VS Code Insiders Install/Registry Links Broken for all servers – Likely URL Encoding Issue

[aphansal123]

Summary

Screen.Recording.2025-11-10.at.2.56.35.PM.mov

Attempting to install a server from the Github MCP registry via the VS Code Insiders registry links currently always returns a 404 error. Investigation suggests this may be due to missing URL encoding in server name paths in the latest version of insiders.

Context/References

• Related blocking issue in copilot-ecosystem repo
• Install fails for available server (e.g. serena).
• Accessing any server directly fails unless the name is URL encoded (see API docs)
• Example that works: https://api.mcp.github.com/v0.1/servers/oraios%2Fserena/versions (note encoded /)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Try to install any server from the VS Code Insiders UI or registry—results in 404.
2. Manually visit API URLs for servers without encoding: 404 returned.
3. Manually visit server API URL with encoding: succeeds.

Recent Changes

• Install button update.

Expected Behavior

• VS Code registry and Install UI properly encode server names and complete installs successfully.

Environment

• VS Code Insiders Version: 1.106.0

Logs

Deep link format for v0.1 (vscode-insiders:mcp/api.mcp.github.com/v0.1/servers/cognitionai%2Fdeepwiki/versions/latest) decodes the URL and doesn't re-encode:

2025-11-10 14:43:54.336 [info] [Window] MCP server 'https://api.mcp.github.com/v0.1/servers/cognitionai/deepwiki/versions/latest' not found

[sandy081]

@aphansal123 Is it possible to change the Install link to by-name format - vscode-insiders:mcp/by-name/microsoft/markitdown?

[sandy081]

To verify:

• Open fresh instance of VS Code Insiders - code-insiders --transient
• Run command F1 > Developer: Open URL
• Enter: vscode-insiders:mcp/by-name/microsoft/markitdown
• Verify that Markitdown MCP Server Editor is opened
• Enter: vscode-insiders:mcp/by-name/microsoft%2Fmarkitdown
• Verify that Markitdown MCP Server Editor is opened