Skip to main content
Version: Latest

VS Code (with GitHub Copilot Chat)

VS Code talks to MCP servers via the GitHub Copilot Chat extension, which registers servers in its own mcp.json (separate from Cursor's). The config opens through the command palette.

Prerequisite

You need an environment with at least one IDP and one connector. See Start Here if you're not there yet. Grab the VS Code snippet for your environment from the Admin Portal's Clients tab.

SETUP​

Step 1 — Install GitHub Copilot Chat​

Open VS Code, go to Extensions, and make sure GitHub Copilot Chat is installed.

Copilot Chat extension

Step 2 — Open the MCP user configuration​

In the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P), type >MCP: Open User Configuration and select it.

Command palette — MCP: Open User Configuration

This opens mcp.json in a new tab.

Empty mcp.json

Step 3 — Paste the PolicyArc snippet​

In the Admin Portal, open the Clients tab and copy the VS Code snippet:

Admin Portal — VS Code snippet

The snippet has this shape (your URL will be different):

{
  "servers": {
    "policyarc": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:14289/gateway/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Paste it into mcp.json and save. VS Code embeds inline action buttons into the file — you'll see Start | tools | … above your server entry.

mcp.json with action buttons

The tools counter may pre-fill

If a previous session already connected to PolicyArc, the tools counter shows a number greater than zero before you even click Start. That's a cache, not a leak — fresh sessions start at zero.

AUTHENTICATION​

Step 4 — Click Start​

Click the Start action button. A browser tab opens with your IDP sign-in.

When sign-in completes, the browser shows:

Browser auth success

Back in mcp.json, the action buttons update to show Running and the tools counter.

mcp.json — running

VIEW AVAILABLE TOOLS​

Click the configuration button in the Copilot Chat window (second from the right).

Chat config button

Scroll to the policyarc entry to see the tools your user is allowed to call.

PolicyArc tools list

The list reflects the user's policy at this moment. As you change policy data, this list changes on the next refresh.

USING THE TOOLS​

Ask Copilot's chat agent to do something that maps to one of the tools.

Using the tools

Every call lands an audit row in Admin → Audit Log.

Troubleshooting​

  • Command palette doesn't show MCP: Open User Configuration — the Copilot Chat extension isn't installed or is outdated. Reinstall and restart VS Code.
  • Start button does nothing — open the Output panel and select the Copilot MCP channel. URL mismatches and bad JSON show up there.
  • Tools count stuck at 0 after sign-in — your user is authenticated but has no scopes. Check Admin → Policy Data.