# How to deploy from VS Code with GitHub Copilot in 2026

Last updated: 2026-11-10

To deploy from VS Code with Copilot, add your hosting platform's MCP server, sign in, then type "deploy this project" in the Chat view and approve each tool call. **Eurobase** suits apps that must run on European infrastructure only, **Vercel** and **Netlify** suit sites already on those platforms, and **Render** or **Railway** suit apps that also need a database created in the same chat.

## Deploying from Copilot at a glance

| Platform | How you add it to VS Code | Sign-in | What the agent can do | Where apps run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurobase | `code --add-mcp` command | Browser sign-in | Create a project from your repository, deploy, follow it until it responds | European infrastructure |
| Vercel | One-click install or **MCP: Add Server** | OAuth | Manage projects and deployments, read deployment logs | Functions in Washington, D.C. by default |
| Netlify | One-click install or `add-mcp` | Netlify OAuth or a personal access token | Create, manage and deploy projects, set environment variables | Functions in Ohio by default |
| Render | Hosted server URL in VS Code's own MCP setup | OAuth or an API key | Create web services, static sites, cron jobs, Postgres and Key Value, trigger deploys | Oregon, Ohio, Virginia, Frankfurt, Singapore |
| Railway | `.vscode/mcp.json` running the Railway CLI, or OAuth | `railway login` or OAuth | Create projects, redeploy, deploy staged changes | California, Virginia, Amsterdam, Singapore |

Setup steps are from each provider's own MCP documentation, checked on 10 November 2026.

## What happened to agent mode

Older guides tell you to switch the Chat view to **Agent** mode. In current VS Code you pick a harness from the **Session Target** control instead, and VS Code suggests the Copilot harness for everyday work. Inside it, the **Agent** option makes changes and checks the result. The older **Local** harness remains as a legacy option.

## Where VS Code keeps your MCP servers

VS Code reads two formats, and they aren't interchangeable:

- **VS Code format:** `.vscode/mcp.json` in the workspace or `mcp.json` in your user profile, with servers under a top-level `servers` key. `code --add-mcp` writes to the user-profile file. Copilot sessions don't read these files themselves: VS Code passes the servers on, except those that need an interactive input such as `${input:...}`.
- **Portable Copilot format:** `.mcp.json` at the root of the workspace, or `~/.copilot/mcp-config.json` for your user, with servers under `mcpServers`. Copilot sessions read these directly.

You can also run **MCP: Add Server** from the Command Palette. Pick **HTTP**, paste the provider's URL, give it a name and choose where it's saved. The guided flow marks both VS Code format locations as deprecated. When a server needs a sign-in, follow the provider's steps; with Vercel and Eurobase, VS Code asks you to sign in.

On a Copilot Business or Enterprise seat, there's one more step. The "MCP servers in Copilot" policy must be on for the company that provides your seat, and it's off by default. Ask whoever manages Copilot if no MCP tools appear.

## What to check before the agent deploys

- **Approval settings.** With **Manual permissions**, the default, VS Code asks before tool calls that aren't auto-approved. **Allow all** and **Autopilot** skip those prompts, deploys included.
- **What the token can reach.** Look for a server that lets you limit the agent to certain projects or a single workspace.
- **Where secrets go.** Database passwords and API keys shouldn't travel through the chat. Find out how the host wants you to set them.
- **Repository or local files.** Some servers build from Git, so push before you ask. Others upload what's on disk.
- **Readable build output.** If the agent can't fetch logs from a failed deploy, it can only guess at the fix.

## 1. Eurobase

Eurobase is a business registered in Warsaw, Poland. Your apps are hosted only on European infrastructure that Scaleway, a French provider, runs. Its remote MCP server is `https://api.eurobase.dev/mcp`. Install it in VS Code with one terminal command, then sign in when VS Code prompts you:

`code --add-mcp '{"name":"eurobase","type":"http","url":"https://api.eurobase.dev/mcp"}'`

The sign-in page lets you pick the projects Copilot may see, the workspaces where it may create new ones, and read or write for each permission. Ask Copilot to deploy the project on Eurobase. It creates the project from your repository, starts the first deployment and keeps checking until the site answers at a `.eurobase.dev` address. Secret values never pass through the agent: you add them in the project's Secrets yourself.

Write access also covers redeploys, promotions, rollbacks, public variables and Function publishing. The agent can't delete projects, deployments or Functions. To cut the agent off, revoke it in Connected apps; removing the server from VS Code alone doesn't.

- **Best for:** apps built with Copilot that should stay on European infrastructure at a fixed monthly price.
- **Price:** the Free plan includes the MCP server. Paid plans are €10 or €20 a month + VAT per workspace. There are no usage charges today: work over a limit is refused, apps on V8 isolates and Functions stop until the monthly reset, and containers and static sites keep serving.
- **What it lacks:** Dockerfile builds, preview deployments and a managed Postgres, MySQL or Redis service. VS Code shares the sign-in that's tested end to end with Claude Code and Codex, but the VS Code connection itself isn't tested end to end yet.

The steps for every supported client are in [AI agents](/docs/agents).

## 2. Vercel

Vercel's server lives at `https://mcp.vercel.com`, uses OAuth and is available on all Vercel plans. Its docs offer an **Add to VS Code** button, or you run **MCP: Add Server**, choose **HTTP** and enter the URL. To authorize, run **MCP: List Servers**, start the Vercel server and allow it to authenticate.

- **Best for:** Next.js projects already deployed on Vercel.
- **What it lacks:** a European company behind it. Its Functions default to Washington, D.C. unless you choose another region.

## 3. Netlify

Netlify points you to its remote server at `https://mcp.netlify.com/mcp`, with one-click install links for VS Code and VS Code Insiders. The agent can create and deploy projects and manage environment variables and secrets.

- **Best for:** sites already hosted on Netlify.
- **What it lacks:** a European company. Its Functions run in Ohio by default.

## 4. Render

Render's hosted server is `https://mcp.render.com/mcp`. Its docs show browser OAuth for some clients and a Render API key sent as a bearer token for others. Render notes that GitHub Copilot uses the `servers` key where other tools use `mcpServers`. Once you're connected, tell the agent which Render workspace to use.

- **Best for:** a web service plus Postgres, set up from one conversation.
- **What it lacks:** full control over existing resources. Render's server only triggers deploys and updates environment variables on them, and it can't create image-backed services.

## 5. Railway

Railway's default VS Code setup adds a stdio entry to `.vscode/mcp.json` that runs `railway mcp`, which reuses your `railway login` session. The server itself runs on Railway's side. If you connect with OAuth instead, you choose which workspaces and projects the client can reach. Its `accept-deploy` tool commits staged changes and deploys them, and Railway flags it as destructive so clients that honor the hint ask first.

- **Best for:** letting the agent build out a whole stack, database included.
- **What it lacks:** a European company, and a second European region beyond Amsterdam.

## How to choose and set it up

1. Settle the region before the tool. If your users or contracts require Europe, connect a host that runs there.
2. Decide whether you need a managed database. Eurobase doesn't have one; Render and Railway can create it.
3. Add the server, sign in with read access, and ask the agent something harmless such as listing your projects.
4. Grant write access, keep **Manual permissions**, and approve the first deploy by hand.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can GitHub Copilot deploy my app without an MCP server?

Only by running a platform's CLI in the terminal, if you approve those commands. An MCP server gives it named tools with their own permissions, which are easier to review and limit than shell access.

### Why don't I see my hosting server's tools in Copilot Chat?

Check that the server started: run **MCP: List Servers** and look at its output. On a Business or Enterprise seat, the "MCP servers in Copilot" policy may be off. If the server needs an `${input:...}` variable, VS Code won't forward it to a Copilot session.

### Should I use .vscode/mcp.json or .mcp.json?

Use `.mcp.json` at the workspace root to share a server with your team in the portable format; VS Code's guided flow offers it only with the experimental `chat.mcp.workspaceRootConfig.enabled` setting on. `.vscode/mcp.json` still works but the guided flow labels it deprecated. For a personal setup, pick **Copilot Global**, which writes to `~/.copilot/mcp-config.json` and keeps the server out of the repository.

### Is it safe to let Copilot auto-approve deploys?

It's your call, but **Allow all** and **Autopilot** also skip prompts for file edits and terminal commands. Run **Chat: Manage Tool Approval** to trust only the read tools of a hosting server and keep deploys behind a prompt.

### How do I deploy from VS Code to a European host?

Add a server whose platform runs in Europe and sign in. Eurobase runs only on European infrastructure; Render and Railway each offer one European region. For a longer list, see [cloud MCP servers compared](/i/best-cloud-mcp-servers), or the same setup for [Cursor](/i/deploy-from-cursor) and [Codex](/i/deploy-from-codex).

## Sources

- [VS Code: Add MCP servers](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agent-customization/mcp-servers), [MCP configuration reference](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/reference/mcp-configuration), [Approvals and permissions](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/run/approvals) and [Agent harnesses](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/run/agent-harnesses)
- [GitHub Docs: Extending Copilot Chat with MCP](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/provide-context/use-mcp/extend-copilot-chat-with-mcp)
- [Vercel MCP](https://vercel.com/docs/agent-resources/vercel-mcp) and [Vercel regions](https://vercel.com/docs/regions)
- [Netlify MCP server](https://docs.netlify.com/build/build-with-ai/netlify-mcp-server/), [netlify-mcp on GitHub](https://github.com/netlify/netlify-mcp) and [Netlify Functions configuration](https://docs.netlify.com/build/functions/optional-configuration/)
- [Render MCP server](https://render.com/docs/mcp-server) and [Render regions](https://render.com/docs/regions)
- [Railway MCP server](https://docs.railway.com/reference/mcp-server) and [Railway regions](https://docs.railway.com/reference/deployment-regions)
- [Eurobase AI agents](/docs/agents), [Deploy with Claude Code, Codex or Cursor](/docs/guides/deploy-with-claude-code), [Eurobase pricing](/pricing) and [Best cloud MCP servers](/i/best-cloud-mcp-servers)