.mcp.json workspace config not loaded at startup — requires /mcp reload

[mcheli-onshape]

Bug Report

Summary

When starting a new Copilot CLI session in a directory containing a .mcp.json file, the workspace MCP servers are not loaded at startup. Running /mcp reload after the session starts causes them to appear correctly. This makes the workspace config feature unreliable for terminal-based workflows.

Version

1.0.10

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a .mcp.json in a project directory (using the mcpServers key format)
2. Open a new terminal session in that directory
3. Start Copilot CLI from that directory
4. Run /mcp show — workspace servers are missing
5. Run /mcp reload
6. Run /mcp show again — workspace servers now appear correctly

Expected Behavior

.mcp.json in the current working directory should be loaded at startup, the same way ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json is. The CLI already knows its CWD at launch — there's no reason to defer loading workspace config.

Actual Behavior

Workspace configs (.mcp.json, .vscode/mcp.json) are only loaded after an IDE lock file establishes workspace context. In a pure terminal workflow (no VS Code or IDE open), this context is never established at startup — meaning workspace MCP servers silently don't load until /mcp reload is run manually.

Root Cause (from source inspection)

Looking at app.js in ~/.copilot/pkg/universal/1.0.10/, workspace config loading appears to be gated on IDE lock file presence (the mechanism used to detect an attached VS Code/IDE workspace). In a terminal-only session, no lock file exists at startup, so the workspace folder is unknown and .mcp.json is skipped.

The global config (~/.copilot/mcp-config.json) does not have this gating and loads correctly at startup.

Why This Matters

This behavior makes .mcp.json effectively broken for terminal-first developers. The whole point of workspace-local MCP config is to commit it to the repo so the team doesn't have to manually configure each server — but if it silently doesn't load, developers won't notice until something fails.

Workaround

Run /mcp reload at the start of every session. Functional but annoying.

Environment

• macOS Sequoia
• Copilot CLI 1.0.10
• Terminal-only workflow (no IDE attached)