Your organization must control which MCP servers developers run. What does GitHub recommend?
Why B is the answer
Keeping the MCP policy on and restricting servers to an approved list
The MCP servers in Copilot policy controls whether servers run at all, and you can narrow it to an approved list.
In detail
- GitHub recommends keeping the policy on and restricting servers to an approved list.
- Keep a clear process for requesting a new server.
Use case
An illustrative scenario, not a real incident.
A company needs control over MCP use. It keeps the policy on and restricts servers to an approved list, rather than banning Copilot.
See it in different ways
flowchart TD
A{"MCP servers policy enabled?"} -->|No| B["No MCP servers run"]
A -->|Yes| C{"Restricted to an approved list?"}
C -->|Yes| D["Only approved servers run"]
C -->|No| E["Any server can run"]mindmap
root((Agent limits))
Identity
Write access to trigger
Repository
One branch
Branch protection
Tools
MCP allow list
Tool permissions
Network
Firewall allowlistflowchart TD
Q{"How do you govern MCP?"}
Q -->|"Disable Copilot"| A0["Too broad"]
Q -->|"Policy on, approved list"| A1["Recommended"]Key point: Keep the policy on, with an approved list.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Asking developers to list the servers they use once a quarter
- A quarterly list does not control anything.
- C. Adding a line to each repository README about approved servers
- A README line is not enforcement.
- D. Disabling Copilot for anyone who has installed an MCP server
- Disabling Copilot is far too broad.