3 Core/Enterprise/Cloud Dedicated58 0
- MCP Server for Integrating LINE Official Account55 0
- Scan/purge hidden text & score web domains: TLS, DNS, headers, speed. Free scans, $0.01 actions. The Tools:
- text_scan_v1 — free Scans a text string for invisible Unicode characters, homoglyphs, and normalization issues. Returns a risk score, a list of flagged characters, and detected homoglyphs. Never modifies the input text.
- text_purge_v1 — $0.01 per call Removes invisible Unicode characters and replaces homoglyphs in a text string, then normalizes the result. Returns the cleaned text plus a before-and-after risk comparison.
- domain_check_score_v1 — free Overall score, per-category scores, and how many findings each category raised. Use it to triage: rank a list of domains, confirm one is healthy, or decide whether the full report is worth pulling. It tells you which categories are weak and how many issues they hold, but not what the issues are.
- domain_check_score_batch_v1 — free The same triage scores for up to 100 domains in a single call. One score summary per distinct domain: overall score, per-category scores, and how many findings each category raised. Never the findings themselves.
- domain_check_v1 — $0.01 per call Full report for one domain: weighted score out of 100, per-category breakdown, and every individual finding with a prioritised remediation order.
-
domain_check_batch_v1 — from $0.005 per domain
The same full report for up to 100 domains in a single call, with one payment for the whole batch instead of one per domain. Both cheaper per domain and much faster than calling
domain_check_v1in a loop.
54 0 - Hub MCPdockerOfficial MCP server to interact with Docker Hub, providing access to repositories, hub search and Docker Hardened Images54 0
- Official Vocuno plugin for Claude that connects to Vocuno's remote MCP server for AI song generation, covers, remixes, stem separation, voice conversion, audio editing, mixing, mastering, and music analysis.52 0
- S2 Sdk Typescripts2-streamstoreOfficial MCP server for the S2.dev serverless stream platform.51 0
- MCP & Agent Skills for Automated Documentation, and codebase conventions + context47 25
- Infobip MCPInfobipOfficial Infobip MCP server for integrating Infobip global cloud communication platform. It equips AI agents with communication superpowers, allowing them to send and receive SMS and RCS messages, interact with WhatsApp and Viber, automate communication workflows, and manage customer data, all in a production-ready environment.46 0
- Keyless docs/discovery. RPC follows chain policy; indexed data and account tools need an API key.32 0
Frequently Asked Questions
Create a .vscode/mcp.json in your project (or run "MCP: Add Server" from the Command Palette) and add the server under a "servers" key. MCP tools are used from GitHub Copilot Chat in Agent mode.
VS Code adopted its own schema and nests MCP servers under a "servers" key, with support for a separate "inputs" array for prompted secrets. If you copy a config from Claude or Cursor, rename "mcpServers" to "servers".
Yes — MCP tools are invoked from Copilot Chat in Agent mode. Make sure you have Copilot enabled and select Agent mode before expecting the server tools to be called.