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MCP Setup

VS Code Instructions

You will need the following installed:

  • VS Code
    • Azure MCP Server VS Code Extension
    • GitHub Copilot Chat VS Code Extension
  • Python 3.10+
  • Node v20 or v22

In addition, you will also need:

  • An Azure Open AI LLM connection (ask a developer)
  • Admin rights to install necessary packages on your machine

Create a folder called .vscode in your working directory. Within that folder, create a file called mcp.json and paste the connection information for your MCP server. For example, here is how you would connect to Monday's MCP server:

{
 "inputs": [],
 "servers": {
  "monday-apps-mcp": {
   "command": "npx",
   "args": [
    "@mondaydotcomorg/monday-api-mcp",
    "-t",
    "<API_KEY>"
   ],
   "type": "stdio"
  }
 }
}

Or Alation's MCP server:

{
 "inputs": [],
 "servers": {
  "alation_mcp": {
   "url": "https://dataaicatalog.alationcloud.com/ai/mcp/",
   "type": "http"
  }
 }
}

Note that you can have multiple MCP servers installed by listing them one after another in the servers section. Installed servers will show up on the VS Code "Extensions" tab (the four blocks on the left with one slightly askew) at the bottom under "MCP Servers".

Codex Instructions

All installation requirements from the VS Code Instructions above must be satisfied here as well. To add an MCP server to Codex that will run at startup, you can choose one of two options.

Option 1: Edit config.toml:

  1. Edit the .codex/config.toml file directly by opening the file in a text editor.
  2. Add the relevant MCP block to the bottom of the file. Here are a few examples:

    GitHub

    [mcp_servers.github]
    url = "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
    bearer_token_env_var = "GITHUB_PAT_TOKEN"
    

    Note that this MCP server looks for an environment variable called GITHUB_PAT_TOKEN in order to authenticate to the remote MCP server. You must set that variable first before starting Codex.

    Snyk

    You will need to have the Snyk CLI installed locally for this server to work.

    [mcp_servers.snyk-security]
    command = "snyk.exe"
    args = ["mcp", "-t", "stdio"]
    
  3. Save the file and start Codex to see the MCP servers initialize.

Option 2: Codex CLI

  1. Use the Codex CLI to add the MCP server. This accomplishes the same thing as Option 1 and you can check the config.toml file after to be sure. Open your terminal to start.
  2. Enter codex mcp add <server-name> --env VAR1=VALUE1 --env VAR2=VALUE2 -- <stdio server-command>

Examples:
- codex mcp add snyk-security -- snyk.exe mcp -t stdio
- codex mcp add github --url https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/
3. If the MCP server does not start, exit Codex and start it again.

Copilot Studio Instructions

This will go through the process to set up a connection to an MCP server and attach it to an agent through Copilot Studio. You must have access to the Copilot Studio page for the CNH environment.

  1. Navigate to the Agents tab and start by clicking "Create blank agent".
  2. Fill in the information including the agent Name, Description, and Icon.
  3. Change the model to GPT-5 Chat or GPT-4.1 depending on the required complexity.
  4. Write the agent's system prompt into the "Instructions" section.

    !!! tip
        Provide examples, procedures, and rules to improve results. Note that mentioning tools in this prompt may not guarantee that they are picked up correctly.
    
  5. Disable the "Web Search" toggle under "Knowledge".

  6. Scroll down to the "Tools" section and click "Add tool".
  7. Click the "Model Context Protocol" button.
  8. On the next page, provide a name for the server so that it is recognizable by others who may also want to use the tool.
  9. Describe the function of the server so the agent can understand when tools from the server may be relevant.
  10. Provide a URL for the remote server.
  11. Change the Authentication type to OAuth 2.0.
  12. Set the "Type" to "Manual".
  13. Fill in all necessary values for authenticating to the remote server.
  14. Click the "Create" button.
  15. Copy the "Redirect URL" and store it in a safe place. Remember to add it as an allowed endpoint for your OAuth client.
  16. On the last page, click the "Not connected" button and then "Create new connection" to test the connection to the server.
  17. Click "Add and configure" to register the MCP server to your agent.