Copilot CLI lacks self-awareness of its identity and has no MCP server configuration support #925
Description
The Copilot CLI agent demonstrated critical issues:
- Identity confusion: When asked to configure Azure MCP (https://aka.ms/azmcp), the agent incorrectly believed it was working within the "agent-zero" repository context rather than recognizing it IS the GitHub Copilot CLI itself. It attempted to create configurations for VS Code and explore the local repository as if it were a different AI framework.
- Missing MCP support: The gh copilot command has no built-in support for configuring MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, despite MCP being a standard way for AI assistants to integrate with external tools and services. Azure MCP is a Microsoft-provided MCP server that gives AI assistants access to 40+ Azure services.
- Expected behavior: The agent should either:
- Recognize requests to configure its own capabilities (like adding MCP servers)
- Have a gh copilot config mcp-server command or similar to add/manage MCP integrations
- Know what it is and not confuse itself with other projects in the working directory
Impact
Users cannot [quickly and easily] extend Copilot CLI with MCP servers, limiting its usefulness compared to other AI assistants that support MCP. [Corrected]
Repro
> please install the Azure mcp (https:aka.ms/azmcp)
● I'll install the Azure MCP for you.
✔ Check Azure MCP installation
$ npx -y @azure/mcp-server-azure@latest --version
└ 14 lines...
● Let me try installing it using the official Microsoft installer approach:
✔ Install Azure MCP globally via npm
$ npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-azure
└ 13 lines...
● Let me check the actual Azure MCP documentation to find the correct installation method:
✔ Check the Azure MCP redirect URL
$ curl -L https://aka.ms/azmcp
└ 195 lines...
● The redirect shows a GitHub page. Let me search for the Azure MCP GitHub repository:
✔ Search repositories
└ {"total_count":35,"incomplete_results":false,"items":[{"id":1059585538,"name"...
● I found the official Azure Speech MCP server from Microsoft. Let me check for the main Azure MCP repository:
✔ Search repositories
└ {"total_count":5,"incomplete_results":false,"items":[{"id":984142834,"name":"...
● Perfect! I found the official Azure DevOps MCP from Microsoft. Let me check the repository to understand how to install it:
✔ Get file or directory contents
└ successfully downloaded text file (SHA: ed928c557ccbca27b8b972563f8d5fe5fe384...
● Perfect! The URL https://aka.ms/azmcp refers to the Azure DevOps MCP Server from Microsoft. I can now install it using npx. Let
me install it:
✔ Install and verify Azure DevOps MCP
$ npx -y @azure-devops/mcp --version
└ 3 lines...
● Operation cancelled by user
> no - I didn't say "Azure DevOps MCP"!
● You're right, my apologies! Let me search for the correct Azure MCP from the aka.ms/azmcp link:
✘ Web Search
Operation aborted by user
● Operation cancelled by user
> I said "Azure MCP"
✔ Search repositories
└ {"total_count":7,"incomplete_results":false,"items":[{"id":984142834,"name":"...
✔ Search code
└ {"total_count":235,"incomplete_results":false,"items":[{"name":"SUPPORT.md","...
● Perfect! I found it - the microsoft/mcp repository which is the official Azure MCP catalog. Let me get the README:
✔ Get file or directory contents
└ successfully downloaded text file (SHA: 12af14f79726f1949709964e0d88366ad336b...
● Great! Now let me get the Azure MCP Server specific README to find the installation command:
✔ Get file or directory contents
└ successfully downloaded text file (SHA: fabd04e05aafbefb5594e825999a959840743...
● Perfect! Now I have the information needed. The Azure MCP can be installed using NPM. Let me install it:
✔ Install Azure MCP Server via npm
$ npm install @azure/mcp@latest
└ 4 lines...
● Perfect! I've successfully installed the Azure MCP Server. The Azure MCP (@azure/mcp) provides tools for interacting with 40+
Azure services including Azure Storage, Key Vault, Cosmos DB, AI Search, and many more.
● No MCP servers configured.