VS Code

Give GitHub Copilot’s agent mode real-time web search, content extraction, and citation-backed research through the You.com MCP Server.

One-command install

Fastest path — drop this in your terminal:

$
code --add-mcp '{"name":"you-com","url":"https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free","type":"http"}'

VS Code opens, prompts you to confirm, and the server is live. Free tier — no signup, 100 searches/day.

Manual setup

If you’d rather configure by hand: open Settings → Search → “mcp”, click Edit in settings.json, and add:

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{
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  "mcp": {
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    "servers": {
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      "you-com": {
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        "type": "http",
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        "url": "https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free"
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      }
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    }
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  }
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}

Higher rate limits + full toolset

With an API key, you get unlimited queries plus you-contents and you-research:

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{
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  "mcp": {
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    "servers": {
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      "you-com": {
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        "type": "http",
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        "url": "https://api.you.com/mcp",
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        "headers": {
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          "Authorization": "Bearer YDC-YOUR-API-KEY"
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        }
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      }
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    }
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  }
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}

Get a key at you.com/platform.

Verify in Copilot

Open the Copilot chat panel, switch to Agent mode, and click the tools icon. You should see you-com listed with its three tools. Tick the tools you want available for the session.

Quick demo

In Copilot agent mode:

Search the web for the latest VS Code release notes and tell me what's new in the agent mode.

Research which AI code editors support custom MCP servers in 2026, with citations.

Troubleshooting

• “No MCP servers found” — confirm you used mcp.servers (not mcpServers). VS Code’s schema is namespaced differently from other clients.
• Tools not appearing in Copilot agent mode — make sure you’re in Agent mode (not Ask or Edit). MCP tools only surface in Agent mode.
• Server connects but tools never trigger — in the Copilot tools picker, confirm the You.com tools are ticked. They default to enabled but a long server list can push them off-screen.
• 401 with API key — verify the Authorization header is exactly Bearer YDC-... with one space.
• Copilot extension not installed — install GitHub Copilot from the VS Code marketplace and sign in before configuring MCP.