Can my AI agent trigger vulnerability scans directly?

Yes! You can ask your agent to list all mapped scan profiles. Once you copy the ID for something like 'External Perimeter Quick Scan', you can tell the agent to seamlessly launch that specific scan ID out of standard bounds.

How easy is it to investigate an alert about a single compromised asset?

Extremely fast. If an IP triggers an alert downstream, ask your agent to retrieve asset details tracking that IP, obtain its specific Asset ID, and immediately pull vulnerabilities. You will instantly get a markdown table of CVEs missing on the endpoint without complex GUI clicking.

Can the agent interact with scanner appliances (Nessus)?

Yes. It can fetch your entire scanner inventory across Tenable.io. This includes the internal Nessus agents linked to the account, their connection status, license states, and underlying software versions so you know if your fleet is healthy.

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

Name: Tenable
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.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER

Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Tenable and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

Download Free Open SourceNo signup required

Classic Setup·json

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

Fully ManagedVinkius Servers

60%Token savings

High SecurityEnterprise-grade

IAMAccess control

EU AI ActCompliant

DLPData protection

V8 IsolateSandboxed

Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About Tenable MCP Server

Connect your Tenable (Tenable.io) environment to any AI agent and bring your enterprise vulnerability management directly into your IDE or chat via natural conversation.

GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings Tenable 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

Scans & Assessments — List configured vulnerability scans, retrieve detailed run analytics, and even manually trigger immediate evaluations
Asset Intelligence — Browse your entire host and cloud inventory, retrieving deep telemetry like OS fingerprints, IPs, and tags
Vulnerability Triage — Pinpoint explicit security findings (Workbench) and CVEs affecting specific assets without navigating complex dashboards
Topology Oversight — See how your network spaces overlap and track organizational logical folders
Scanner Health — Check the operational status and plugin health of your internal enterprise scanning fleet

The Tenable 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 Tenable to VS Code Copilot via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the Tenable 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 Tenable

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

Why Use VS Code Copilot with the Tenable MCP Server

GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code provides unique advantages when paired with Tenable 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

Tenable + VS Code Copilot Use Cases

Practical scenarios where VS Code Copilot combined with the Tenable 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

Tenable MCP Tools for VS Code Copilot (10)

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

get_asset_details

Retrieves detailed metadata, networking, and risk profile for a specific asset

get_asset_vulnerabilities

Retrieves explicit security findings (Workbench) for a specific asset

get_scan_results

Retrieves runtime analytics and vulnerability summaries for a specific scan

launch_scan

Returns the newly created scan run ID. Manually triggers an immediate execution of a configured scan

list_asset_tags

g. "Critical", "Production", "External"). Lists organizational tags mapped to assets

list_assets

Lists host and cloud assets discovered in Tenable.io

list_logical_networks

Lists Tenable logical routing networks

list_scan_folders

g. "My Scans", "PCI Quarters"). Lists operational scan folders

list_scanners

Lists Nessus scanners managed by Tenable.io

list_scans

Lists vulnerability assessment scans from Tenable.io

Example Prompts for Tenable in VS Code Copilot

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

"Find the status and schedule of the 'Weekly PCI Scan'."

"Retrieve all extreme vulnerabilities on asset ID 1383da-xxx."

"Launch the scan with ID a981bf93 immediately."

Troubleshooting Tenable MCP Server with VS Code Copilot

Common issues when connecting Tenable 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.

Tenable + VS Code Copilot FAQ

Common questions about integrating Tenable 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.