Bring Self Hosted
to VS Code Copilot
Learn how to connect LocalAI to VS Code Copilot and start using 19 AI agent tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code.
GDPR Free for SubscribersCompatible with every major AI agent and IDE
Gemini
What is the LocalAI MCP Server?
Connect your LocalAI instance to any AI agent and leverage powerful multimodal capabilities directly from your own infrastructure.
What you can do
- Text Generation — Use
chat_completionsoranthropic_messagesto generate text using local models with full OpenAI or Anthropic compatibility. - Image Synthesis — Create visual content from text prompts using the
generate_imagetool, supporting custom sizes and negative prompts. - Audio Processing — Convert speech to text with
transcribe_audioor generate natural-sounding speech from text usingtext_to_speech. - Advanced Search & RAG — Generate vector embeddings with
create_embeddingsand improve search relevance using thererank_documentstool. - Computer Vision — Analyze images and identify elements using the
detect_objectstool. - System Management — Monitor your instance with
list_models,get_system, andgetVersionto ensure optimal performance.
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- Provide your LocalAI Base URL (e.g.,
http://localhost:8080) and optional API Key - Start interacting with your local models through Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client
Who is this for?
- Privacy-Conscious Developers — Run powerful AI workflows without sending sensitive data to third-party cloud providers.
- AI Researchers — Easily test and swap different local models for chat, vision, and audio tasks.
- DevOps Engineers — Integrate local AI capabilities into internal tools and automated pipelines.
Built-in capabilities (19)
Generate messages (Anthropic compatible)
Install a model from the gallery
Generate chat completions (OpenAI compatible)
Create text embeddings
Detect objects in an image
Analyze face demographics
Identify faces (1:N)
Enroll a face into the store
Verify faces (1:1)
Supports negative prompts using | separator. Generate images from text prompts
Check authentication state and providers
View personal token usage
View system and backend info
Get LocalAI version
List available models
Generate open responses
Rerank documents based on a query
Convert text to audio (TTS)
Pass the file data or path as required by your LocalAI setup. Transcribe audio to text
Why VS Code Copilot?
GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings LocalAI data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 19 tools. Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.
- —
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
LocalAI in VS Code Copilot
LocalAI and 4,000+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect LocalAI to VS Code Copilot through Vinkius don't need to source, host, or maintain individual MCP servers. Every tool call runs inside a hardened runtime with credential isolation, DLP, and a signed audit chain.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Server catalog | Find and host yourself | 4,000+ managed |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted | Sandboxed V8 isolates |
| Credential handling | Plaintext in config | Vault + runtime injection |
| Data loss prevention | None | Configurable DLP policies |
| Kill switch | None | Global instant shutdown |
| Financial circuit breakers | None | Per-server limits + alerts |
| Audit trail | None | Ed25519 signed logs |
| SIEM log streaming | None | Splunk, Datadog, Webhook |
| Honeytokens | None | Canary alerts on leak |
| Custom domains | Not applicable | DNS challenge verified |
| GDPR compliance | Manual effort | Automated purge + export |
Why teams choose Vinkius for LocalAI in VS Code Copilot
The LocalAI 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. All 19 tools execute in hardened sandboxes optimized for native MCP execution.
Your AI agents in VS Code Copilot only access the data you authorize, with DLP that blocks sensitive information from ever reaching the model, kill switch for instant shutdown, and up to 60% token savings. Enterprise-grade infrastructure, zero maintenance.
* 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
How Vinkius secures
LocalAI for VS Code Copilot
Every tool call from VS Code Copilot to the LocalAI MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
How can I see which AI models are currently installed on my LocalAI server?
You can use the list_models tool. It will return a complete list of all available models on your instance, including their IDs and capabilities.
Does this server support generating images locally?
Yes! By using the generate_image tool, you can provide a prompt and optional size to generate images directly on your hardware using supported models like Stable Diffusion.
Can I use this to transcribe audio files into text?
Absolutely. The transcribe_audio tool allows you to send audio data or file paths to your LocalAI instance for high-quality transcription using models like Whisper.
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.
MCP tools not available
Ensure you are in Agent mode in Copilot Chat. MCP tools only appear in Agent mode.
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