We’re excited to announce that MCP Registry and Allowlist Controls in GitHub Copilot for Xcode are now available in public preview in pre-release builds. These capabilities help Xcode developers discover, install, and manage Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers directly in the IDE, while giving administrators enterprise-grade control over which servers can run.

What’s new

MCP Registry

An MCP Registry is a directory of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. With Copilot in Xcode, you can now browse, install, or uninstall MCP servers from the registry —making setup fast and seamless.

Allowlist Controls

Admins can configure which MCP servers are available to developers and enforce registry-only mode when needed.

Note: This is an early public preview and may evolve based on feedback. Current enforcement uses server name matching; additional validation and more granular policies are planned. For details, see the official docs: Configure MCP server access.

Set up your MCP Registry

In Xcode:

1. Open GitHub Copilot for Xcode, sign in, and click Configure MCP server in the Copilot chat panel.
2. Under MCP Registry URL, click Browse MCP Servers… to view and manage servers.
3. (Optionally) click Edit URL to specify your preferred registry endpoint, or use the default provided.

For admins: configure Allowlist Controls

Allowlist Controls are available for Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise customers.

1. In GitHub Enterprise settings → AI Controls tab → MCP (or at the org level: Organization settings → Policies → Copilot → Policies).
2. Enable MCP servers in Copilot.
3. Add your MCP Registry URL.
4. Choose enforcement mode:
   • Allow all (default): Any MCP server can run; registry servers appear as recommended.
   • Registry only: Only servers from your registry can run; others are blocked at runtime with a clear warning.

Try it out

Try it today in the pre-release version of Copilot for Xcode. You will also need to have a valid Copilot license. Get started with our official documentation.

Share your feedback

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share feedback via the GitHub Copilot for Xcode Feedback channel to help us continue improving the product.