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Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve
When Copilot CLI is connected to a VS Code instance that has MCP extensions installed (e.g., MSSQL Agent, Anthropic Tools, etc.), the CLI session should inherit access to those MCP tools. Currently, MCP tools available in VS Code are not accessible to CLI sub-agents or custom agents spawned via the task tool.
Proposed solution
Extend the CLI-to-VSCode connection to propagate MCP server configurations and tool availability so that:
CLI sub-agents spawned via task tool receive MCP tools from the VS Code connection
Custom agents (task with agent_type) can declare MCP tool dependencies and receive them from VS Code
The CLI session inherits the full MCP toolset that VS Code has loaded
Use case / example workflow
Developer opens VS Code with MSSQL MCP extension installed
Developer opens Copilot CLI and connects it to the running VS Code instance
Developer asks CLI to spawn a custom MSSQL Agent sub-agent: "help me write an SQL migration"
Expected: MSSQL Agent has access to MSSQL MCP tools (database introspection, query execution, etc.)
The CLI now has a connection mechanism to VS Code (detected and used for model selection, environment context). This connection should be extended to include MCP tool propagation so that the CLI truly inherits the full IDE capability, not just partial settings.
Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve
When Copilot CLI is connected to a VS Code instance that has MCP extensions installed (e.g., MSSQL Agent, Anthropic Tools, etc.), the CLI session should inherit access to those MCP tools. Currently, MCP tools available in VS Code are not accessible to CLI sub-agents or custom agents spawned via the
tasktool.Proposed solution
Extend the CLI-to-VSCode connection to propagate MCP server configurations and tool availability so that:
tasktool receive MCP tools from the VS Code connectiontaskwithagent_type) can declare MCP tool dependencies and receive them from VS CodeUse case / example workflow
"help me write an SQL migration"mcp-serversnot connected in CLI sub-agent or--promptcontexts #2630)This pattern applies to any VS Code MCP extension (Teams calendar, mail, Notion databases, Azure resources, etc.).
Why this matters
Related issues
mcp-serversnot connected in CLI sub-agent or--promptcontexts #2630 — Custom agentmcp-serversnot connected in CLI sub-agent or--promptcontexts.claude/agents/don't receive MCP tools when spawned as sub-agents viatasktool #2716 — Custom agents in.claude/agents/don't receive MCP tools when spawned as sub-agents viatasktoolAdditional context
The CLI now has a connection mechanism to VS Code (detected and used for model selection, environment context). This connection should be extended to include MCP tool propagation so that the CLI truly inherits the full IDE capability, not just partial settings.