VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Add your institute’s server to VS Code’s mcp.json and use the tools from Copilot chat.

VS Code’s Copilot chat can use Vacademy MCP as a remote HTTP server. VS Code handles the sign-in through your browser.

Menus and commands may change. These steps match the VS Code documentation as of October 2026. See Use MCP servers in VS Code.

Add the server

Guided

1. Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Add Server.
2. Choose HTTP.
3. Paste the server URL from Settings → MCP Server in your admin portal.
4. Name it, for example vacademy, and choose whether to save it for your user or this workspace.

Edit mcp.json

Run MCP: Open User Configuration (all workspaces) or MCP: Open Workspace Folder MCP Configuration (this workspace, saved in .vscode/mcp.json). Add:

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "vacademy": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://<your backend>/ai-service/mcp/i/<institute_id>"
    }
  }
}

Note that VS Code’s file uses servers, not mcpServers.

The file holds only the URL, never a token, so a workspace file is safe to commit. Each person still signs in as themselves.

Sign in

1. Start the server

   VS Code starts the server when you first use it, or from MCP: List Servers. If VS Code asks whether you trust the server, confirm.

2. Approve in your browser

   VS Code asks to sign in and opens a browser tab on your institute’s admin portal. Sign in with your own account and click Approve.

3. Check the connection

   In Copilot chat, using agent mode, ask:

   Who am I connected as?
   

   Copilot calls the whoami tool to answer.

No client ID is needed. VS Code registers itself.

Choose which tools Copilot may use

Click Configure Tools in the chat input to turn individual Vacademy tools on or off. VS Code may ask you to confirm each tool call. Keep confirmations on for edit tools.

Using a fixed client ID

Only needed if your organisation requires every app to use a pre-registered client.

1. An admin creates a client ID in Settings → MCP Server → Client IDs for other apps with VS Code’s redirect URLs. VS Code’s developer guide lists http://127.0.0.1:33418 and https://vscode.dev/redirect. Check the VS Code MCP developer guide for the current list.
2. When VS Code asks for a client ID, paste it. There is no client secret.