IDE Support Matrix
Quick reference for feature support by editor — useful when deciding where to invest harness configuration.
GitHub Copilot Features by Editor
| Feature | VS Code | Visual Studio | JetBrains | Eclipse | Xcode | GitHub.com | CLI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code completions | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | N/A | ✅ |
| Chat (inline/sidebar) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| copilot-instructions.md | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Path-scoped instructions (.github/instructions/) | ✅ | 🔄 | 🔄 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Prompt files (.github/prompts/) | ✅ | ❌ | 🔄 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Agent mode (.github/agents/) | ✅ | ❌ | 🔄 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| MCP servers | ✅ | ❌ | 🔄 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| CLAUDE.md native support (chat.useClaudeMdFile) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Native plugin install | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
🔄 = Preview or actively rolling out. Check release notes for current status.
harness-kit Plugin Portability
| Plugin | Claude Code | Copilot CLI | VS Code (Copilot) | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| explain | ✅ native | ✅ native | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md |
| review | ✅ native | ✅ native | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md |
| docgen | ✅ native | ✅ native | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md |
| research | ✅ native | ✅ native | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md |
| data-lineage | ✅ native | ✅ native | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md | ✅ copy SKILL.md |
| orient | ✅ native | ✅ native | 🔄 MCP required | 🔄 MCP required | ❌ no MCP |
| capture-session | ✅ native | ✅ native | 🔄 MCP required | 🔄 MCP required | ❌ no MCP |
MCP-required plugins work in tools that support MCP servers.
MCP as Universal Fallback
MCP has the broadest cross-tool support of any harness-kit feature. The orient and capture-session plugins depend on MCP Memory Server — any tool supporting MCP (via .vscode/mcp.json, .cursor/mcp.json, etc.) can run these plugins. MCP is the forward-compatible path for bringing harness-kit capabilities to new editors as support expands.
Last Updated
Last updated: 2026-03-09