DevAssist MCP Server Extension
🚀 DevAssist brings intelligent document generation, Azure DevOps integration, and UML diagram creation directly to GitHub Copilot in VS Code.
✨ New in v1.0.4: DevAssist now works globally across all VS Code windows! No more workspace-specific configuration required.
🎯 What This Extension Does
DevAssist is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server that extends GitHub Copilot with powerful tools for enterprise development workflows. Once installed, these tools are automatically available in GitHub Copilot Agent Mode across all your VS Code workspaces.
| Tool |
Description |
Example Prompt |
generate_doc |
Generate comprehensive technical documents from multiple data sources using AI |
"Generate a design document for the authentication module" |
get_ado_work_item_metadata |
Fetch and format Azure DevOps work item details including title, description, state, comments |
"Get details for ADO work item 12345" |
generate_uml_image |
Create UML diagrams (class, sequence, activity, etc.) from PlantUML specifications |
"Create a sequence diagram for the login flow" |
convert_doc_to_markdown |
Convert Word (.docx) and HTML documents to well-structured Markdown |
"Convert this Word doc to Markdown" |
search_emails |
Search Outlook emails by keywords, sender, date range |
"Search my emails for project status updates from last week" |
get_email_content |
Fetch and extract content from specific emails |
"Get the content of that email thread" |
query_substrate_llm |
Query and analyze codebases using Substrate LLM for code understanding |
"Explain how the authentication module works in Substrate" |
⚡ Quick Start
Installation
- Download the
.vsix file from your internal repository
- Open VS Code → Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Click
... menu → Install from VSIX...
- Select the downloaded file
- Restart VS Code
That's it! DevAssist will automatically register with GitHub Copilot.
First-Time Setup
On first activation, DevAssist will prompt you to install Python dependencies. Click "Install" to set up the virtual environment automatically.
🔧 Configuration
Configure DevAssist through VS Code settings (Ctrl+,) → Search "DevAssist":
| Setting |
Description |
Required |
devassist.autoStart |
Auto-start server on VS Code launch |
No (default: true) |
devassist.pythonPath |
Custom Python path (uses system Python if empty) |
No |
devassist.adoOrganization |
Azure DevOps organization name |
For ADO tools |
devassist.adoProject |
Azure DevOps project name |
For ADO tools |
devassist.adoPat |
Azure DevOps Personal Access Token |
For ADO tools |
Environment Variables (Alternative)
You can also configure via environment variables in the extension's secrets/ folder:
ado.env - Azure DevOps credentialsgraph.env - Microsoft Graph API credentials (for email)substrate_llm.env - Substrate LLM endpoint
💬 Usage with GitHub Copilot
Once installed, open Copilot Chat in Agent Mode and try these prompts:
📝 "Generate a technical design document for work item 54321"
🔗 "Fetch the details of ADO bug 12345 and summarize the issue"
🎨 "Create a class diagram showing the relationship between User, Role, and Permission"
📄 "Convert the attached Word document to Markdown"
📧 "Search my emails for 'quarterly review' from the last month"
🤖 "Query Substrate: How does the authentication flow work?"
📋 Commands
| Command |
Description |
DevAssist: Start MCP Server |
Manually start the server |
DevAssist: Stop MCP Server |
Stop the running server |
DevAssist: Show Server Status |
View status and quick actions |
DevAssist: Setup Dependencies |
Reinstall Python dependencies |
DevAssist: Configure Settings |
Open settings page |
🔍 Troubleshooting
Server not appearing in Copilot?
- Check the status bar shows "✓ DevAssist"
- Open Output panel → "DevAssist MCP" to see logs
- Run
DevAssist: Start MCP Server command
Python errors?
- Ensure Python 3.8+ is installed
- Run
DevAssist: Setup Dependencies to reinstall
- Verify your PAT has correct permissions
- Check organization/project names in settings
📦 Building from Source
cd vscode-extension
npm install
npm run compile
npm run package # Creates .vsix file
📄 License
MIT License - See LICENSE for details.
