In brief
GitHub is rolling out connectors across Copilot, Anthropic has an MCP server design plugin, and mcp-use exports its skills browser. Each removes setup work at a different boundary; none removes the need to review access.
Originally published on Jack Gross.
GitHub is rolling out connectors across Copilot, Anthropic has an MCP server design plugin, and mcp-use exports its skills browser. Each removes setup work at a different boundary; none removes the need to review access.
GitHub connectors: a preview across clients
GitHub's October 28 changelog says verified MCP servers are rolling out in public preview on all Copilot plans, with 26 services at launch. A service connected in one place can work across the Copilot app, CLI, VS Code, cloud and Mobile. Business and Enterprise require the Editor preview features policy; an MCP allowlist and the service's own admin settings may add requirements. Start from the service's Connect control in Copilot, then inspect the requested scopes. This is a hosted product preview, not an open-source package with a license I can apply to your deployment.
What I would check before connecting
Convenient sign-in persistence can make the scope of an old connection easy to forget. My proposed trial would use an authorized test workspace and one read-only task, then inspect which tools are exposed and where disconnection happens. A verified listing does not prove that every possible action is appropriate for a particular repository. I have not connected any service or tested cross-client revocation for this review.
Anthropic mcp-server-dev: choose the deployment first
The official plugin contains build-mcp-server, build-mcp-app and build-mcpb. Its entry skill asks about the use case, users, action surface and UI, then recommends remote streamable HTTP, an interactive MCP app, an MCPB bundle or a local stdio prototype. The README gives the direct entry command /mcp-server-dev:build-mcp-server. The plugin-local LICENSE is Apache-2.0. I checked the live README and LICENSE today; I did not establish an original launch date or install it. Review generated code and authentication choices before deploying. A bundled runtime simplifies setup while still carrying executable code onto the local machine.
mcp-use: embedding the existing Inspector
The October 29 release page lists mcp-use 2.12.1 and @mcp-use/inspector 20.3.26. The Inspector patch exports the existing SkillsTab component and props from its client entry, builds that entry for browsers without Node built-ins for frontmatter parsing, and exposes controlled skill selection in the shared composer. This is an embedding change, not evidence that a skill became safe to execute. The repository LICENSE is MIT. For a trial, pin the intended version and check its client exports in an isolated app before wiring skill selection to execution.
A review boundary for the next build
I would write down the service, permitted reads, forbidden writes, authentication owner and disconnect path before choosing an integration. A chat confirmation widget is a UI component; the server still needs to check authorization for the requested action. Keep secrets out of tool descriptions and retrieved skill text. The license and release checks above are source review, not installation, a security audit or a performance comparison. Popularity counts are omitted because they do not establish fit or quality.