GitHub Copilot

Prerequisite

Use VS Code with GitHub Copilot Chat and MCP support. Interface and prerequisites:

• Concrete interface: VS Code with GitHub Copilot Chat extension (editor OAuth path).
• Config file: %APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json (Windows), ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json (macOS), or ~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json (Linux).
• Uses the servers key rather than mcpServers.
• Endpoint: https://xmemo.dev/mcp.
• Account: Valid XMemo account at https://xmemo.dev.

Install / setup

Edit your VS Code User configuration mcp.json under the servers key and add the hosted XMemo URL. Do not use the Copilot CLI config here; its direct path has its own route (/docs/mcp/copilot-cli):

• Keep the editor entry URL-only.
• The first tool call opens browser OAuth.
• Do not add an Authorization header to this VS Code entry.

Set the credential

No key — complete browser OAuth in VS Code / GitHub Copilot Chat. Do not set XMEMO_KEY or paste a bearer token into mcp.json:

No XMEMO_KEY
Complete browser OAuth in VS Code / GitHub Copilot Chat

Generate / confirm XMEMO_AGENT_INSTANCE_ID

The reviewed VS Code OAuth listing has no client-side identity header. Do not add XMEMO_AGENT_INSTANCE_ID to mcp.json; confirm that this OAuth path uses its grant-managed attribution.

Preserve the existing config block

Use the reviewed VS Code / GitHub Copilot configuration block. Preserve the servers key and URL-only OAuth shape; do not copy the Copilot CLI bearer configuration into it:

{
  "servers": {
    "xmemo": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://xmemo.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart the client

Reload the VS Code window (Developer: Reload Window) or restart the MCP connection after saving mcp.json so Copilot reads the current server definition.

Test with a real recall call

Make the first MCP call read-only. This is an actual recall invocation, not a health-check placeholder, and it does not write memory.

recall({ query: "connection check", limit: 1 })

Expected response (literal shape)

A successful call returns the public ranked text shape below; the reference and content are real values from the authorized memory space.

### XMemo Memory Results:
1. Reference: <opaque-memory-id> | Location: <location>
   > <memory content>

First useful task: Synthetic memory lifecycle

Exercise the complete synthetic memory task inside GitHub Copilot Chat:

• 1. Save synthetic fact: Ask Copilot Chat to remember convention ("Demo project timestamps use UTC.") to "projects/demo-onboarding/conventions".
• 2. Stateless transition: Open a new chat session in GitHub Copilot or reload the VS Code window.
• 3. Recall with source attribution: Query "demo project timestamp format". Confirm returned Reference and Location.
• 4. Correct memory: Update the convention to ISO 8601 formatting using update_memory.
• 5. Optional cleanup: Soft-delete the convention via forget when verification concludes.

Capabilities and profile tools

GitHub Copilot in VS Code has access to profile-qualified tools defined in the MCP documentation contract for generic-public profile:

• Core memory tools: remember, recall, update_memory, forget, read_memory, explain_memory, search_memory, recall_context.
• Workspace tools: get_mcp_identity, get_project_summary, project, todo, open_project_workspace, open_todo_board, ledger, open_ledger.

Limitations and boundaries

Operational boundaries for GitHub Copilot in VS Code:

• Workspace isolation: Operations are strictly confined to the authorized user's workspace.
• Editor/CLI separation: VS Code OAuth session does not propagate to external terminal tools.
• No header mixing: Do not add Authorization headers to the servers entry in mcp.json.

Common Errors

VS Code / GitHub Copilot Chat uses the browser OAuth path and should not be debugged with Copilot CLI token settings:

• invalid_grant — The OAuth authorization code is invalid, expired, or already used: reconnect the VS Code MCP server and authorize again.
• invalid_target — The OAuth resource does not match this MCP server: reconnect using https://xmemo.dev/mcp.
• 403 insufficient_scope — The grant does not include memory:read: approve the required scope and reconnect.

Update and removal

Maintenance procedures for GitHub Copilot:

• Update: Reload the VS Code window after updating configuration.
• Removal: Remove the xmemo block from mcp.json and reload the VS Code window.