Connect VS Code and GitHub Copilot to AutoCAD

GitHub Copilot Chat in VS Code can use MCP tools when it works as an agent. Add CADshift once, to Copilot Global, so every workspace has it. Copilot Global is GitHub Copilot’s own MCP file, mcp-config.json in Copilot’s settings folder (%USERPROFILE%\.copilot).

The quick way is the installer’s Connect your assistant page, or one command (--register vscode). Either writes CADshift into Copilot Global (below) and leaves VS Code’s mcp.json alone, so CADshift is listed once. VS Code Insiders reads the same file, and so does GitHub Copilot CLI.

Add it with the guided flow

Press Ctrl+Shift+P and run MCP: Add Server.
Choose Command (stdio).
Paste the full path of the server (single backslashes), for example C:\Users\YOUR-NAME\AppData\Local\Programs\CADshift\AutoCAD MCP\server\cadshift-mcp-autocad.exe. It takes no arguments.
Enter cadshift-autocad as the server ID.
For where to save it, choose Global, then Copilot Global.

This is the same file the installer and --register vscode write, so if one of them has already added CADshift, there is nothing to do.

VS Code may ask you to trust the server the first time it starts. Allow it.

Edit the file

Copilot Global is %USERPROFILE%\.copilot\mcp-config.json. It uses the same mcpServers shape as the other apps:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cadshift-autocad": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:\\Users\\YOUR-NAME\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\CADshift\\AutoCAD MCP\\server\\cadshift-mcp-autocad.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR-NAME with your Windows user name (how to find the path).

If you have moved Copilot’s settings folder somewhere else, the file is in that folder instead: VS Code reads only one of the two places.

Already set up in mcp.json?

VS Code still reads the workspace .vscode/mcp.json and your user profile’s mcp.json (%APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json). The guided flow labels those destinations deprecated, but they keep working. That file uses servers (not mcpServers) and needs "type": "stdio" on each server. If you keep CADshift there, keep it out of Copilot Global, or it can be listed twice.

Check it

Run MCP: List Servers. cadshift-autocad is there; from its menu, Start Server if it isn’t running, and Show Output to see its log.
Open the Chat view and pick Agent in the chat box.
Run Chat: Open Customizations and choose Tools (in a Local session, Configure Tools in the chat input): the CADshift tools are listed.
Open AutoCAD with a drawing and ask: “Use CADshift to list the layers in the open drawing.”

If CADshift is in Copilot Global but not in MCP: List Servers, check that discovery from GitHub Copilot CLI is still on: open Settings, search for MCP discovery (chat.mcp.discovery.enabled), and make sure the GitHub Copilot CLI source is turned on.

Your organisation can limit which MCP servers Copilot may use. If CADshift is blocked, ask whoever manages your GitHub Copilot plan.

Official guides: Add and manage MCP servers in VS Code, the MCP configuration reference and Manage and troubleshoot MCP servers.