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VS Code and GitHub Copilot browser MCP

Give VS Code agents a browser that stays available.

Hronaut runs a separate visible Chromium application. Local VS Code agents connect over loopback MCP while named browser workspaces, tabs, sign-ins, and storage remain under Hronaut's lifecycle and human controls.

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Hronaut is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft or GitHub.

Local MCP endpoint

http://127.0.0.1:47812/mcp

This endpoint is deliberately loopback-only. VS Code and Hronaut must run on the same machine and network boundary; Hronaut does not provide a remote browser endpoint for cloud agents.

Use the built-in option when it fits

VS Code already has capable built-in browser tools.

Current VS Code browser tools can navigate, interact, inspect, take screenshots, and run focused Playwright code without an external MCP server. Agent-opened pages use isolated ephemeral sessions, while a page you explicitly share with Share with Agent can expose that tab's existing cookies, storage, and sign-in state. For task-local web development or one shared integrated-browser tab, start there. Official built-in browser documentation ↗ Official browser-session modes ↗

Built into VS Code

Task-local validation

Use the integrated browser when the agent should open an isolated page, test the app it is editing, and finish inside one VS Code session.

Shared integrated tab

One authenticated page

Use Share with Agent when you deliberately want the current VS Code agent to interact with an existing integrated-browser tab.

Separate desktop lifecycle

Durable named workspaces

Use Hronaut when the browser should stay independently visible, survive client reconnects, keep multiple named profiles, and remain available to other compatible MCP clients.

Human control

Pause and take over

Watch the dedicated browser, pause MCP before a sensitive step, interact manually, then resume the agent in the same Hronaut workspace.

Local user-profile setup

Connect Hronaut to VS Code.

Run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette and add this server to the servers object. User-profile configuration makes it available to local agent sessions across workspaces without committing it to a repository.

Authentication disabled

User mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "hronaut": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:47812/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code first tries the HTTP Stream transport for type: "http". Official HTTP MCP configuration ↗

Authentication enabled

Copy from Hronaut Home

Enable Require MCP authentication, then copy the generated VS Code/Copilot configuration from Hronaut Home. Keep the owner token in local user configuration; do not commit it to .vscode/mcp.json, .mcp.json, screenshots, issues, or chat.

For Copilot Agent Host portability, current VS Code documentation also describes workspace .mcp.json and user ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json. Loopback Hronaut still requires the agent host to share the local machine boundary. Official configuration-location note ↗

Verify before using a login

Prove the local connection in an isolated workspace.

  1. 1

    Start and inspect the server

    Start Hronaut, run MCP: List Servers, select hronaut, and inspect its status or output. VS Code may ask you to trust the server configuration on first start.

  2. 2

    Enable only the relevant tools

    Open Configure Tools in the Chat view and confirm that the Hronaut tools needed for this check are available. A smaller tool set gives the agent a clearer choice.

  3. 3

    Create a clean first workspace

    Ask: “Create a Hronaut workspace named first-check, open https://example.com inside it, and tell me the page title and workspace ID. Do not use my Default workspace.”

  4. 4

    Confirm the observable result

    A separate visible first-check Hronaut workspace opens Example Domain, and the VS Code agent reports its stable workspace ID.

Security boundary

Keep browser authority local, explicit, and reviewable.

A new Hronaut profile starts without MCP authentication for simple local setup. In that mode, another process running as your operating-system user could connect. Before using valuable signed-in sessions, enable Require MCP authentication and copy the exact token-aware configuration from Hronaut Home.

Websites can contain prompt injection, and a persistent authenticated workspace carries the authority of every site signed in inside it. Review surprising tool requests, keep unrelated identities in separate workspaces, and pause MCP before entering passwords, security keys, payment details, or other human-only information.

Choose deliberately

Use VS Code's browser for a VS Code task. Use Hronaut for a browser you own across tasks.

Hronaut does not replace VS Code's built-in browser feedback loop. It adds a different ownership boundary: a separate visible desktop process, explicit pause and takeover, named persistent workspaces, and continuity across compatible MCP clients.

Last verified against official VS Code documentation at commit 18c1614 on August 27, 2026.

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