VS Code (Copilot Agent Mode)

VS Code supports MCP servers through GitHub Copilot’s Agent mode (available in VS Code 1.99+). The config uses a servers key (not mcpServers) and can be scoped globally or per-project.

MCP tool use requires GitHub Copilot Chat with Agent mode enabled. Make sure you’re running VS Code 1.99 or later.

The package binary is perfai-mcp-server. Always launch it with npx --yes --package=@perfai/mcp@latest perfai-mcp-server — npx @perfai/mcp alone fails with “could not determine executable to run.”

Global installation

The global MCP config is stored in VS Code’s user data directory.

macOS
Linux
Windows

File: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "perfai-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["--yes", "--package=@perfai/mcp@latest", "perfai-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PERFAI_USERNAME": "you@example.com",
        "PERFAI_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

File: ~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "perfai-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["--yes", "--package=@perfai/mcp@latest", "perfai-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PERFAI_USERNAME": "you@example.com",
        "PERFAI_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

File: %APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "perfai-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["--yes", "--package=@perfai/mcp@latest", "perfai-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PERFAI_USERNAME": "you@example.com",
        "PERFAI_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code uses "servers" as the top-level key — not "mcpServers". Using the wrong key means the server will not be discovered.

Project-scoped installation

Add .vscode/mcp.json to your project root. VS Code picks this up automatically when the workspace opens.

{
  "servers": {
    "perfai-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["--yes", "--package=@perfai/mcp@latest", "perfai-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PERFAI_USERNAME": "you@example.com",
        "PERFAI_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Don’t commit .vscode/mcp.json if it contains your PERFAI_PASSWORD. Add it to .gitignore, or keep credentials in the global user config instead. VS Code also supports ${input:...} variables to prompt for secrets rather than hardcoding them.

Verify the server is running

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P).
Run “MCP: List Servers” — confirm perfai-mcp appears and shows a running status.
If it’s stopped, run “MCP: Restart Server” and select perfai-mcp.

The prompts below run inside Copilot Chat (Agent mode), not your terminal. The only terminal/file steps are editing the config.

Open Copilot Chat, switch to Agent mode, and type:

Login to Perfai

The server reads PERFAI_USERNAME / PERFAI_PASSWORD from the config, signs you in, and saves the session locally. Confirm with:

What's my Perfai auth status?

Select an organization and app

List my Perfai organizations

Select organization 1

List my Perfai apps

Select the app called "mobile-backend"

List issues

Findings are grouped into security, design, and quality categories.

Summarize all issues for the selected app

Show critical and high security issues

Show all design issues

Show quality issues

Generate fixes

By ID (sequence number, issue ID, or description):

Generate a fix for security issue 12

By category:

Generate fixes for all design issues

For all / by severity — ask Copilot to iterate:

List all critical security issues, then generate a fix for each one

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Hybrid Deployment

Changelog

VS Code (Copilot Agent Mode)

Global installation

Project-scoped installation

Verify the server is running

Select an organization and app

List issues

Generate fixes

​Global installation

​Project-scoped installation

​Verify the server is running

​Login

​Select an organization and app

​List issues

​Generate fixes

Global installation

Project-scoped installation

Verify the server is running

Login

Select an organization and app

List issues

Generate fixes