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Workspace .mcp.json is never loaded in CLI 1.0.83 — 'mcp list' shows no Workspace group #4832

Description

@ryan-knopp-elanco

Describe the bug

Copilot CLI 1.0.83 does not load workspace MCP config at all. A repo-root .mcp.json is ignored, and copilot mcp list never emits a Workspace group — only User servers:.

This is not a display-only problem: the servers are never started. The session log contains no spawn attempt for the workspace servers.

copilot mcp --help explicitly advertises the source:

Configuration is loaded from multiple sources:
  User       ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json
  Workspace  .mcp.json or .github/mcp.json
  Plugin     Installed plugins with MCP servers

Affected version

GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.83.

macOS (Apple Silicon).

Steps to reproduce

In a pristine git repo, with no .vscode/ directory and no comments in the JSON:

mkdir repro && cd repro && git init -q .
cat > .mcp.json <<'JSON'
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "repro_probe": { "type": "local", "command": "node", "args": ["server.js"] }
  }
}
JSON
copilot mcp list
copilot mcp get repro_probe

Actual behavior

$ copilot mcp list
User servers:
  linear (http)
  figma (http)

$ copilot mcp get repro_probe
Error: Server "repro_probe" not found.

copilot mcp list --json likewise contains only "source": "user" entries — no workspace entries at all.

Expected behavior

repro_probe appears under a Workspace group and is started for the session.

Ruled out

Each of these was tested individually, not assumed:

Hypothesis Result
Folder not trusted Repo has an entry in ~/.copilot/permissions-config.json with write approvals
Version too old 1.0.83; support shipped in v0.0.401 per #1291
Enterprise/managed policy Logs show managedSettings ... source=none, bypassDisabled=false
"type": "stdio" vs "local" Both ignored
mcpServers vs servers key Both ignored
.github/mcp.json path Also ignored
Comments in JSON (#4323) File is strict JSON, no comments; repro has no .vscode/mcp.json either
Not at repo root (#4765) cwd is the repo root
Servers themselves broken All start and authenticate fine when launched by hand, and work once copied into ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json

Possibly related

Impact / workaround

Workspace .mcp.json is the only version-controlled way to share MCP servers with a team. The workaround is to duplicate every server into ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json using absolute paths, which is per-machine and not version-controlled, so each person repeats the setup and the lists drift.

Activity

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