Comments in .mcp.json not supported, causing all workspace MCP servers to be skipped
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Since Aug 1, 2026.
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Description
Describe the bug
Repository-level .mcp.json files are parsed as strict JSON. Adding a // or /* ... */ comment causes Copilot CLI to reject the entire file and skip every MCP server it defines.
This makes it difficult to maintain a shared repository configuration containing documentation or temporarily disabled server definitions.
Affected version
1.0.78-0
Steps to reproduce the behavior
- Create a trusted Git repository.
- Add
.mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
// Used for browser-based integration tests.
"playwright": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@playwright/mcp@latest"],
"tools": ["*"]
}
}
}
- Run
copilot mcp list --json - Copilot reports:
Warning: skipping workspace MCP config ".mcp.json" because it is malformed:
Invalid JSON: key must be a string
- Remove the comment and repeat the command. The workspace MCP server is then discovered successfully.
Expected behavior
Copilot CLI should parse .mcp.json as JSONC, supporting // and /* ... */ comments while continuing to load valid MCP definitions.
Alternatively, the configuration schema could provide a documented repository-level mechanism such as "enabled": false for retaining optional MCP definitions without loading them.
A malformed individual server entry should ideally not prevent unrelated valid servers from loading.
Additional context
No response
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