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VS Code and GitHub Copilot

This guide helps you set up the mcp-grafana server for VS Code with GitHub Copilot agent mode.

Prerequisites

• VS Code with GitHub Copilot extension
• Grafana 9.0+ with a service account token
• mcp-grafana binary installed

Important

GitHub Copilot in VS Code uses SSE transport, not stdio. You need to run mcp-grafana as an HTTP server.

Setup

1. Start the MCP server

Bash Copy

export GRAFANA_URL="http://localhost:3000"
export GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN="<your-token>"
mcp-grafana --transport sse --address localhost:8000

Or with Docker:

Bash Copy

docker run --rm -p 8000:8000 \
  -e GRAFANA_URL=http://host.docker.internal:3000 \
  -e GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN=<your-token> \
  grafana/mcp-grafana --transport sse --address :8000

2. Configure VS Code

Add to your VS Code settings (settings.json):

JSON Copy

{
  "github.copilot.chat.mcpServers": {
    "grafana": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8000/sse"
    }
  }
}

Or use workspace settings (.vscode/settings.json) for project-specific config.

Debug mode

Start the server with debug logging:

Bash Copy

mcp-grafana --transport sse --address localhost:8000 -debug

Verify configuration

1. Restart VS Code after configuration changes
2. Open Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Shift+I)
3. Type: @grafana list dashboards
4. If tools are available, Copilot will query Grafana

Troubleshooting

Server not connecting:

• Verify server is running: curl http://localhost:8000/sse
• Check firewall allows port 8000
• Restart VS Code after configuration changes

Tools not appearing:

• GitHub Copilot agent mode required (may need Copilot Chat enabled)
• Check VS Code output panel for MCP errors

Running as a service

For persistent server, create a systemd unit or launchd plist.

Linux systemd (~/.config/systemd/user/mcp-grafana.service):

ini Copy

[Unit]
Description=Grafana MCP Server
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/path/to/mcp-grafana --transport sse --address localhost:8000
Environment=GRAFANA_URL=http://localhost:3000
Environment=GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN=<your-token>
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Enable with:

Bash Copy

systemctl --user enable --now mcp-grafana

Read-only mode

Bash Copy

mcp-grafana --transport sse --address localhost:8000 --disable-write

Next steps

• Transports and addresses for SSE details.
• Configure authentication for Grafana credentials.