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Connect VS Code (Copilot agent / MCP)

Give VS Code (Copilot agent / MCP) access to Swarmtab through the local MCP bridge.

Keep Swarmtab open. In the app, open Connect and select VS Code (Copilot agent / MCP). Copy its setup snippet: it contains the actual executable path on your computer. The macOS path below is an example; replace it with that path. Do not copy a token or a fixed port.

Setup

Config location: .vscode/mcp.json.

Run MCP: List Servers, start Swarmtab, trust it, then select Agent in Copilot Chat.

{
  "servers": {
    "swarmtab": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "/Applications/Swarmtab.app/Contents/MacOS/swarmtab-app",
      "args": [
        "bridge"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Keep any other server entries. For JSON, merge the swarmtab entry into the existing server object; do not replace the whole config. For shell commands, run them from your intended project.

Check the connection

Ask the client to list Swarmtab’s tools, then open example.com and read its heading. You should see an agent in the Swarmtab window.

  • Server missing: use servers, not mcpServers, and trust the workspace.
  • No tools: start the server and enable its tools in Copilot’s tools picker.

Preview a config change

The separate CLI can preview the entry for a file you choose; the app executable supports only bridge. The CLI is not part of the Mac download yet; if you have it, use its full path if it is not on PATH. For example, from a project with a Cursor config:

swarmtab connect cursor --config .cursor/mcp.json --dry-run

Replace cursor and the path for your client. Omit --dry-run only when you want to write the config. The command asks you to type yes, preserves other servers, and makes a .swarmtab-backup file. It refuses to overwrite an existing Swarmtab entry or backup.

Official VS Code (Copilot agent / MCP) setup guide. Setup text is copied from the app’s client guides, checked there on 2026-10-15. This page is regenerated on build.

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