Fix MCP config generation when AWF firewall is disabled #12664

Copilot · 2026-01-30T03:39:47Z

Original prompt

When the awf firewall is disabled, it seems like the copilot CLI is not told to start the GitHub MCP server. Can you fix that?

💬 We'd love your input! Share your thoughts on Copilot coding agent in our 2 minute survey.

When sandbox/firewall is disabled (sandbox: false), the mcp-config.json file was not being created for Copilot CLI. This meant that MCP servers like the GitHub MCP server were not available to the agent. Changes: - Add SkipGatewayStartup option to JSONMCPConfigOptions to write MCP config directly without starting the gateway - Add RenderMCPConfigWithoutGateway method to CopilotEngine - Add else-if block in mcp_setup_generator.go to handle sandbox-disabled case with MCP tools configured - Refactor Copilot MCP config options into shared helper function Co-authored-by: Mossaka <[email protected]>

- Fix misleading comments about "local stdio processes" - Add directory creation before MCP config rendering - Improve fallback warning for engines without RenderMCPConfigWithoutGateway Co-authored-by: Mossaka <[email protected]>

github-actions · 2026-01-30T06:27:44Z

🔍 PR Triage Results

Category: bug | Risk: low | Priority: 50/100

Scores Breakdown

Impact: 40/50 - Bug fix addressing MCP config generation
Urgency: 0/30 - New PR, not urgent
Quality: 10/20 - Pending CI, good description

📋 Recommended Action: batch_review

This PR fixes MCP config generation when AWF firewall is disabled. The fix ensures Copilot CLI has access to configured MCP servers.

Batch: batch-bug-low-001

Triaged by PR Triage Agent on 2026-01-30

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Mossaka · 2026-01-30T07:48:30Z

@copilot copy and paste the smoke-copilot workflow but make the firewall off. (keep everything else the same)

Copy of smoke-copilot.md with sandbox: false to test MCP config generation when firewall is disabled. Co-authored-by: Mossaka <[email protected]>

Copilot · 2026-01-30T07:53:35Z

@copilot copy and paste the smoke-copilot workflow but make the firewall off. (keep everything else the same)

Added smoke-copilot-no-firewall.md workflow in 38e79df. It's a copy of smoke-copilot.md with sandbox: false and strict: false added, and the label names updated to avoid conflicts. The compiled lock file shows the "Write MCP configuration" step is now properly generated.

github-actions · 2026-01-30T12:23:40Z

🔍 PR Triage Results

Category: bug | Risk: medium | Priority: 55/100

Scores Breakdown

Impact: 40/50 - Bug fixes have high impact
Urgency: 0/30 - Recent PR, standard timeline
Quality: 15/20 - Good PR quality with detailed description

📋 Recommended Action: Batch Review

This PR is part of batch review: batch-bug-medium-001

Multiple similar PRs can be reviewed together for efficiency.

Next Step: Review with other PRs in the same batch.

Triaged by PR Triage Agent on 2026-01-30 12:21 UTC - Run #21515504739

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pelikhan · 2026-01-30T14:39:25Z

@copilot merge main and recompile

github-actions · 2026-02-02T16:14:40Z

🧪 Smoke Project is now testing project operations...

Mossaka · 2026-02-02T16:15:04Z

@copilot looking at the generated action yml file for the smoke-no-firewall. I still don't find how copilot CLI was using MCP because the mcp config is not feed into the copilot CLI.

copilot --add-dir /tmp/ --add-dir /tmp/gh-aw/ --add-dir /tmp/gh-aw/agent/ --log-level all --log-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/agent/logs/ --disable-builtin-mcps --allow-all-tools --add-dir /tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory/ --allow-all-paths --share /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/agent/logs/conversation.md --prompt "$COPILOT_CLI_INSTRUCTION"${GH_AW_MODEL_AGENT_COPILOT:+ --model "$GH_AW_MODEL_AGENT_COPILOT"} 2>&1 | tee /tmp/gh-aw/agent-stdio.log

please fix this

github-actions · 2026-02-02T16:17:11Z

Agent Container Tool Check

Tool	Status	Version
bash	✅	5.2.21
sh	✅	available
git	✅	2.52.0
jq	✅	1.7
yq	✅	4.50.1
curl	✅	8.5.0
gh	✅	2.86.0
node	✅	24.13.0
python3	✅	3.13.11
go	✅	1.24.12
java	❌	command not found
dotnet	❌	command not found

Result: 10/12 tools available ⚠️

Missing tools:

java - Java runtime not available
dotnet - .NET runtime not available

All core development tools (shell, git, JSON/YAML processing, HTTP, GitHub CLI, Node.js, Python, Go) are available and functional.

AI generated by Agent Container Smoke Test

github-actions · 2026-02-02T16:18:15Z

🧪 Smoke Test Complete - Run 21597875170

PR Titles:

Use XML comment markers for agentic workflow detection #13309: Use XML comment markers for agentic workflow detection
Refactor project URLs and GitHub token in workflow #13305: Refactor project URLs and GitHub token in workflow

Results:

✅ GitHub MCP
✅ Safe Inputs GH CLI
✅ Serena MCP
✅ Playwright
✅ File Writing
✅ Bash Tool
✅ Discussion Interaction
✅ Build gh-aw
✅ Workflow Dispatch

Overall Status: PASS ✅

cc @Mossaka @Copilot

AI generated by Smoke Copilot

github-actions · 2026-02-02T16:18:27Z

✅ Smoke Project completed successfully. All project operations validated.

github-actions · 2026-02-02T16:18:34Z

📰 VERDICT: Smoke Copilot has concluded. All systems operational. This is a developing story. 🎤

github-actions · 2026-02-02T16:19:08Z

Smoke Test Results

Last 2 Merged PRs:

Use XML comment markers for agentic workflow detection #13309: Use XML comment markers for agentic workflow detection
Refactor project URLs and GitHub token in workflow #13305: Refactor project URLs and GitHub token in workflow

Test Status:

✅ GitHub MCP
✅ Safe Inputs GH CLI
✅ Serena MCP
✅ Make Build
✅ Playwright
✅ Tavily Search
✅ File Creation
✅ Bash Tools
✅ Discussion Comment

Overall Status: PASS

AI generated by Smoke Claude

github-actions · 2026-02-02T16:19:32Z

PR titles: Use XML comment markers for agentic workflow detection | Refactor project URLs and GitHub token in workflow
1 GitHub MCP ✅, 2 safeinputs-gh ✅, 3 Serena activate ✅
4 Playwright title ✅, 5 Tavily search ✅, 6 File write ✅
7 Bash cat ✅, 8 Discussion comment ✅, 9 Build ✅
Overall: PASS

AI generated by Smoke Codex

…ntainer-based tools When sandbox is disabled (sandbox: false), the MCP config was generated with container-based MCP servers (github with Docker, playwright, serena, agentic-workflows) that don't work without the sandbox/container runtime. Changes: - Force GitHub MCP to remote mode when sandbox is disabled (Docker unavailable) - Filter out container-based MCP tools (playwright, serena, agentic-workflows) - Keep HTTP-based MCP servers (safeinputs, safeoutputs) that work without Docker Co-authored-by: Mossaka <[email protected]>

Copilot · 2026-02-02T16:26:23Z

@copilot looking at the generated action yml file for the smoke-no-firewall. I still don't find how copilot CLI was using MCP because the mcp config is not feed into the copilot CLI.
...

Fixed in a397376. The issue was that when sandbox is disabled, container-based MCP servers (github with Docker, playwright, serena, agentic-workflows) don't work because Docker is not available.

Changes:

GitHub MCP now automatically switches to remote mode (HTTP to api.githubcopilot.com) when sandbox is disabled
Container-based tools (playwright, serena, agentic-workflows) are filtered out since they require Docker
HTTP-based tools (safeinputs, safeoutputs) continue to work as they don't need Docker

The MCP config now only contains servers that can actually run on the host without the container runtime.

Mossaka · 2026-02-02T16:40:26Z

@copilot "because Docker is not available." Why? I thought docker is enabled in the github action runner by default.

Copilot · 2026-02-02T16:45:04Z

@copilot "because Docker is not available." Why? I thought docker is enabled in the github action runner by default.

You're right - Docker is available on the runner. My explanation was incorrect.

The actual issue is that the MCP Gateway (awmg) is not running when sandbox is disabled. The MCP Gateway is the component that reads the mcp-config.json and manages Docker containers for stdio-based MCP servers. When you disable the sandbox:

AWF (firewall) doesn't run
MCP Gateway (awmg) doesn't start
Copilot CLI reads mcp-config.json directly but doesn't know how to spawn Docker containers from the "container" field - that's the Gateway's job

The current fix switches to HTTP-based servers (remote GitHub MCP, safeinputs, safeoutputs) that work without the Gateway.

If you want container-based MCP servers without the full AWF sandbox, we'd need to start the MCP Gateway separately. Would you like me to explore that approach?

Mossaka · 2026-02-02T16:48:09Z

@copilot

"Copilot CLI reads mcp-config.json directly but doesn't know how to spawn Docker containers from the "container" field - that's the Gateway's job"

The mcp-config.json should be changed to be syntactically correct for copilot CLI / codex / claude code to parse. For e example, the container field shold be removed and the command should have docker.

When sandbox is disabled, use "command": "docker" format with inline args instead of "container" field format. This allows Copilot CLI, Claude Code, and Codex to spawn Docker containers directly without the MCP Gateway. Changes: - Add UseDirectDockerCommand option to MCPRendererOptions - Add RenderGitHubMCPDirectDockerConfig for direct docker format - Update RenderPlaywrightMCP to support direct docker format - Update RenderSerenaMCP to support direct docker format - Update RenderAgenticWorkflowsMCP to support direct docker format - Remove container-based tools filter (they now work via Docker CLI) Co-authored-by: Mossaka <[email protected]>

Copilot · 2026-02-02T16:58:57Z

@copilot

"Copilot CLI reads mcp-config.json directly but doesn't know how to spawn Docker containers from the "container" field - that's the Gateway's job"
...

Fixed in 01d793c. The MCP config now uses "command": "docker" format with inline args that Copilot CLI can directly execute:

"github": {
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "docker",
  "args": [
    "run", "-i", "--rm",
    "-e", "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=${GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN}",
    "-e", "GITHUB_READ_ONLY=1",
    "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v0.30.2"
  ]
}

All container-based MCP servers (github, playwright, serena, agentic-workflows) now use this format when sandbox is disabled.

github-actions · 2026-02-02T18:23:06Z

🔍 PR Triage Results

Category: bug | Risk: high | Priority: 63/100

Scores Breakdown

Impact: 40/50 - Bug fix (high impact on stability); 7 files changed
Urgency: 16/30 - 3 days old; Bug fixes are urgent
Quality: 7/20 - CI pending; Detailed description; Iterative development (13 commits)

📋 Recommended Action: batch_review

This PR fixes an important bug in MCP config generation when the AWF firewall is disabled. While urgent, the iterative development (13 commits, 44 comments) suggests thorough refinement. Batch review recommended to ensure no regressions.

Batch: This PR is part of batch-bug-001 for efficient group review.

Triaged by PR Triage Agent on 2026-02-02

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Initial plan

00e3dc3

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and Mossaka Jan 30, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of Mossaka January 30, 2026 03:40 View session

Mossaka marked this pull request as ready for review January 30, 2026 03:56

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Jan 30, 2026

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21503889463 #12668

Closed

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Fix copilot CLI to start GitHub MCP server when firewall is disabled~~ Fix MCP config generation when AWF firewall is disabled Jan 30, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from Mossaka January 30, 2026 04:05

Copilot finished work on behalf of Mossaka January 30, 2026 04:05

github-actions bot added pr-action:batch_review pr-agent:copilot pr-priority:medium pr-risk:low pr-type:bug pr-batch:batch-bug-low-001 labels Jan 30, 2026

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/fix-copilot-cli-server-start

3c4f9b4

Copilot started work on behalf of Mossaka January 30, 2026 07:48 View session

Add smoke-copilot-no-firewall workflow for testing sandbox disabled

38e79df

Copy of smoke-copilot.md with sandbox: false to test MCP config generation when firewall is disabled. Co-authored-by: Mossaka <[email protected]>

Copilot finished work on behalf of Mossaka January 30, 2026 07:54

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Jan 30, 2026

[team-status] Daily Team Status - Thursday, January 30, 2026 🌟 #12712

Closed

7 tasks

github-actions bot added pr-action:batch-review pr-risk:medium pr-batch:batch-bug-medium-001 labels Jan 30, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of Mossaka February 2, 2026 16:15 View session

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Feb 2, 2026

Smoke Test: Project Operations - 21597875220 #13314

Closed

github-actions bot added smoke-project and removed smoke-project labels Feb 2, 2026

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Feb 2, 2026

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21597875170 #13316

Closed

github-actions bot removed the smoke label Feb 2, 2026

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Feb 2, 2026

Smoke Test: Claude - 21597875138 #13317

Closed

Copilot finished work on behalf of Mossaka February 2, 2026 16:27

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/fix-copilot-cli-server-start

49dca80

Copilot started work on behalf of Mossaka February 2, 2026 16:40 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of Mossaka February 2, 2026 16:46

Copilot started work on behalf of Mossaka February 2, 2026 16:48 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of Mossaka February 2, 2026 16:59

pelikhan closed this Feb 2, 2026

Fix MCP config generation when AWF firewall is disabled #12664

Fix MCP config generation when AWF firewall is disabled #12664

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