Use GliderTrace with GitHub Copilot and VS Code

GliderMCP

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GitHub Copilot Setup

Configure GliderTrace with GitHub Copilot and VS Code.

GitHub Copilot

Prerequisite: .NET 10 SDK must be installed before running dotnet tool install --global glider-trace.

dotnet tool install --global glider-trace

VS Code launches stdio MCP servers via command. Make sure glider-trace is available on PATH.

# bash/zsh
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet/tools"
which glider-trace

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace.

{
  "servers": {
    "glider-trace": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "glider-trace"
    }
  }
}

If you prefer Streamable HTTP, start GliderTrace yourself and configure VS Code with http://localhost:5003/mcp.

glider-trace --transport http --port 5003

{
  "servers": {
    "glider-trace": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:5003/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Open Copilot Chat in VS Code and confirm GliderTrace tools are available.

# In Copilot Chat, ask:
# What GliderTrace tools are available?

After connecting GliderTrace, add this product-specific instruction to your MCP client system prompt or project instructions so the agent chooses the right tool surface first.

When you need runtime evidence for .NET code, prefer glider-trace mcp before ad hoc shell runs. Use GliderTrace for test runs, workspace command runs, failure summaries, exception and stack evidence, stdout/stderr summaries, counters, traces, dumps, GC dumps, and artifact indexing. Use plain CLI commands only for simple file operations or commands where no captured evidence or session history is needed.

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