Use Mcp Servers In Vs Code

Use MCP servers in VS Code

VS Code — MCP (Model Context Protocol) Overview

MCP lets AI models access external tools/services (file system, APIs, DBs, Rust analyzer, etc.) through a standard interface.
VS Code supports MCP starting in v1.102+ and Copilot is required.

Key Concepts

MCP servers = external tool providers
Used alongside VS Code's built-in + extension tools
Works inside Copilot Chat

Prereqs

Latest VS Code
Copilot access

Enabling & Managing MCP

Settings

chat.mcp.access
- all (default)
- registry (only registry servers)
- none

Add MCP servers

Ways to register a server:

Install from Extensions → MCP
Add to mcp.json in workspace or user config
Dev containers support
Auto-discover
CLI install code --add-mcp "{\"name\":\"my-server\",\"command\": \"uvx\",\"args\": [\"mcp-server-fetch\"]}"

Trust Model

MCP servers run code ➝ trust prompt on first run
You can revoke trust with MCP: Reset Trust

Using MCP in Chat

Agent mode auto-invokes tools
Explicit tool call: #tool-name
Add MCP resources: Chat → Add Context → MCP Resources
MCP prompts: /mcp.server.prompt

Cached Tools

Clear cache: MCP: Reset Cached Tools

Tool Organization

Group tools via tool sets

Manage servers: start/stop, logs, uninstall via:

- Extensions view
- `mcp.json` lenses
- Command Palette → `MCP: List Servers`

Autostart config:

chat.mcp.autostart (experimental)

Finding MCP Servers

GitHub MCP registry
VS Marketplace extensions
Official MCP repo (examples + community servers)

Config Structure (`mcp.json`)

Sections

servers: { ... }
inputs: [ ... ]   // for secrets like API keys

Local (stdio) server example

type: "stdio"
command, optional args, env, .env

HTTP/SSE server example

type: http/sse
url
optional auth headers Supports Unix sockets + Windows pipes.

Inputs

Secure prompts for secrets (API keys, etc.)

Debugging & Dev

View server logs through MCP panel / Command Palette
Dev mode: auto-restart, debugging Node/Python MCP servers
See MCP Dev Guide for more

FAQ Notes

Toggle tools on/off in Chat Tools picker
Limit: max 128 tools per chat request
Docker servers must run in foreground

Model Context Protocol docs
Official MCP registry repo
VS Code agent mode docs