MCP power-ups: GitHub, M365, and more

⚠️ The install prompt that confuses everyone

When you install an MCP server, Copilot CLI asks:

Where do you want to configure these MCP servers?

You'll see a numbered menu. Pick option 2: Copilot CLI.

Where do you want to configure these MCP servers?

  1. VS Code (Copilot Chat)
❯ 2. Copilot CLI
  3. GitHub Copilot Coding Agent (copilot-setup-steps.yml)
  4. Other
  5. Other (type your answer)

The other options install the MCP somewhere Copilot CLI can't find it (the VS Code workspace, GitHub-side runners, etc.) and it silently fails.

If you pick the wrong one and your MCP is missing later, re-run the install and pick option 2.

🚀 GitHub MCP comes built in

📖 GitHub MCP ships with Copilot CLI. No separate install. You can use it right now.

Open a CLI session:

> What are the latest issues on the github/docs repo?

Or:

> List my recent activity on GitHub.

It will fetch real data from your real GitHub account. No copy-paste.

Verify what's connected:

> /mcp

Configured MCP servers:
  github   ✓ built-in   (47 tools)

Type a prompt to use them.

🚀 Install M365 MCP (your inbox + calendar + files)

📖 M365 MCP unlocks the "wow" use cases for business-side partner roles. Your real inbox. Your real calendar. Your real OneDrive files.

In a CLI session:

> Install the M365 MCP server.

Follow the prompts. When asked where to install, pick option 2 (Copilot CLI).

After install, try:

> What's on my calendar tomorrow?
> Summarize emails I got from Contoso this week.
> Find the most recent file I worked on with the word "QBR" in it.

⚠️ First-time consent. Microsoft will ask you to consent to the MCP reading your inbox. Read the consent screen. It will list permissions like Mail.Read, Calendars.Read. These are read-only by default. Don't grant write permissions you don't need.

⚠️ Tenant gating. Some companies block third-party app consent. If M365 MCP install fails with a consent error, that is your IT policy talking. Ask your admin, or skip this MCP and use file-drop context instead (lesson 3).

🚀 Optional: filesystem MCP for cross-document work

📖 The filesystem MCP lets Copilot read multiple folders without you cd-ing into each one.

> Install the filesystem MCP server with read access to my Documents folder.

Then:

> Look across my Documents folder. What customer briefs have I drafted in the last 30 days? Summarize the common themes.

Powerful for partner marketing roles and account managers who keep a library of past briefs and want to mine it.

> Look at my calendar next week. For every meeting with a customer name in the title,
> check my email for the latest thread with that customer. Draft a 3-bullet pre-meeting
> brief for each one.

🎯 Real-work test: a partner update from MCP

📖 Pick a customer you have an active engagement with. In Copilot CLI:

> Check my email for messages I've exchanged with anyone @ <customer domain> in the last 30 days.
> Then check my calendar for meetings with that customer in the same window.
> Draft a 5-bullet update for my manager: status, last meeting, blockers, next step, ask.

If this works, you just compressed 30 minutes of clicking into one prompt.

✅ You've cleared the value bar 📖

If you can:

• Use the built-in GitHub MCP without thinking about it
• Install at least one additional MCP and verify it shows in /mcp
• Combine MCP data with prompt context to produce a useful artefact

Then you've achieved the productivity bar. You can drive Copilot CLI for partner work end-to-end.

Stop here. Ship some real work. Come back later if you want to go deeper. This course intentionally ends at the point where you get value without writing code.