github / github/copilot-cli

CLI should inherit MCP tools from connected VS Code instance

Abierto
#4,143 2 comentarios 5 reacciones 0 asignados Ver en GitHub
area:agents area:mcp area:tools triaged
Lenguaje dominante
Shell
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14 h 16 min
PR fusionados (30 d)
6

Descripción

## Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve

When Copilot CLI is connected to a VS Code instance that has MCP extensions installed (e.g., MSSQL Agent, Anthropic Tools, etc.), the CLI session should inherit access to those MCP tools. Currently, MCP tools available in VS Code are not accessible to CLI sub-agents or custom agents spawned via the `task` tool.

## Proposed solution

Extend the CLI-to-VSCode connection to propagate MCP server configurations and tool availability so that:
- CLI sub-agents spawned via `task` tool receive MCP tools from the VS Code connection
- Custom agents (`task` with `agent_type`) can declare MCP tool dependencies and receive them from VS Code
- The CLI session inherits the full MCP toolset that VS Code has loaded

## Use case / example workflow

1. Developer opens VS Code with MSSQL MCP extension installed
2. Developer opens Copilot CLI and connects it to the running VS Code instance
3. Developer asks CLI to spawn a custom MSSQL Agent sub-agent: `"help me write an SQL migration"`
4. **Expected:** MSSQL Agent has access to MSSQL MCP tools (database introspection, query execution, etc.)
5. **Actual:** MSSQL Agent receives no MCP tools (see #2630)

This pattern applies to any VS Code MCP extension (Teams calendar, mail, Notion databases, Azure resources, etc.).

## Why this matters

- **Leverages existing ecosystem:** VS Code has mature MCP integrations already working well
- **Unifies tool access:** No need to duplicate MCP server configurations between VS Code and CLI
- **Enables specialization:** Allows agents to inherit capability from the IDE's MCP environment
- **Reduces friction:** Developers can use the same MCP tools in CLI workflows that they already have in VS Code

## Related issues

- #2630 — Custom agent `mcp-servers` not connected in CLI sub-agent or `--prompt` contexts
- #2716 — Custom agents in `.claude/agents/` don't receive MCP tools when spawned as sub-agents via `task` tool
- #4076 — Make the built-in research agent's MCP tools configurable

## Additional context

The CLI now has a connection mechanism to VS Code (detected and used for model selection, environment context). This connection should be extended to include MCP tool propagation so that the CLI truly inherits the full IDE capability, not just partial settings.

Guía de contribución

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Línea de trabajo

Comienza rastreando la conexión existente entre CLI y VS Code, así como las rutas de la herramienta de tareas para sub-agents y agentes personalizados. Revisa los issues relacionados #2630, #2716 y #4076 para entender las limitaciones actuales de MCP; se considera terminado cuando las configuraciones de MCP y la disponibilidad de herramientas de VS Code llegan a la sesión de CLI y a los agentes iniciados.

Escrito por el modelo de indexación a partir del texto del issue.

Evaluación

Stack tecnológico
vscode
Área
cli, developer-experience
Tipo de issue
Nueva funcionalidad
Dificultad
5/5
Tiempo estimado
Más de una semana
Estado de actividad
Tranquilo
Claridad
Bastante claro
Aptitud para principiantes
42/100

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