github-copilot-cli-mcp-server

⚠️ ALPHA VERSION — This project is experimental and in early development. Testing across different environments is limited. Use at your own risk and expect breaking changes.

A Node.js/TypeScript project that wraps GitHub Copilot CLI as a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.

Use Copilot CLI as a tool from any MCP-compatible client (VSCode, OpenClaw, Claude Desktop, etc.).

Features

Complete Copilot conversations in a single MCP call: Send a prompt → receive results in one tool call
Session resumption: Continue previous conversations using session IDs
Permission mode selection: Interactive (user confirmation) / Autonomous (auto-approve)
Model selection: Use any model supported by Copilot
Working directory specification: Set cwd for tasks that require file access

Prerequisites

Node.js 20.0.0 or higher
GitHub Copilot CLI installed and authenticated

  npm install -g @github/copilot-cli

GitHub Copilot subscription (Individual, Business, or Enterprise)

Installation

From source

git clone https://github.com/slcwahn/github-copilot-cli-mcp-server.git
cd github-copilot-cli-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

Quick start

npm run dev

MCP Tools

`run_copilot_conversation`

Runs a Copilot CLI conversation with a prompt.

Parameters:

| Name | Type | Required | Description | |------|------|----------|-------------| | prompt | string | ✅ | Prompt to send to Copilot | | model | string | | AI model (e.g., claude-sonnet-4, gpt-4.1) | | cwd | string | | Working directory | | allow_tools | string[] | | List of tools to allow | | add_dirs | string[] | | Additional directories to grant access | | timeout_ms | number | | Timeout (default: 300000ms = 5 minutes) | | permission_mode | string | | Permission mode: "autonomous" (default) or "interactive" |

Example:

{
  "name": "run_copilot_conversation",
  "arguments": {
    "prompt": "Fix the bug in src/main.ts",
    "cwd": "/path/to/project",
    "model": "claude-sonnet-4"
  }
}

`resume_copilot_session`

Resumes a previous session to continue the conversation.

Parameters:

| Name | Type | Required | Description | |------|------|----------|-------------| | session_id | string | ✅ | Session ID (UUID) | | prompt | string | ✅ | Follow-up prompt | | model | string | | AI model | | cwd | string | | Working directory | | timeout_ms | number | | Timeout |

Example:

{
  "name": "resume_copilot_session",
  "arguments": {
    "session_id": "abc12345-1234-5678-9abc-def012345678",
    "prompt": "Now add tests for those changes"
  }
}

`list_copilot_sessions`

Lists resumable Copilot CLI sessions.

`respond_to_copilot`

Responds to Copilot's permission prompts in Interactive mode.

Parameters:

| Name | Type | Required | Description | |------|------|----------|-------------| | session_id | string | ✅ | Pending session ID | | response | string | ✅ | Response ("yes", "no", or free text) |

Configuration

VSCode

Add the following to your .vscode/mcp.json file:

{
  "servers": {
    "github-copilot-cli": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/github-copilot-cli-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "COPILOT_PERMISSION_MODE": "interactive"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or use the Command Palette: MCP: Add Server → stdio → enter the configuration above.

Tip: Use ${workspaceFolder} to specify relative paths based on your workspace.

For global configuration, use the Command Palette: MCP: Open User Configuration to add it to your user profile.

OpenClaw (mcporter)

OpenClaw supports MCP servers through the mcporter skill.

Register via mcporter CLI

# Register the server
mcporter config add github-copilot-cli \
  --command node \
  --arg /path/to/github-copilot-cli-mcp-server/dist/index.js \
  --env COPILOT_PERMISSION_MODE=autonomous

# Verify registration
mcporter list

# Check tool schema
mcporter list github-copilot-cli --schema

# Call a tool directly
mcporter call github-copilot-cli.run_copilot_conversation prompt="Fix the bug in main.ts"

Edit mcporter config file directly

~/.mcporter/mcporter.json or project-level config/mcporter.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "github-copilot-cli": {
      "transport": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/github-copilot-cli-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "COPILOT_PERMISSION_MODE": "autonomous"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-copilot-cli": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/github-copilot-cli-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

| Variable | Default | Description | |----------|---------|-------------| | COPILOT_CLI_PATH | (auto-detect) | Path to Copilot CLI binary | | COPILOT_PERMISSION_MODE | autonomous | Permission mode: autonomous or interactive |

Permission Handling

Copilot CLI may request user approval for file modifications, shell command execution, and other actions. This MCP server supports two permission modes:

Autonomous Mode (default)

COPILOT_PERMISSION_MODE=autonomous

Runs Copilot CLI with --allow-all-tools --no-ask-user flags
Auto-approves all permissions and completes without user prompts
Best for: Trusted tasks, automation pipelines, CI/CD

Interactive Mode

COPILOT_PERMISSION_MODE=interactive

Runs Copilot CLI with PTY for interactive I/O
Returns needsInput: true in the MCP response when a permission prompt is detected
The MCP client (user or agent) responds via the respond_to_copilot tool

Interactive Mode Flow:

MCP Client                    MCP Server                   Copilot CLI
    │                              │                            │
    │ run_copilot_conversation     │                            │
    ├─────────────────────────────►│  spawn (PTY)               │
    │                              ├───────────────────────────►│
    │                              │                            │
    │                              │  "Modify this file?"       │
    │                              │◄───────────────────────────┤
    │  { needsInput: true,         │                            │
    │    question: "Modify..." }   │                            │
    │◄─────────────────────────────┤                            │
    │                              │                            │
    │  respond_to_copilot("yes")   │                            │
    ├─────────────────────────────►│  write "yes\n"             │
    │                              ├───────────────────────────►│
    │                              │                            │
    │                              │  (complete)                │
    │                              │◄───────────────────────────┤
    │  { output: "..." }           │                            │
    │◄─────────────────────────────┤                            │

Note: Interactive mode requires node-pty (optional dependency). If not installed, it automatically falls back to autonomous mode.

Architecture

MCP Client (VSCode / OpenClaw / Claude Desktop)
    │
    │ stdio (JSON-RPC)
    ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   github-copilot-cli-mcp-server              │
│                                              │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  MCP Server (stdio)                    │  │
│  │  - run_copilot_conversation            │  │
│  │  - resume_copilot_session              │  │
│  │  - list_copilot_sessions               │  │
│  │  - respond_to_copilot                  │  │
│  └──────────────┬─────────────────────────┘  │
│                 │                             │
│  ┌──────────────▼─────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Permission Handler                    │  │
│  │  (autonomous / interactive)            │  │
│  └──────────────┬─────────────────────────┘  │
│                 │                             │
│  ┌──────────────▼─────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Copilot Runner                        │  │
│  │  (spawn / PTY)                         │  │
│  └──────────────┬─────────────────────────┘  │
│                 │                             │
│  ┌──────────────▼─────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Session Manager                       │  │
│  │  (session metadata + pending input)    │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
    │
    │ spawn / PTY
    ▼
  copilot -p "prompt" -s [--allow-all-tools | interactive]

Development

# Development mode
npm run dev

# Build
npm run build

# Type check
npm run typecheck

# Test
npm test

How It Works

The MCP client calls the run_copilot_conversation tool
Depending on the permission mode:

Autonomous: Runs copilot -p "<prompt>" -s --allow-all-tools --no-ask-user
Interactive: Runs with PTY, forwarding permission prompts to the MCP client

Copilot CLI performs the task (code generation, modification, analysis, etc.)
Returns the output as an MCP response upon completion
If a session ID is available, the session can be resumed via resume_copilot_session

Copilot CLI Options Used

| Flag | Purpose | |------|---------| | -p <prompt> | Run prompt in non-interactive mode | | -s | Silent mode (response only, no stats) | | --allow-all-tools | Auto-approve all tools (autonomous mode) | | --no-ask-user | Autonomous operation without prompts (autonomous mode) | | --no-custom-instructions | Ignore AGENTS.md and similar files | | --no-color | Disable ANSI colors | | --no-alt-screen | Disable terminal alternate screen | | --resume <id> | Resume a session | | --model <model> | Select a model | | --add-dir <dir> | Grant access to additional directories |

License

MIT

github-copilot-cli-mcp-server