GitHub Copilot Group Policy Templates for Windows

This directory contains Administrative Template (ADMX/ADML) files for managing GitHub Copilot settings through Windows Group Policy. These templates are bundled with the GitHub Copilot Language Server for enterprise deployment.

Template Location

These templates are installed with the GitHub Copilot Language Server at:

[Language Server Installation Directory]/policy-templates/win32/

Common installation locations:

• NPM Global Install: %APPDATA%\npm\node_modules\@github\copilot-language-server\dist\policy-templates\win32
• Local NPM Install: .\node_modules\@github\copilot-language-server\dist\policy-templates\win32

Files

• IDEGitHubCopilot.admx - Administrative template definition file
• en-US/IDEGitHubCopilot.adml - English language resource file
• Install-PolicyTemplates.ps1 - PowerShell script for automated installation

Installation Methods

Option 1: PowerShell Script (Recommended)

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator
2. Navigate to the policy templates directory:

   cd "[Language Server Installation Directory]\policy-templates\win32"

3. Execute the installation script:

   .\Install-PolicyTemplates.ps1

Option 2: Manual Installation

1. Copy ADMX file:

   Copy IDEGitHubCopilot.admx to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\
   

2. Copy ADML file:

   Copy en-US\IDEGitHubCopilot.adml to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\en-US\
   

Option 3: Microsoft Intune Configuration

For cloud-based management with Microsoft Intune, create a Custom Configuration Profile with OMA-URI settings (see details below).

Accessing Group Policy Settings

After installation:

1. Open Group Policy Editor:

   • Run gpedit.msc (Local Group Policy Editor)
   • Or use gpmc.msc (Group Policy Management Console) for domain environments

2. Navigate to GitHub Copilot policies:

   • Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → GitHub Copilot
   • User Configuration → Administrative Templates → GitHub Copilot

Available Policies

Enable Extension-Contributed MCP Servers

Category: GitHub Copilot → Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Controls whether GitHub Copilot can use Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers contributed by IDE extensions.

Registry Locations:

• Machine Policy: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\IDEGitHubCopilot\mcp.contributionPoint.enabled
• User Policy: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\IDEGitHubCopilot\mcp.contributionPoint.enabled

Values:

• 1 (REG_DWORD) = Enable extension-contributed MCP servers
• 0 (REG_DWORD) = Disable extension-contributed MCP servers

Registry Testing

You can test the policies by setting registry values directly:

REM Enable extension-contributed MCP servers (machine-wide)
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\IDEGitHubCopilot" /v "mcp.contributionPoint.enabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

REM Disable extension-contributed MCP servers (current user)
reg add "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\IDEGitHubCopilot" /v "mcp.contributionPoint.enabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Microsoft Intune Deployment

For cloud-based management with Microsoft Intune:

1. Create a Custom Configuration Profile:

   • Go to Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center
   • Navigate to Devices → Configuration profiles
   • Create a new profile with platform "Windows 10 and later"
   • Profile type: "Custom"

2. Add the registry setting:

   Name: Enable Extension-Contributed MCP Servers
   OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_IDEGitHubCopilot/McpContributionPointEnabled
   Data type: Integer
   Value: 1 (enabled) or 0 (disabled)
   

3. Assign to device groups as needed

Policy Precedence

1. Machine Policy (highest precedence)
   • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\IDEGitHubCopilot\
2. User Policy
   • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\IDEGitHubCopilot\
3. Default Behavior (lowest precedence)
   • Determined by application defaults when no policy is set

Troubleshooting

1. Templates not appearing in Group Policy Editor:

   • Verify ADMX/ADML files are copied to the correct directories
   • Run gpupdate /force to refresh Group Policy
   • Restart Group Policy Editor

2. Policies not taking effect:

   • Check registry values are being set correctly
   • Restart the IDE or GitHub Copilot service
   • Verify policy precedence (machine vs user)

3. Permission errors during template copy:

   • Ensure the application is running with administrator privileges
   • Manually copy templates using an elevated command prompt

References

• VS Code Group Policy Documentation
• @vscode/policy-watcher Documentation
• Microsoft Group Policy Documentation