GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot reads MCP servers in VS Code from a workspace or user mcp.json file. Engram works in Copilot Chat’s Agent mode; Ask/Edit modes don’t reach MCP tools. Any Copilot plan (including the free tier) supports agent mode. Protocol background lives at MCP.

Prerequisites

Before you start, confirm:

• You have an Engram account at app.engram.page.
• At least one vault is synced. Open the Obsidian plugin or the web app and confirm notes have synced within the last day.
• You can sign in via browser. The MCP auth flow opens a browser window.

Plus the Copilot-specific:

• VS Code with the GitHub Copilot Chat extension.
• A GitHub Copilot subscription (free tier is enough).
• Copilot Chat’s mode dropdown set to Agent (not Ask or Edit).

Endpoint

https://mcp.engram.page/api/mcp

Setup

1. Add the server entry. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and run MCP: Add Server, or edit .vscode/mcp.json at your workspace root directly. (User-scope: run MCP: Open User Configuration.) VS Code uses the servers wrapper (not mcpServers) and requires "type": "http" for remote endpoints. The inputs block prompts for your Engram API key the first time the server starts, so it never lands in committed config:

{
  "servers": {
    "engram": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.engram.page/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:engram_api_key}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "engram_api_key",
      "type": "promptString",
      "password": true,
      "description": "Engram API key"
    }
  ]
}

Get a key at app.engram.page/settings/api-keys. Prefer OAuth? Drop the headers and inputs blocks. VS Code then shows an Auth code-lens above the entry and runs the OAuth flow in your browser.

2. Accept the trust prompt. VS Code shows a trust prompt the first time the server starts. Accept it. If the prompt doesn’t appear, run Developer: Reload Window.

First-run auth

For the API-key path, the inputs prompt fires once when the server first starts; VS Code stores the value in your OS keychain.

For the OAuth path, click the Auth code-lens above the engram entry in mcp.json. Your browser opens to sign in to Engram and approve the connection. The grant is the full mcp scope. Granular per-action scopes are on the roadmap.

Copilot rules

Drop the snippet below into .github/copilot-instructions.md at your repo root (project-scoped, auto-loaded) or into Copilot’s Personalization settings (user/org-wide).

Engram holds my personal notes. Treat it as your long-term memory of me. Search it when a question depends on context I might have shared before. Before saving or updating a note, ask first.

Per-language overrides go in .github/instructions/*.instructions.md with applyTo globs.

Try it

In Copilot Chat, switch the mode dropdown to Agent. Open the tools picker and confirm the engram tools are selectable. Ask:

• Search my vault for notes about the engineering interview process and summarize the top three.
• Find anything I wrote about embeddings in the last month.

Copilot calls Engram’s search (or get_note, write_note, etc.) tool, pulls back results, and answers in-context. If the tool fires, you’re set.

Troubleshooting (Copilot specific)

• Agent can’t see Engram tools. Wrong chat mode. The mode dropdown must be on Agent; Ask and Edit modes don’t reach MCP servers. The tool may also be toggled off in the tools picker. Open Configure Tools and re-enable it.
• Trust prompt never appeared after editing mcp.json. VS Code didn’t restart the server. Run MCP: List Servers, find engram, and start it. Or run Developer: Reload Window.
• Stuck OAuth loop / 401s. Run MCP: Reset Trust, remove the server entry, and re-add it. That clears any cached credentials.

For cross-client failures, see Troubleshooting.

Revocation

To disconnect GitHub Copilot from Engram:

1. In GitHub Copilot, find the connector or MCP server entry and remove it.
2. In Engram, open your account → API Keys & Sessions and revoke the matching session.
3. The OAuth token is invalidated server-side. GitHub Copilot will need to re-authenticate to reconnect.

Remove the engram block from .vscode/mcp.json (or your user config) to drop the registration locally.

Next steps

MCP Protocol overview.

Scopes What the grant covers.

All integrations Pick a different client.