Copilot

You run a remote MCP server on Azure Container Apps to let AI models and tools communicate through a standardized interface. This setup lets you deploy a serverless MCP endpoint that your clients can connect to, enabling seamless collaboration between tools and models in a scalable cloud environment.

How to use

Connect your MCP client to the remote server using the SSE endpoint exposed by the Azure Container App deployment. The server is reachable at the SSE URL and you will configure your client to point to that URL so you can start discovering and using available MCP tools.

Typical usage flow includes: 1) Deploy the MCP server to Azure Container Apps. 2) Obtain the SSE endpoint URL. 3) Add the MCP server configuration to your client (type: sse, url: https://<env-name>.<container-id>.<region>.azurecontainerapps.io/sse). 4) Use your client’s tool discovery or Copilot-style prompts to run tools through the MCP bridge. 5) Monitor activity and, when you’re done, shut down resources to avoid ongoing costs.

How to install

Prerequisites include a development environment with Node.js and npm, plus access to Azure Container Apps via the Azure Developer CLI.

# Prerequisites
- Node.js (version 18.x or higher) and npm
- Azure Developer CLI (azd)
- Access to an Azure subscription

# 1) Clone the project (replace with your repo if needed)
# (You will use a repository path that contains the MCP server startup configuration)
# git clone https://your-repo/mcp-container-ts.git

# 2) Authenticate with Azure via azd
azd auth login

# 3) Provision and deploy the MCP server to Azure Container Apps
azd up

# 4) After deployment completes, note the SSE URL from the deployment output
# Example: https://<env-name>.<container-id>.<region>.azurecontainerapps.io/sse

# 5) Update your MCP client configuration with the SSE URL
# For example, in VS Code you might add:
# {
#   "servers": {
#     "mcp-server-remote": {
#       "type": "sse",
#       "url": "https://<env-name>.<container-id>.<region>.azurecontainerapps.io/sse"
#     }
#   }
# }

Configuration and access

Configure your MCP client to point to the remote server’s SSE endpoint. The following example shows how the server can be registered in a typical client configuration file.

{
  "servers": {
    "mcp-server-remote": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "https://<env-name>.<container-id>.<region>.azurecontainerapps.io/sse"
    }
  }
}

Clean up and teardown

When you’re finished testing or using the MCP server, remove all deployed resources to avoid ongoing costs. Use the same environment tool you used to deploy, and run a cleanup command.

azd down