Using IconVectors with VS Code Copilot

Editing icons in IconVectors while you write code means switching windows and re-explaining context every time. Wiring IconVectors to VS Code over MCP lets GitHub Copilot Chat, in Agent mode, inspect the current drawing, create and edit geometry, render previews, and export assets without you leaving the editor.

This guide covers the full setup on Windows, macOS, and Linux: launching the editor, registering the IconVectors MCP helper in mcp.json, and verifying the connection from Copilot Chat.

1. Start IconVectors

Windows

& 'C:\Program Files\Axialis\IconVectors\IconVectors.exe'

macOS

open -a /Applications/IconVectors.app

Linux

/usr/bin/IconVectors

2. Create the MCP configuration

Use either a workspace file .vscode/mcp.json or your VS Code user MCP configuration.

Windows example

{
  "servers": {
    "iconvectors": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\Axialis\\IconVectors\\IconVectorsMcp.exe",
      "args": ["--port", "61337"]
    }
  }
}

macOS example

{
  "servers": {
    "iconvectors": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "/Applications/IconVectors.app/Contents/MacOS/IconVectorsMcp",
      "args": ["--port", "61337"]
    }
  }
}

Linux example

{
  "servers": {
    "iconvectors": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "/usr/bin/IconVectorsMcp",
      "args": ["--port", "61337"]
    }
  }
}

If you need to force the working directory on Windows, wrap the command and change to C:\Program Files\Axialis\IconVectors before launching the helper. On macOS, update the bundle path if the app is installed elsewhere. On Linux packaged installs, /usr/bin/IconVectorsMcp is the expected path.

3. Optional: add the server from the command line

Windows

code --add-mcp "{\"name\":\"iconvectors\",\"type\":\"stdio\",\"command\":\"C:\\Program Files\\Axialis\\IconVectors\\IconVectorsMcp.exe\",\"args\":[\"--port\",\"61337\"]}"

macOS

code --add-mcp '{"name":"iconvectors","type":"stdio","command":"/Applications/IconVectors.app/Contents/MacOS/IconVectorsMcp","args":["--port","61337"]}'

Linux

code --add-mcp '{"name":"iconvectors","type":"stdio","command":"/usr/bin/IconVectorsMcp","args":["--port","61337"]}'

4. Verify in Copilot Chat

• Make sure the server appears in VS Code's MCP UI.
• Switch Copilot Chat to Agent mode.
• Try prompts such as Use IconVectors to call app_ping. and Create a new 32x32 document named test icon and return SwiftUI code for it.

Helper files

Use Help -> Open MCP Files Folder to open the installed helper bundle. Windows helper files are usually under %APPDATA%\Axialis\IconVectors\MCP. macOS helper files are usually under ~/Library/Application Support/Axialis/IconVectors/MCP. Linux helper files are usually under ~/.local/share/Axialis/IconVectors/MCP. The files most relevant to this host are vscode-copilot-implementation-instructions.md, iconvectors-mcp-command-reference.md, and vscode-copilot-AGENTS.md.template.