Connecting VS Code to AgentPort

This page walks through wiring Visual Studio Code to AgentPort over MCP, so the agent that lives inside VS Code can discover and call tools across every integration you have installed — gated by your approval policies.

VS Code has native MCP support through GitHub Copilot Chat (agent mode). If you don't use Copilot, the Continue extension also speaks MCP and works the same way.

Prerequisites

VS Code (recent version with MCP support — Copilot's agent mode requires a current VS Code release).
One of:
- GitHub Copilot Chat extension installed and a Copilot subscription that includes agent mode, or
- The Continue extension installed.
An AgentPort API key. Grab one from the Connect page in the AgentPort UI (see MCP).
The AgentPort MCP endpoint:
- Cloud: https://app.agentport.sh/mcp
- Self-hosted: https://<your-domain>/mcp

Approach A: GitHub Copilot Chat (recommended)

Copilot Chat reads MCP server definitions from one of two places:

Scope	File
Workspace	`.vscode/mcp.json` in the project root
User (global)	the `mcp` block in your VS Code user `settings.json`

Workspace config is best when you want the AgentPort server to follow a particular repo. User config is best when you want it available everywhere.

1. Create `.vscode/mcp.json`

From the project root:

{
  "servers": {
    "agentport": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://app.agentport.sh/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "${input:agentportApiKey}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "agentportApiKey",
      "type": "promptString",
      "password": true,
      "description": "AgentPort API key"
    }
  ]
}

A few things to note about this shape:

The top-level key is servers (not mcpServers — VS Code uses its own variant of the schema).
type: "http" tells VS Code to use Streamable HTTP, which is what AgentPort speaks. Don't omit it; the default isn't always HTTP.
${input:agentportApiKey} references the entry in the inputs array, so VS Code prompts for the key on first use and stores it in its secret storage instead of writing it to disk in plain text.
For a self-hosted deployment, swap the url for https://<your-domain>/mcp.

If you'd rather hardcode the key (don't, but if you must — e.g. for a one-off machine), replace the headers block with:

"headers": { "X-API-Key": "ap_your_key_here" }

and drop the inputs array entirely.

2. Start the server in VS Code

Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P) and run MCP: List Servers. Pick agentport and choose Start. VS Code will prompt for the API key the first time and cache it in its secret storage.

3. Switch Copilot Chat into agent mode

Open the Copilot Chat panel and switch the mode dropdown from Ask to Agent. Only agent mode can call MCP tools. The agentport__* tools should now show up in the tool picker.

Approach B: Continue extension

If you don't have Copilot, the Continue extension supports MCP servers from its own config. Continue defines MCP servers in config.yaml (or as standalone files under .continue/mcpServers/):

mcpServers:
  - name: agentport
    type: streamable-http
    url: https://app.agentport.sh/mcp

Continue's published schema covers name, type, and url for remote servers. Custom-header support varies by version; check the Continue MCP docs for the exact field name in your version, or use a self-hosted deployment that accepts the API key via the URL or an OAuth flow.

MCP only fires inside Continue's agent mode, same as Copilot.

A note on `agentport-skills`

The agentport-skills plugin teaches coding agents the conventions of the gateway — when to ask before installing an integration, how to surface approval URLs, what to put in additional_info, how to poll for approvals.

It currently ships installers for Claude Code, Cursor, and OpenAI Codex. There is no first-class installer for VS Code Copilot or Continue. The agent will still work without the skills (the meta-tools are self-describing), but it won't have the same out-of-the-box etiquette around approval flows. If your team mostly drives AgentPort from VS Code, lean on the MCP page to learn the expected pattern, and feel free to paste it into a workspace instruction file.

Verifying it works

Open Copilot Chat (or Continue) in agent mode.
Ask: "List my installed AgentPort integrations."
The agent should call agentport__list_installed_integrations and report what it finds.

If you have nothing installed yet, ask it to install one — "Install the GitHub integration via AgentPort" — and walk through the OAuth flow it surfaces.

Troubleshooting

agentport server shows as failed in MCP: List Servers. Open the server's output panel (right-click the entry, Show Output). The most common causes are an unreachable url (typo, or self-hosted server not running) and a missing or wrong type field — for AgentPort this must be "http".

Agent doesn't see any agentport__* tools. Confirm Copilot Chat is in Agent mode, not Ask. Tools from MCP servers are only visible in agent mode. Also re-check the tool picker in Copilot Chat — tools can be toggled off per chat.

401 Unauthorized on every call. The API key prompt was either skipped or the wrong value was saved. Run MCP: Reset Cached Tokens (or delete and re-enter the input) and start the server again. Verify the key works with a quick curl -H 'X-API-Key: ap_...' https://app.agentport.sh/mcp — see MCP Server.