How to Use the UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity MCP in VS Code Copilot

Standardize UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity data access for your whole team via VS Code Copilot.

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Connect UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity MCP to VS Code Copilot

Create your Vinkius account to connect UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity to VS Code Copilot and route execution through our secure gateway. The platform manages server hosting, runtime updates, and security layers. Configuration requires no manual server provisioning.

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Setup UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity with VS Code Copilot

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Team Access to Goods Trade Data

Stop debating which data source to use. Commit the MCP configuration to `.vscode/mcp.json` so every developer on your team gets access to `get_trade`. They can analyze UK imports and exports instantly. The Copilot Chat, in Agent mode, calls this tool automatically when writing code that requires trade context.

Shared Business Activity Metrics

When a new hire joins, they don't need to read documentation on data sources. The team configuration includes `get_business_counts`. Every developer can immediately query UK business counts by industry and geography. This ensures everyone is building against the same, accurate IDBR data model.

Consistent Use of Economic Indicators

You don't want half your team using old metrics. The MCP Server makes `get_traffic_activity` available to all developers via a shared config. They can incorporate experimental economic indicators into their code base. This standardization keeps the entire project aligned on the latest data access methods.

Setup guide

Set up UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity MCP in VS Code Copilot

Prerequisites

VS Code 1.99 or later with GitHub Copilot extension
Active Vinkius subscription with a valid endpoint token

1

Open MCP configuration

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and run "MCP: Add Server". Select HTTP (Streamable) as the server type. VS Code will create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace.
2

Add the UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity MCP

Paste the JSON snippet shown on the right into your .vscode/mcp.json. Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your endpoint token from cloud.vinkius.com.
3

Switch to Agent mode

Open Copilot Chat (Cmd+Shift+I / Ctrl+Shift+I) and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown. MCP tools are only available in Agent mode — they do not appear in Edit or Ask modes.
4

Verify the connection

In the Copilot Chat input, type # to list available tools. You should see the UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity tools listed. Try asking: "List my recent UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity transactions" and Copilot will invoke them automatically.

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "uk-ons-trade-international-trade-business-activity-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by UK ONS. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.

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Common questions about UK ONS Trade — International Trade & Business Activity MCP in VS Code Copilot

By committing an MCP configuration file, you make the server available to every developer. When they switch Chat to Agent mode, it uses tools like `get_trade` to fetch live data and write code with it.

Yes. Because the configuration is committed via Git and SOC 2 compliant, you manage tool access organization-wide without individual setup headaches. It's built for large engineering groups.

The server manages business records, international trade goods datasets, and traffic activity metrics. All are available via the shared configuration for team use.

Absolutely. You prompt it in Chat—say, 'Write a function using business counts'—and Copilot writes the code calling `get_business_counts` and injecting the live results.

The server primarily touches aggregated economic data types, specifically `uk-business-by-enterprises-and-local-units` records and goods trade values.

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