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โ—€ Playbook index
NO.04

MCP Server

In a nutshell

MCP stands for โ€œModel Context Protocolโ€ โ€” a protocol for providing additional context and capabilities to AI models.

How it works

flowchart LR
  subgraph Host["๐Ÿค– AI Host (VS Code / Copilot CLI, etc.)"]
    APP[Copilot]
    CL1[MCP Client]
    CL2[MCP Client]
    CL3[MCP Client]
    CL4[MCP Client]
    CL5[MCP Client]
  end
  subgraph MCP["๐Ÿ”Œ MCP Layer (1 Client โ‡„ 1 Server)"]
    SLs[Work IQ MCP Server]
    JRs[GitHub MCP Server]
    FSs[Playwright MCP Server]
    PWs[Context7 MCP Server]
    APIs[Salesforce MCP Server]
  end
  subgraph Tools["๐Ÿ› ๏ธ External Tools"]
    SL[Work IQ]
    JR[GitHub]
    FS[Playwright]
    PW[Context7]
    API[Salesforce]
  end
  APP --- CL1
  APP --- CL2
  APP --- CL3
  APP --- CL4
  APP --- CL5
  CL1 <-->|stdio| SLs
  CL2 <-->|HTTP| JRs
  CL3 <-->|stdio| FSs
  CL4 <-->|stdio| PWs
  CL5 <-->|stdio| APIs
  SLs <-->|API| SL
  JRs <-->|API| JR
  FSs <-->|API| FS
  PWs <-->|API| PW
  APIs <-->|API| API

  classDef host fill:#0a0e27,stroke:#00f0ff,color:#00f0ff,stroke-width:2px
  classDef proto fill:#1a0a2e,stroke:#ffb000,color:#ffb000,stroke-width:2px
  classDef tool fill:#0a1a14,stroke:#9bbc0f,color:#9bbc0f,stroke-width:2px
  class APP,CL1,CL2,CL3,CL4,CL5 host
  class SLs,JRs,FSs,PWs,APIs proto
  class SL,JR,FS,PW,API tool

The AI Host (VS Code, Copilot CLI, etc.) contains multiple MCP Clients internally, each maintaining a 1 Client โ‡„ 1 Server one-to-one connection. A Client/Server pair is added for each external tool you want to use. Because the protocol is fixed, adding a new Server is all it takes for every editor and agent to gain new capabilities.

Why does it matter?

Three values MCP brings:

  • ๐Ÿงฉ Extensibility: Make Copilot a single entry point for operating any external tool.
    • Read and write requirements (Jira)
    • Create designs (Figma)
    • Generate and print 3D designs (Blender + 3D printer)
    • Check and edit email and calendar (Work IQ)
    • Connect to internal databases for analysis
  • ๐Ÿ”— Workflow integration: No more custom glue code between individual tools โ€” Copilot acts as a hub spanning multiple systems.
  • ๐ŸŒ Broad ecosystem support: MCP is an open protocol that is rapidly becoming the de facto standard. AI assistants, development tools like Visual Studio, and many other applications already support MCP โ€” build once, connect anywhere. Perfectly suited for coding integrations.

Where does it run?

There are two ways to run an MCP server.

  1. With the stdio method, VS Code launches the MCP server as a child process on your local machine.
  2. With the HTTP method (SSE / streamable-http), the MCP server runs in the cloud or on a remote server, and VS Code simply connects as a client.

Choose based on your use case and security requirements.

Activity Monitor showing local MCP server processes
In Activity Monitor, you can see local MCP servers running as child processes of npm exec

Configuration in VS Code

When installing an MCP server from the Marketplace in VS Code, you can choose between two scopes:

  • Install โ†’ Added to your personal settings file (User Settings)
  • Install Workspace โ†’ Added to the repository settings file (.vscode/mcp.json)
.vscode/mcp.json โ–ธ Shared with repo

Included in Git, so the whole team shares the same MCP setup. When a member clones the repo, VS Code asks "Would you like to enable it?".

User Settings โ–ธ Your machine only

For personal use or when you want the same setup across all projects. Not included in Git.

  • ๐Ÿ“ Mac๏ผš~/.config/Code/User/settings.json
  • ๐ŸชŸ Windows๏ผš%APPDATA%\Code\User\settings.json

Getting started with Copilot CLI

# Add an MCP server
copilot mcp add <server-name>

# List existing servers
copilot mcp list

The GitHub official MCP server is connected out of the box. AI can operate Issues, PRs, Actions, and Code search just like running gh commands.

modelcontextprotocol/registry hosts many official and community-built servers (filesystem / postgres / slack / puppeteer / playwright / Figmaโ€ฆ).