Copilot CLI — MCP Configs
- File format
- JSON
- Discovery path
-
.copilot/mcp-config.json - Syllago install method
- JSON merge
- Symlink support
- No
- Config file
-
.copilot/mcp-config.json - Transports
-
stdio,sse
Features
How each feature converts to syllago's canonical format. See format conversion for what these statuses mean.
Fields
Native frontmatter or config fields this provider exposes. The first column is the provider's own field name; the canonical key column links to syllago's cross-provider equivalent.
| Config key | Conversion | Canonical key | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
mcpServers | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | — | ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json uses a {mcpServers:{NAME:CONFIG}} structure with per-server type, command/url, env, and tools fields. |
Other features
Behaviors, conventions, and capabilities that aren't tied to a single named field — things like path-based activation, discovery rules, and lifecycle behavior.
| Feature | Conversion | Summary |
|---|---|---|
tool_filtering | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | mcp_tool_allow_deny_flags: Copilot CLI supports per-tool allow and deny flags to control which MCP tools are exposed |
transport_types | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Copilot CLI supports both local (stdio) and remote (HTTP/SSE) MCP server types, confirmed in concepts/context/mcp.md |
| Built-In GitHub MCP Server | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | A GitHub MCP server ships inside the Copilot CLI binary and is always present in the tool set, available without additional configuration; it can be disabled via --disable-builtin-mcps. |
| GitHub MCP Registry | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | The GitHub MCP Registry (github.com/mcp) is a curated list of MCP servers from partners and the community, usable for discovery alongside the built-in GitHub MCP server. |
| GitHub MCP Server Toolset Control | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | The --add-github-mcp-tool, --add-github-mcp-toolset, and --enable-all-github-mcp-tools flags selectively enable GitHub MCP server tools beyond the default CLI subset. |
| Interactive /mcp Slash Commands | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | The /mcp slash-command suite (add, show, edit, delete, disable, enable, auth, reload) manages MCP servers at runtime without restart. |
| Per-Tool Allow/Deny CLI Flags | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | The --allow-tool, --deny-tool, --available-tools, --excluded-tools, and --allow-all-tools CLI flags grant or deny MCP tools (and built-in tools) without manual approval; --disable-builtin-mcps and --disable-mcp-server disable servers. |