Connect VS Code and GitHub Copilot

VS Code connects to a gateway through an entry in .vscode/mcp.json, and GitHub Copilot uses the gateway's tools in agent mode. A person signs in with a gateway user. A setup that cannot open a browser sends an API key.

Before you begin

A gateway that serves at least one API. See Create a gateway.
A gateway user or an API key in the environment you connect to.
VS Code with GitHub Copilot. See Use MCP servers in VS Code in the VS Code docs.

The configuration on this page is in the gateway's Connect tab, under VS Code / Copilot, with your gateway's values filled in.

Add the gateway

Add the server to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace folder. <gateway> is the name VS Code shows for the server. The portal uses the gateway's slug.

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "<gateway>": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://gateway.faustine.ai/<workspace>/<gateway>/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Then start the server and sign in:

Open the Command Palette and run MCP: List Servers.
Select the server, then Start. A browser window opens on the gateway's sign-in page.
Enter the username and password of the gateway user.

Replace <GATEWAY_KEY> with the key you saved when you created it.

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "<gateway>": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://gateway.faustine.ai/<workspace>/<gateway>/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <GATEWAY_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Warning

.vscode/mcp.json is part of the repository. Do not commit a file that contains an API key. Use a gateway user for a shared repository.

Make the first call

Open Copilot Chat in agent mode and ask what it can do with the gateway, or ask for something the API returns, such as a list of contacts.

In the portal, the request appears in the gateway's Logs tab, and the VS Code / Copilot card in the Connect tab shows when the client was last seen.

VS Code cannot ask the person for a confirmation. For an operation that requires one, the gateway refuses the call unless the credential is set to Run without asking. A new gateway user and a new API key both start on Refuse. See Confirmation.

Next steps

Scope a key or user: limit what Copilot can call.
Serving modes: Code and Tools: which tools the gateway gives Copilot.
Connect clients: the other clients a gateway supports.