Connect VS Code and GitHub Copilot to the Functionize MCP Server

VS Code connects to the Functionize MCP server natively in GitHub Copilot's agent mode. It handles Streamable HTTP and OAuth itself — including registering with our server automatically — so there is no bridge and no Node.js requirement.

The easy way

Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Add Server. Choose an HTTP server, paste https://mcp.functionize.com/mcp, and pick whether to add it for this workspace or for you globally. VS Code writes the configuration for you.

VS Code 1.101 or newer. MCP support in Copilot agent mode landed then; older builds will not offer these commands.

vscode.dev in a browser is not supported. Use the desktop application.

If you would rather edit the file directly, read on.

Adding it by hand

This is where people trip up: the key name depends on which file you use.

Use MCP: Open User Configuration unless you specifically want to share the server with everyone on the repository. It gives you the server in every workspace, and VS Code does not publish that file's path, so the command is the only reliable way to reach it. .vscode/mcp.json is the shared project file — it is committed, so everyone who opens the repository gets the entry.

In either file, the entry looks like this (the top-level key differs, as above):

{
  "servers": {
    "functionize": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.functionize.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

"type": "http" is required. VS Code will not infer the transport. Use http for Streamable HTTP — sse is the legacy transport and is not what our server expects.

Optional: pin a team

{
  "servers": {
    "functionize": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.functionize.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Functionize-Team-Id": "12345"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace 12345 with your team's numeric ID. Omit the header to use your default team; switching teams inside Studio does not move the MCP connection. A team ID is not a secret, so a literal value is fine here — VS Code's documentation warns against hardcoding genuine secrets and offers ${input:...} variables for those.

You do not need the optional oauth block. It exists for servers that issue static client IDs; ours supports dynamic registration, so VS Code will register itself.

Sign in

VS Code opens your browser on first connection.

Sign in with the email and password you use for Functionize Studio. If you registered with Google, set a password via Forgot password on the Studio login page first. If your company signs in to Functionize through SSO, contact your Functionize representative.

If VS Code offers to "try a different way" using the URL Handler, decline it. Our server refuses that callback route, so it cannot complete. Let VS Code use its loopback listener, which is what it does by default.

The sign-in page is at functionize.us.auth0.com. If you are ever asked for Functionize credentials on another domain, do not enter them.

Check it worked

Run MCP: List Servers to confirm Functionize is connected, then open Copilot in agent mode and ask it to list your Functionize agent sessions. The list is team-wide, so on a shared team you will see colleagues' sessions as well as your own.

If it does not connect

Check the key name matches the filename. servers in .vscode/mcp.json, mcpServers in .mcp.json. Mixing them is the single most common mistake.

Check "type": "http" is present.

To force a clean sign-in, run Authentication: Remove Dynamic Authentication Providers from the Command Palette, then reconnect. This is the VS Code equivalent of clearing a cached token.

If you were offered the URL Handler sign-in route and took it, remove the dynamic authentication provider as above and reconnect, letting VS Code use its loopback listener instead.

For anything else, see Troubleshooting the Functionize MCP Connection.