Get started with the Azure MCP Server using Visual Studio Code

2025-09-19

The Azure MCP Server uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to standardize integrations between AI apps and external tools and data sources, allowing for AI systems to perform operations that are context-aware of your Azure resources.

In this article, you learn how to complete the following tasks:

Install and authenticate to the Azure MCP Server
Connect to Azure MCP Server using GitHub Copilot agent mode in Visual Studio Code
Run prompts to test Azure MCP Server operations and interact with Azure resources

Prerequisites

An Azure account with an active subscription
Visual Studio Code
GitHub Copilot Visual Studio Code extension

Install the Azure MCP Server

Select one of the following options to install the Azure MCP Server in Visual Studio Code:

Extension install
Directory install

To install the Azure MCP Server Extension for Visual Studio Code, select the following link:

Tip

For an optimal Azure MCP Server experience, install GitHub Copilot for Azure, which includes and uses the Azure MCP Server extension. GitHub Copilot for Azure streamlines your development workflow and enhances your productivity on the Azure platform.
After you install the extension, open GitHub Copilot and select Agent Mode. To learn more about Agent Mode, visit the Visual Studio Code Documentation.
Refresh the tools list to see Azure MCP Server as an available option:

Authenticate to Azure

Azure MCP Server provides a seamless authentication experience using Azure accounts and Microsoft Entra ID. To use Azure MCP Server, you must first authenticate to Azure using local development tools such as the Azure CLI, Azure Developer CLI, Visual Studio, or Visual Studio Code. Azure MCP Server automatically discovers your credentials from these tools and uses them to authenticate to Azure services.

For example, to sign in using the Azure CLI:
```
az login
```
Verify your authentication status by running the following command to see which account and subscription you're currently signed in with:
```
az account show
```
Ensure your user account has the appropriate role assignments for the Azure services you want to interact with. The Azure resources you intend to access with Azure MCP Server must already exist within your Azure subscription. For example, common role assignments include:
- Blob Storage Data Contributor - Read and write blob data in storage accounts.
- Storage Account Contributor - Manage storage account configurations.
- Contributor - General resource management across your subscription.
- Reader - Read-only access to Azure resources.
For more information about role assignments and local development authentication, see Authenticate .NET apps to Azure services during local development.

You can also manually install Azure MCP Server for a specific directory:

Open an empty directory or an existing project directory in Visual Studio Code.
At the root of the folder, create a .vscode folder if there isn't one already.

Inside the .vscode folder, create a new file named mcp.json add the following JSON:

{
  "servers": {
    "Azure MCP Server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@azure/mcp@latest",
        "server",
        "start"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Save your changes to mcp.json.
Open GitHub Copilot and select Agent Mode.
Select the tools icon to view the available tools. Search for Azure MCP Server to filter the results.

To learn more about Agent Mode, visit the Visual Studio Code Documentation.

Use prompts to test the Azure MCP Server

Open GitHub Copilot and select Agent Mode.
Enter a prompt that causes the agent to use Azure MCP Server tools, such as List my Azure resource groups.
In order to authenticate Azure MCP Server, Copilot prompts you to sign-in to Azure using the browser.

Note

Copilot won't prompt you to sign-in to Azure if you're already authenticated via other local tooling such as the Azure CLI.
Copilot requests permission to run the necessary Azure MCP Server operation for your prompt. Select Continue or use the arrow to select a more specific behavior:
- Current session always runs the operation in the current GitHub Copilot Agent Mode session.
- Current workspace always runs the command for current Visual Studio Code workspace.
- Always allow sets the operation to always run for any GitHub Copilot Agent Mode session or any Visual Studio Code workspace.
The output for the previous prompt should resemble the following text:
```
The following resource groups are available for your subscription:

1. **DefaultResourceGroup-EUS** (Location: `eastus`)
2. **rg-testing** (Location: `centralus`)
3. **rg-azd** (Location: `eastus2`)
4. **msdocs-sample** (Location: `southcentralus`)
14. **ai-testing** (Location: `eastus2`)

Let me know if you need further details or actions related to any of these resource groups!
```

Explore and test the Azure MCP operations using other relevant prompts, such as:

List all of the storage accounts in my subscription
Get the available tables in my storage accounts

Next steps

Learn more about Azure MCP Server tools

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