World's Fair 2025
Real world MCPs in GitHub Copilot Agent Mode — Jon Peck, Microsoft
Overview
This talk introduces GitHub Copilot's Agent Mode, an advanced feature designed for completing moderately complex tasks autonomously. It moves beyond simple code completion and chat interactions to enable deep, iterative engagement with an AI agent. The presentation highlights how Agent Mode can build entire applications from a readme file or perform significant refactoring, with the developer providing permission for actions like terminal interactions.
Who should watch
- AI Engineers
- Product Managers
- Developers building AI-powered tools
- Those interested in agentic workflows
- Users looking to automate complex coding tasks
- Individuals exploring advanced IDE capabilities
Key takeaways
- Copilot Agent Mode allows for the completion of entire tasks, from greenfield app development to deep refactoring, through iterative interaction.
- The Model Context Protocol (MCP) acts as an API for AI, enabling LLMs to connect to external data sources and references.
- MCPs can be configured within the IDE (e.g., VS Code) and Copilot automatically selects the appropriate MCP for a given task.
- Developers must grant explicit permission for agents to interact with the terminal or external resources, ensuring control over operations.
- MCPs can connect to local or remote servers, including databases, and can be configured for read-only access for safety.
- A GitHub MCP server allows for direct interaction with GitHub functionalities, such as creating branches and pull requests, via the agent.
- Using readme files or specially named instruction files (e.g., `github/copilot-instructions.mmd`) can help refine agent prompts and manage iterative development.
- The "Assign Issue to Copilot" feature on GitHub allows agents to work on issues in the background, providing updates via pull requests.
Notable quotes
Agent mode is really about doing a complete task and having a deep interaction with that agent as you are building.
MCP is model context protocol. It's basically an open protocol. It's kind of an API for AI, if you will.
*I guarantee your first prompt will not be right.*
Unofficial community note. Prefer the recording for nuance.