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Connect Clients

Connect VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

VS Code with GitHub Copilot connects to remote MCP servers and exposes their tools to Copilot Chat's Agent mode. Add the Zuplo MCP Gateway through a .vscode/mcp.json file in your workspace, the code CLI, or the Extensions view.

Prerequisites

• A Zuplo MCP Gateway project with at least one Virtual MCP server. See the quickstart if you haven't created one yet.
• VS Code installed.
• The GitHub Copilot extension installed and signed in.

Add the gateway

There are three supported ways to register the gateway.

Option 1: .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace

Create or open .vscode/mcp.json at the root of your workspace, then add an HTTP server entry pointing at the Virtual MCP URL:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "zuplo": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://{deploymentUrl}/v1/mcp/{slug}"
    }
  }
}

Commit the file to source control to share the configuration with your team.

Option 2: code --add-mcp CLI

Use the VS Code CLI to add a server to your user profile or to a workspace:

Code
code --add-mcp '{"name":"zuplo","type":"http","url":"https://{deploymentUrl}/v1/mcp/{slug}"}'

VS Code prompts you to confirm the server registration and to choose between user-profile and workspace scope.

Option 3: Extensions view

1. Open the Extensions view in VS Code.
2. Type @mcp in the search field. VS Code shows the curated MCP server gallery alongside any servers you've already registered.
3. To add a custom server (the Zuplo gateway), use the MCP: Add Server command from the Command Palette and paste your Virtual MCP URL when prompted, or open MCP: Open User Configuration to edit mcp.json directly.

Authenticate

The first time VS Code talks to the gateway, the gateway returns 401 Unauthorized and VS Code opens the OAuth flow in your default browser.

1. Sign in to the gateway with your identity provider.
2. On the gateway's consent page, click Connect next to each upstream MCP server and complete its OAuth flow.
3. Click Authorize to finish. VS Code receives the access token and marks the server as connected.

Tokens refresh automatically. To revoke access, remove the server from mcp.json (or from MCP settings) and re-add it to start over.

Use tools in Copilot Chat

Once the server is connected, open Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode (the mode picker is at the top of the chat panel). Tools from the gateway appear in the tool picker — click the tools icon to see them and to enable or disable individual tools per chat. Reference resources from the gateway by typing # in your prompt.

What VS Code supports

VS Code's MCP client is one of the most feature-complete on the market. With the Zuplo MCP Gateway it supports:

• Tools — invoke gateway-exposed tools from Agent mode.
• Prompts — surface prompts as slash commands.
• Resources — reference resources with # in prompts.
• Roots — declare workspace folders as roots.
• Sampling — handle server-initiated sampling requests, including the tools and toolChoice parameters added in MCP 2025-11-25.
• Elicitation — handle both form-mode and URL-mode elicitation requests, including upstream re-authorization prompts.
• MCP Apps — render interactive HTML widgets inline in the chat.
• DCR and CIMD — both client registration paths are supported.

Troubleshooting

• Server stays in "Pending" state. Confirm the URL in mcp.json is reachable. VS Code shows server logs in the Output panel under MCP — check there for the exact failure reason.
• Tools do not appear in Copilot Chat. Confirm Copilot Chat is in Agent mode. Tool calling is gated to that mode.
• OAuth flow does not start. Some corporate proxies block the local callback. Try connecting from outside the proxy or use the VS Code setting to override the callback port.

Related

• Connect MCP clients overview
• VS Code's docs: Add and manage MCP servers in VS Code
• Authentication overview