Forge

A VS Code chat extension that routes AI chat through your own Azure AI Foundry endpoint — giving your organization full control over model inference. All inference stays within your Azure tenant. Authenticate with Entra ID or API key. No GitHub authentication required. Works in air-gapped and compliance-driven environments.

The extension uses the GitHub Copilot SDK (@github/copilot-sdk) in BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) mode to route all model inference to a private Azure AI Foundry endpoint within your Azure tenant.

📖 Features & Usage — Authentication methods, code actions, model selector, and usage guide.

Prerequisites

• VS Code 1.93 or later
• GitHub Copilot CLI
• Azure CLI (az) — Required for Entra ID authentication (recommended for most environments)
• Azure AI Foundry endpoint and model deployment(s)

Quick Start

Ensure you've installed the prerequisites before starting.

1. Install the Forge extension — Search for "forge-ai" in the VS Code Extensions panel, or install via the VS Code Marketplace. If your environment doesn't have Marketplace access, see Sideload Installation for the sideload option.

2. Configure settings in VS Code (File > Preferences > Settings, search for Forge):

   Setting	Description
   forge.copilot.endpoint	Your Azure AI Foundry endpoint URL (e.g., https://myresource.openai.azure.com/)
   forge.copilot.authMethod	Auth method: "entraId" (default) or "apiKey"
   forge.copilot.models	Deployment names from your Azure AI Foundry (e.g., ["gpt-4.1", "gpt-4o"])

   API Key (if using apiKey auth): Click the ⚙️ gear icon in the Forge chat toolbar and select "Set API Key (secure)".

3. Open Forge: Click the Forge icon in the VS Code sidebar

4. Send a message: Type a message in the input field, then press Enter to send (Shift+Enter for newline)

5. Multi-turn conversations: The chat maintains session context within the same session

Architecture

Basic

graph TD
    subgraph vscode["VS Code"]
        sidebar["Forge Sidebar<br/>(WebviewView)"]
        exthost["Extension Host<br/>Config · CopilotClient"]
        creds["Credential Provider<br/>Entra ID / API Key"]
        cli["Copilot CLI<br/>(local subprocess)"]
    end

    azure["Azure AI Foundry"]

    sidebar <-->|"postMessage"| exthost
    exthost -.->|"getToken()"| creds
    exthost <-->|"JSON-RPC (stdio)"| cli
    cli -->|"HTTPS"| azure

For a full enterprise topology with Azure API Management, private networking, observability, and Entra ID auth flows, see the example Enterprise Architecture reference.

Sideload Installation

From GitHub Releases (for restricted or air-gapped networks)

1. Download the latest .vsix file from GitHub Releases
2. In VS Code, open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Click ... → Install from VSIX...
4. Select the downloaded .vsix file

Configuration

For a quick overview of required and optional settings, see the table below. For detailed explanations, Azure setup instructions, and troubleshooting, see the Configuration Reference.

Core Settings

Setting	Type	Required	Default	Description
forge.copilot.endpoint	string	Yes	""	Azure AI Foundry endpoint URL (e.g., https://myresource.openai.azure.com/)
forge.copilot.models	string[]	No	[]	Azure AI Foundry deployment names for the model selector. Must match the deployment name in Foundry, not the underlying model name. First entry is the default.
forge.copilot.wireApi	string	No	"completions"	API format: "completions" or "responses"
forge.copilot.cliPath	string	No	""	Path to Copilot CLI binary (if not on PATH)
forge.copilot.authMethod	string	No	"entraId"	Auth method: "entraId" (DefaultAzureCredential) or "apiKey"
forge.copilot.systemMessage	string	No	""	Custom system message appended to the default Copilot system prompt

Example Configuration

{
  "forge.copilot.endpoint": "https://myresource.openai.azure.com/",
  "forge.copilot.authMethod": "entraId",
  "forge.copilot.models": ["gpt-4.1", "gpt-4o"],
  "forge.copilot.wireApi": "completions"
}

Note: The SDK auto-appends /openai/v1/ for .azure.com endpoints — do not include this path in your endpoint URL.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup, building, testing, and packaging instructions.

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License

MIT