How do I get my DingTalk App Key and App Secret?

Log in to the [DingTalk Developer Console](https://open-dev.dingtalk.com/), create an **Internal Enterprise Application**, then navigate to **App Information** > **Credentials** to find your AppKey and AppSecret. Make sure your application has the required API permissions (User Management, Department Management, Attendance, Approval) before using these tools.

Can I send messages to external contacts or only internal employees?

This MCP server uses **Internal Enterprise Application** authentication, which means it can only send messages to users within your organization's DingTalk tenant. For external contacts or customer notifications, you would need a different DingTalk application type with extended permissions. All user IDs must belong to employees in your enterprise directory.

How does the attendance tracking work? What data can I retrieve?

The attendance tool retrieves check-in/check-out records from DingTalk's attendance system. For each record, you get the user ID, timestamp, checkout type (上班签到=check-in, 下班签退=check-out), location information, and whether the attendance was normal or abnormal (late, early leave, missing punch). Date ranges are specified in YYYY-MM-DD format. This data integrates with DingTalk's physical attendance devices and mobile check-in features.

DingTalk MCP Server for VS Code Copilot 10 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: DingTalk
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/chat/mcp-servers

Built by Vinkius GDPR 10 Tools IDE

GitHub Copilot in VS Code is the most widely adopted AI coding assistant, embedded directly into the world's most popular code editor. With MCP support in Agent mode, Copilot can access external data and APIs to generate context-aware code grounded in real-time information.

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Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dingtalk": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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About DingTalk MCP Server

Connect your DingTalk (钉钉) enterprise account to any AI agent and transform your office operations through natural conversation. DingTalk is Alibaba's comprehensive B2B communication and collaboration platform used by millions of organizations for messaging, attendance tracking, approval workflows, and organizational management.

GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings DingTalk data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 10 tools. Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.

What you can do

User Management — Query employee profiles, search users by department, and retrieve contact details instantly
Department Exploration — Navigate organizational hierarchy, list departments and sub-departments, understand reporting structures
Work Notifications — Send text and markdown formatted messages to employees with rich formatting and clickable links
Attendance Tracking — Retrieve check-in/check-out records, verify timesheet data, monitor late arrivals and early departures
Approval Workflows — Create new approval instances (leave requests, reimbursements, purchases) and track their progress
Approval Status — Query approval process history, identify bottlenecks, and review decision chains
Markdown Reports — Send beautifully formatted markdown reports, alerts, and summaries to team members

The DingTalk MCP Server exposes 10 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to VS Code Copilot in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect DingTalk to VS Code Copilot via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the DingTalk MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.

Create MCP config

Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project root

Add the server config

Paste the JSON configuration above

Enable Agent mode

Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown

Start using DingTalk

Ask Copilot: "Using DingTalk, help me...". 10 tools available

Why Use VS Code Copilot with the DingTalk MCP Server

GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code provides unique advantages when paired with DingTalk through the Model Context Protocol.

VS Code is used by over 70% of developers. adding MCP tools to Copilot means your team can leverage external data without leaving their primary editor

Project-scoped MCP configs (`.vscode/mcp.json`) let you commit server configurations to your repository, ensuring the entire team shares the same tool access

Copilot's Agent mode integrates MCP tools seamlessly with file editing, terminal commands, and workspace search in a single agentic loop

GitHub's enterprise compliance and audit features extend to MCP tool usage, providing visibility into how AI interacts with external services

DingTalk + VS Code Copilot Use Cases

Practical scenarios where VS Code Copilot combined with the DingTalk MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Live API integration: Copilot can query an MCP server, inspect the response schema, and generate typed API client code in the same step

DevSecOps workflows: security teams can give developers access to domain intelligence tools directly in their editor for real-time vulnerability assessment during code review

Data pipeline development: Copilot fetches sample data via MCP and generates transformation scripts, validators, and test fixtures from actual API responses

Documentation generation: Copilot queries available tools and auto-generates README sections, API reference docs, and usage examples

DingTalk MCP Tools for VS Code Copilot (10)

These 10 tools become available when you connect DingTalk to VS Code Copilot via MCP:

create_approval_process

g., leave request, reimbursement, purchase order) by creating a new approval instance. Requires the approval template code (process_code) from your DingTalk admin, form component values matching the template structure, and the originator's user ID. Returns the process instance ID for tracking. Use this to automate approval workflows directly from AI conversations. Create a new approval workflow instance in DingTalk

get_approval_instance

Returns whether the approval is pending, approved, rejected, or cancelled, along with all reviewer actions and timestamps. Use the process instance ID obtained when creating the approval or from the approval list. Critical for tracking approval progress and understanding bottlenecks. Get status and details of an approval process instance

get_attendance_records

Returns timestamps, checkout types (上班签到/下班签退), location data, and whether the attendance was normal or abnormal (late/early leave). Essential for HR teams to monitor attendance patterns, verify timesheet data, or investigate attendance discrepancies. Date format: YYYY-MM-DD. Get employee attendance/checkout records from DingTalk

get_department_info

Use this to understand organizational hierarchy, identify department leaders, or map the reporting structure before making decisions about notification routing. Get detailed information about a DingTalk department

get_user_info

Use the user ID (userid) which can be obtained from the department user list. Essential for looking up employee details before sending targeted notifications or checking organizational structure. Get DingTalk user profile information by user ID

list_all_departments

This is the fastest way to understand the organizational structure, identify department IDs for further queries, and map team hierarchies. Use this before querying users or sub-departments to identify the correct department IDs. List all top-level departments in the DingTalk organization

list_sub_departments

Essential for exploring organizational structure, identifying team subdivisions, or mapping the complete departmental hierarchy. Start with department_id 1 to list all top-level departments in your organization. List all sub-departments under a parent department

list_users_by_department

Returns user IDs, names, avatars, and basic profile information. Useful for identifying team members before sending group notifications, checking team composition, or understanding departmental structure. Use department ID 1 for the root company directory. List all users in a specific DingTalk department

send_markdown_message

Ideal for sending structured reports, formatted alerts, or detailed notifications with clickable links. The title appears as the notification header, while the text body supports full markdown syntax including **bold**, *italic*, [hyperlinks](url), and line breaks. User IDs should be comma-separated. Send a rich formatted markdown message to DingTalk users

send_work_notification

Supports text and markdown message types. The message appears in the recipient's DingTalk work notification feed. User IDs should be comma-separated for multiple recipients. This is ideal for sending alerts, reminders, task assignments, or status updates to team members directly through DingTalk. Send a work notification message to DingTalk users

Example Prompts for DingTalk in VS Code Copilot

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your VS Code Copilot agent to start working with DingTalk immediately.

"List all users in department ID 12345."

"Send a markdown notification to user1,user2 with title 'Sprint Review' and content about tomorrow's meeting at 2pm."

"Check attendance records for user1,user2 from 2024-01-15 to 2024-01-19."

Troubleshooting DingTalk MCP Server with VS Code Copilot

Common issues when connecting DingTalk to VS Code Copilot through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

MCP tools not available

Ensure you are in Agent mode in Copilot Chat. MCP tools only appear in Agent mode.

DingTalk + VS Code Copilot FAQ

Common questions about integrating DingTalk MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.

Which VS Code version supports MCP?

MCP support requires VS Code 1.99 or later with the GitHub Copilot extension. Ensure both are updated to the latest version. Older versions of Copilot may not expose the Agent mode toggle.

How do I switch to Agent mode?

Open the Copilot Chat panel and look for two mode options: "Ask" and "Agent". Click "Agent" to enable autonomous tool calling. In Ask mode, Copilot provides conversational answers but cannot invoke MCP tools.

Can I restrict which MCP tools Copilot can access?

Yes. VS Code shows a tool consent dialog before any MCP tool is invoked for the first time. You can also configure tool access policies at the organization level through GitHub Copilot settings.

Does MCP work in VS Code Remote or Codespaces?

Yes. MCP servers configured via .vscode/mcp.json work in Remote SSH, WSL, and GitHub Codespaces environments. The MCP connection is established from the remote host, so ensure the server URL is accessible from that environment.