Bring Reading
to VS Code Copilot
Learn how to connect Readwise to VS Code Copilot and start using 16 AI agent tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code.
What is the Readwise MCP Server?
Transform how your organization interacts with reading material by giving your AI agent full control over your Readwise library. With 16 tools covering full highlight CRUD, book search by source and category, tag management, and daily review access, your agents can retrieve specific passages, create annotations, and help you retain knowledge.
What you can do
- Browse books by source or category
- Full CRUD for highlights, notes, and tags
- Access daily spaced repetition reviews
- Export all data incrementally for backup or analysis
How it works
1. Subscribe to this server 2. Enter your Readwise API Token (found in your account settings) 3. Start managing your reading library directly from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP clientWho is it for?
Ideal for researchers, students, and professionals needing instant, conversational access to their curated knowledge base.Built-in capabilities (16)
Verify connectivity
Create a highlight
Delete a highlight
Supports incremental export with updatedAfter filter. Export highlights
Get book details
Get daily review
Get highlight details
List all books
List books by category
List books by source
Returns text, note, location, and tags. List highlights
List review queue
List all tags
Search books
Search highlights
Update a highlight
Why VS Code Copilot?
GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings Readwise data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 16 tools. Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.
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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
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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
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GitHub's enterprise compliance and audit features extend to MCP tool usage, providing visibility into how AI interacts with external services
Readwise in VS Code Copilot
Readwise and 3,400+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect Readwise 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 | 3,400+ 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 Readwise in VS Code Copilot
The Readwise 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 16 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
Readwise for VS Code Copilot
Every tool call from VS Code Copilot to the Readwise MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
What can I do with the Readwise connector?
You can list, search, create, update, and delete highlights, browse books by source or category, manage tags, access your daily spaced repetition review, and export all data incrementally for analysis or backup.
How does the daily review feature work?
The daily review tool retrieves highlights selected by Readwise's spaced repetition algorithm, helping your AI agent surface the most important passages at the optimal retention interval.
Can I filter books by where they came from?
Yes, you can filter by source (Kindle, Instapaper, Pocket, web, Apple Books) or by category (books, articles, tweets, podcasts) to quickly find the content you need.
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.