Visio MCP — VS Code Extension

Thin VS Code extension that bundles the VisioMcpServer executable and registers it as an MCP server, so AI assistants in VS Code (e.g. GitHub Copilot Chat) can drive Microsoft Visio via natural language — with no manual mcp.json editing by the end user.

Distribution model

This extension is intended to be published unlisted on the Visual Studio Marketplace:

• Not searchable, not discoverable.
• Installable only by people who know the extension ID (<publisher>.visio-mcp) or have the direct install URL.
• Auto-updates work normally — bump version in package.json, run npm run publish:unlisted, and every existing customer receives the update on the next VS Code refresh.

There is no per-customer access gate in this build. Treat the install URL as private.

Prerequisites (developer)

• Node.js 20+
• .NET 8 SDK (to publish the server exe)
• A Marketplace publisher and a PAT with Marketplace (Manage) scope (only needed when actually publishing; not needed for local builds)

One-time setup

cd visio\tools\mcpserver-vscode
npm install
# Set your real publisher id in package.json (replace REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_PUBLISHER_ID)

Build a local VSIX

npm run package

This will:

1. dotnet publish VisioMcpServer as a self-contained single-file exe into ./server/.
2. Compile the TypeScript extension into ./dist/.
3. Run vsce package to produce visio-mcp-<version>.vsix.

You can install that locally with:

code --install-extension .\visio-mcp-<version>.vsix

Publish to Marketplace as unlisted

# First publish: log in once (uses a Marketplace PAT)
npx vsce login <your-publisher-id>

# Bump version in package.json, then:
npm run publish:unlisted

After the publish, go to https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/manage → your extension → More actions → Make Unlisted. (vsce currently has no flag for this; the toggle is one-time per extension.)

Future version bumps stay unlisted automatically.

Customer install

Send customers the direct URL:

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=<publisher>.visio-mcp

or the CLI command:

code --install-extension <publisher>.visio-mcp

After install, the Visio MCP server is registered automatically. In Copilot Chat (or any MCP-aware client), the customer should see Visio tools available without touching mcp.json.

Updating customers

1. Make changes in this folder and/or in the sibling mcpserver .NET project.
2. Bump version in package.json (semver).
3. npm run publish:unlisted.
4. VS Code's normal extension auto-update picks up the new version on each customer machine within hours (or immediately if they restart).