Bring Lead Management
to VS Code Copilot
Learn how to connect Richards CRM to VS Code Copilot and start using 11 AI agent tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code.
What is the Richards CRM MCP Server?
Connect your Richards Building Supply CRM account to any AI agent and take full control of your exterior contracting orchestration through natural conversation. Powered by the Construct CRM engine, this integration allows you to retrieve lead metadata, manage project lifecycles, and orchestrate material orders directly from your chat interface.
What you can do
- Lead & Prospect Orchestration — List all managed leads and retrieve detailed profile metadata, including creating new contacts programmatically to ensure your pipeline is always synchronized.
- Project & Job Lifecycle Management — Access and monitor active projects and retrieve detailed technical metadata directly from the AI interface to keep your exterior jobs on track.
- Estimating & Proposals Intelligence — Access project estimates and monitor proposal statuses to ensure your bidding process is always optimized via natural language.
- Material Ordering & Invoice Control — List and retrieve order metadata and invoices to maintain a clear overview of your supply chain and business expenses.
- Operational Monitoring — Track employee assignments and manage company profile metadata using simple AI commands.
How it works
1. Subscribe to this server
2. Enter your Richards CRM API Key from your account settings
3. Start managing your contracting workflows from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client
No more manual order tracking or switching between Material and CRM apps. Your AI acts as a dedicated project coordinator or operations lead.
Who is this for?
- Exterior Contractors & Foremen — quickly retrieve project details and monitor lead status without switching apps.
- Operations Managers — automate the management of material orders and track project history via natural conversation.
- Sales Teams — streamline the retrieval of estimates and monitor proposal health directly within the chat.
Built-in capabilities (11)
Create a new lead
Get company profile details
Get details for a specific lead
Get details of a specific project
List all employees
List all estimates
List all invoices
List all leads
List all purchase orders
List all projects
List all proposals
Why VS Code Copilot?
GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings Richards CRM data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 11 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
Richards CRM in VS Code Copilot
Richards CRM and 3,400+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect Richards CRM 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 Richards CRM in VS Code Copilot
The Richards CRM 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 11 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
Richards CRM for VS Code Copilot
Every tool call from VS Code Copilot to the Richards CRM MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
Can my AI automatically find the details and status for a specific project just by providing its ID?
Yes! Use the get_project tool with the Project ID. Your agent will respond with complete metadata, including job status, linked leads, and material requirements in seconds.
How do I find my Richards CRM API Key?
Log in to your Richards CRM account, navigate to the integration or API settings section, and you will find your unique secret API key there.
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.