Make the built-in research agent's MCP tools configurable
- Dominant language
- Shell
- Stars
- 11.2k
- Forks
- 1.9k
- Avg merge
- 14h 16m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 6
Description
### Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve
Research subagents sometimes need access to mcp servers to be productive
### Proposed solution
Today `definitions/research.agent.yaml` hardcodes tools: to github/* + web/grep/glob/view, so /research can't use my other configured MCP servers (ADO, etc.). Forking the agent /.copilot/agents or .github/agents works but freezes the prompt and misses upstream updates and can't reproduce research command's orchestration/report-export. Please add a setting (e.g. research.additionalTools / research.mcpServers ) to extend the built-in research agent's allowed tools with selected MCP servers, so I keep research behavior + updates while adding my own data sources.
### Example prompts or workflows
_No response_
### Additional context
_No response_
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start with definitions/research.agent.yaml and trace how the built-in research agent's hardcoded tools are loaded and how user configuration is handled. Add a supported setting that extends the allowed tools with selected MCP servers while preserving the built-in research behavior, orchestration, and report export.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Domain
- ai-infra-agents, tooling
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100