# Connect VS Code to Nodary

GitHub Copilot’s agent in VS Code can read your team’s specs and decisions in Nodary and write back, with your permissions.

Checked against each vendor’s documentation on 22 October 2026.

## Before you start

- VS Code with GitHub Copilot. On Copilot Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max, no organisation policy governs MCP servers.
- On Copilot Business and Enterprise, the organisation’s MCP servers in Copilot policy must be on; it is off by default. An enterprise allowlist can also limit which servers you may add.
- A Nodary account. The MCP server is in every plan; on Free, while the workspace stays within the free plan: 1 project, 10 documents and folders, 2 members. Copilot spends no Comets: it uses its own model.

No workspace yet? Create one, then come back to connect. [Create a free workspace](https://nodary.ai/sign-up)

## Add Nodary

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P, or Cmd+Shift+P on a Mac) and run MCP: Add Server.
2. Choose HTTP (HTTP or Server-Sent Events) and enter the server address:

   ```
   https://nodary.ai/api/mcp
   ```
3. Enter nodary as the server ID.
4. Choose Global, then Copilot Global, to use Nodary in every workspace. VS Code writes it to ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json:

   ```
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "nodary": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://nodary.ai/api/mcp",
         "tools": [
           "*"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   ```
5. When the server starts, accept the trust and sign-in prompts: Nodary’s consent page opens in your browser.

**Older configurations:** VS Code still reads .vscode/mcp.json and the mcp.json of your user profile, which use servers instead of mcpServers, and marks them deprecated.

## Sign in and choose workspaces

Nodary’s consent page names the app that asks and the address it will be sent back to. Sign in if you are not already, then choose the workspaces Copilot may reach: with one workspace you pick it, and with several none is ticked for you, so tick each one Copilot may use. If you signed in more than 10 minutes ago, Nodary asks for your password again. Approve, and the browser hands you back to Copilot.

Copilot then acts as you: it sees and changes only what your role allows, in the workspaces you ticked. Its access lasts 60 minutes at a time and Copilot renews it on its own.

## Use Nodary in Copilot Chat

In Copilot Chat, check that Nodary’s tools are on (Configure Tools, or Chat: Open Customizations, then Tools), then ask in plain words. A few requests to start with:

- Read the API design document in Nodary and check this endpoint against it.
- Write a decision record for moving to Postgres, file it under Architecture and link it to the spec.
- Which documents in the Backend project are still drafts, and who owns them?

## With an API key instead

Add the header to ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json, a file in your home folder that you never commit:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nodary": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://nodary.ai/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer gdc_..."
      },
      "tools": [
        "*"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

**In clear text:** VS Code reads no prompted variables from this file, so the key sits in it as you wrote it. Give this key an expiry of 30 or 90 days, and revoke it in Nodary if the computer is lost.

Create the key in Nodary under Profile, API keys and MCP. It starts with gdc_, is shown once, acts with your permissions, can be limited to one project, and expires after 30, 90 or 365 days, or never, as you choose.

![The API keys and MCP section of a Nodary profile: the address of the MCP server to paste into an AI client, and an agent key with its scope.](https://nodary.ai/marketing/mcp-connect.webp)

## If something does not work

- VS Code says an enterprise restriction blocks the server: ask your administrator about the MCP servers in Copilot policy and the enterprise allowlist.
- No sign-in appears: run MCP: List Servers, restart nodary and accept the prompts. If the sign-in still does not finish, use an API key.
- A first request answered 401 is expected: it tells the client where to sign in.
- quota_locked: the workspace is above the free plan after its trial and is locked until the owner subscribes. It works again at once after that.
- billing_locked: a payment failed, so the workspace is locked until the owner settles it in the workspace’s billing settings. It works again once the payment goes through.
- workspace_suspended: Nodary has suspended the workspace, so nothing reaches it, agents included. The owner can write to support@nodary.ai.
- workspace_required: the connection reaches several workspaces, so name the one to work in, or connect again and tick only one.

## Questions

### Does connecting Copilot cost anything?

Not on Nodary’s side. The MCP server is in every plan, Free included within its limits, and Copilot spends no Comets: Comets count Studio AI only. Your Copilot plan decides whether you can add the server.

### Copilot Business says MCP servers are off. What do I do?

An organisation or enterprise admin turns on the MCP servers in Copilot policy, which is off by default. Copilot Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max are not governed by it.

### Do I need Node.js or anything installed?

No. Nodary is a remote server: VS Code talks to it over HTTPS and nothing runs on your computer.

### Can Copilot delete or overwrite my documents?

Only where your role lets you, and a change can be put back: each editing session of up to ten minutes makes a version, and so does every agent write. A document keeps its 50 newest versions by people and its 50 newest by agents (an agent’s never push out people’s), which you compare and restore, and a deleted document comes back for 30 days. Share links, access, members, roles, keys, billing and deleting a project stay human decisions: no agent can do them.

### How do I disconnect it?

In Nodary, open Profile, Security, Connected apps and disconnect it: it stops at once. In VS Code, remove nodary from ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json or stop it from MCP: List Servers. A key is revoked under Profile, API keys and MCP, and owners and admins can revoke any key of the workspace in its settings, under MCP.

### Does Nodary use my documents to train AI?

No. Nodary does not use workspace content to train AI models. What Copilot does with what it reads is set by its maker’s own terms.

## Read next

- [Connect Cursor to Nodary](https://nodary.ai/docs/mcp/cursor): Add Nodary to Cursor’s mcp.json, then sign in from Cursor.
- [Connect Claude Code to Nodary](https://nodary.ai/docs/mcp/claude-code): One command adds Nodary to Claude Code, then /mcp signs you in.
- [The Nodary MCP server](https://nodary.ai/docs/mcp): The server, signing in, the 98 tools, safety and every client at a glance.
- [MCP (Model Context Protocol)](https://nodary.ai/glossary/model-context-protocol): The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that connects AI applications to outside tools and data through one common interface.
- [OAuth](https://nodary.ai/glossary/oauth): OAuth is a standard that lets an app act for you in another service, with access you approve, without ever seeing your password.

https://nodary.ai/docs/mcp/vs-code