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VS Code + GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot supports MCP servers in VS Code version 1.102 and higher, enabling Copilot to use external tools.

Prerequisites​

  • VS Code 1.102+ - Check your version: code --version
  • GitHub Copilot extension - Install from the VS Code Marketplace

Configuration​

VS Code uses project-level configuration only for MCP servers.

ScopeLocationFormat
Project.vscode/mcp.jsonJSON

Note: VS Code uses servers (not mcpServers) as the key.

Configure the MCP server path based on your platform:

macOS​

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "servers": {
    "sailfishTelemetry": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Applications/SF Veritas.app/Contents/Resources/mcp-server/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Windows​

{
  "servers": {
    "sailfishTelemetry": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["%LOCALAPPDATA%\\Programs\\SF Veritas\\resources\\mcp-server\\index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Linux​

{
  "servers": {
    "sailfishTelemetry": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/opt/SF Veritas/resources/mcp-server/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Starting the MCP Server​

MCP servers in VS Code don't start automatically by default. To start:

Option 1: From the config file

  1. Open .vscode/mcp.json
  2. Click the Start button that appears above the server config

Option 2: From Command Palette

  1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P)
  2. Run "MCP: List Servers"
  3. Click Start next to sailfishTelemetry

Auto-start Configuration​

To start MCP servers automatically, add to your VS Code settings:

{
  "chat.mcp.autostart": true
}

Or via Settings UI:

  1. Open Settings (Cmd+,)
  2. Search for "mcp autostart"
  3. Enable "Chat: Mcp Autostart"

Verification​

After configuring, verify the connection:

  1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P)
  2. Run "MCP: List Servers"
  3. Check that sailfishTelemetry shows status Running
  4. Open Output panel (View → Output)
  5. Select "MCP" from the dropdown to see server logs

Usage​

Once the server is running, use Copilot Chat to query telemetry:

> List my telemetry sessions
> Show me recent errors from my application
> What are the slowest functions in the codebase?
> Analyze the network requests to /api endpoints

GitHub Copilot will use the MCP tools to answer questions about your application's behavior.

Troubleshooting​

"MCP: List Servers" shows no servers​

  1. Ensure .vscode/mcp.json exists in your project root
  2. Verify JSON syntax is valid (note: use servers not mcpServers)
  3. Reload VS Code window

Server won't start​

  1. Check that Node.js 18+ is installed
  2. Verify the app is installed at the expected location
  3. Check Output → "MCP" for error messages

"No telemetry data found"​

  1. Ensure your application has been instrumented with SF Veritas SDK
  2. Run your application to generate telemetry data
  3. Check that the database exists: ls ~/.sailfish/telemetry.db

VS Code version too old​

MCP support requires VS Code 1.102+. Check your version:

code --version

Update VS Code if needed from code.visualstudio.com.