microsoft / microsoft/copilot-for-eclipse

MCP Server instructions ignored

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#43 3 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dominant language
Java
Stars
126
Forks
60
Avg merge
2d 6h
Merged PRs (30d)
5

Description

The Copilot plugin for Eclipse seems to ignore instructions provided by an MCP server. When entering the exact same instructions as workspace instructions in the Copilot preferences, they result in the intended LLM behavior. See screenshots below for details. First two screenshots show unexpected behavior for MCP-provided instructions, last two screenshots show expected behavior when using workspace instructions.

PS. I'm fairly new to AI & LLM, so tips for improving/shortening the instructions are welcome 😉

MCP Server instructions as confirmed by MCP Inspector
Image
Copilot chat ignoring MCP Server instructions
Image
Same instructions in Copilot preferences
Image
Copilot chat properly taking workspace instructions into account
Image

Contributor guide

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First steps

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Research direction

No source file, test, or entry point is named. Reproduce the issue in the Eclipse Copilot plugin using the MCP Inspector-confirmed instructions, then compare MCP-provided instructions with the same text in Copilot workspace preferences; done means MCP instructions produce the same behavior as workspace instructions.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
developer-experience, tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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