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enable-api-center-portal-vs-code-extension.md

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title Enable API Center portal view - Azure API Center - VS Code extension
description Enable enterprise developers to view the enterprise's API Center portal view including API definitions using the Visual Studio Code Extension for Azure API Center.
ms.service azure-api-center
ms.topic how-to
ms.date 05/27/2025
ms.custom

Enable and view Azure API Center portal view - VS Code extension

This article shows how to provide enterprise developers access to the Azure API Center portal view in the Visual Studio Code extension for Azure API Center. Using the portal view, developers can discover APIs in your Azure API center, view API definitions, and optionally generate API clients when they don't have access to manage the API center itself or add APIs to the inventory. Access to the API Center portal view is managed using Microsoft Entra ID and Azure role-based access control.

Tip

The Visual Studio Code extension provides more features for API developers who have permissions to manage an Azure API center. For example, API developers can register APIs in the API center directly or using CI/CD pipelines. Learn more

Prerequisites

For API center administrators

  • An API center in your Azure subscription. If you haven't created one already, see Quickstart: Create your API center.

  • Permissions to create an app registration in a Microsoft Entra tenant associated with your Azure subscription, and permissions to grant access to data in your API center.

For app developers

The following Visual Studio Code extensions are optional:

Steps for API center administrators to enable access to API Center portal view

The following sections provide steps for API center administrators to enable enterprise developers to access the API Center portal view.

Create Microsoft Entra app registration

[!INCLUDE api-center-portal-app-registration]

Enable sign-in to API Center portal view by Microsoft Entra users and groups

Enterprise developers must sign in with a Microsoft account to see the API Center portal view for your API center. If needed, add or invite developers to your Microsoft Entra tenant.

[!INCLUDE api-center-portal-user-sign-in]

Steps for enterprise developers to access the API Center portal view

Developers can follow these steps to connect and sign in to an API Center portal view using the Visual Studio Code extension. Settings to connect to the API center need to be provided by the API center administrator. After connecting, developers can discover and consume the APIs in the API center.

Connect to an API center

  1. In Visual Studio Code, in the Activity Bar on the left, select API Center.

    :::image type="content" source="media/enable-api-center-portal-vs-code-extension/api-center-activity-bar.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the API Center icon in the Activity Bar.":::

  2. Use the Ctrl+Shift+P keyboard shortcut to open the Command Palette. Type Azure API Center: Connect to an API Center and hit Enter.

  3. Answer the prompts to input the following information:

    1. The runtime URL of your API center, in the format <service name>.data.<region>.azure-apicenter.ms (don't prefix with https://). Example: contoso-apic.data.eastus.azure-apicenter.ms. This runtime URL appears on the Overview page of the API center in the Azure portal view.

    2. The application (client) ID from the app registration configured by the administrator in the previous section.

    3. The directory (tenant) ID from the app registration configured by the administrator in the previous section.

    [!TIP] An API center administrator needs to provide the preceding connection details to developers, or provide a direct link in the following format:
    vscode://apidev.azure-api-center?clientId=<Client ID>&tenantId=<tenant ID>&runtimeUrl=<service-name>.data.<region>.azure-apicenter.ms

    After you connect to the API center, the name of the API center appears in the API Center portal view.

  4. To view the APIs in the API center, under the API center name, select Sign in to Azure. Sign-in is allowed with a Microsoft account that is assigned the Azure API Center Data Reader role in the API center.

    :::image type="content" source="media/enable-api-center-portal-vs-code-extension/api-center-pane-initial.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the API Center portal view in API Center extension.":::

  5. After signing in, select APIs to list the APIs in the API center. Expand an API to explore its versions and definitions.

    :::image type="content" source="media/enable-api-center-portal-vs-code-extension/api-center-pane-apis.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the API Center API definitions in API Center extension.":::

  6. Repeat the preceding steps to connect to more API centers, if access is configured.

Discover and consume APIs in the API Center portal view

The API Center portal view helps enterprise developers discover API details and start API client development. Developers can access the following features by right-clicking on an API definition in the API Center portal view:

  • Export API specification document - Export an API specification from a definition and then download it as a file
  • Generate API client - Use the Microsoft Kiota extension to generate an API client for their favorite language
  • Generate Markdown - Generate API documentation in Markdown format
  • OpenAPI documentation - View the documentation for an API definition and try operations in a Swagger UI (only available for OpenAPI definitions)

Use language model tools

Developers with access to the API Center portal view can add API Center language model tools to use in GitHub Copilot's agent mode. Learn more about using tools in agent mode.

The API Center tools can be used in agent mode to help search for APIs and API versions, API definitions and specifications, deployments, and more using natural language prompts.

To add and use API Center language mode tools in GitHub Copilot's agent mode:

  1. Connect to an API center as described in a previous section.

  2. Open GitHub Copilot Chat in Visual Studio Code.

  3. Set the mode of GitHub Copilot Chat to Agent.

  4. Select the Tools icon in the chat window.

    :::image type="content" source="media/enable-api-center-portal-vs-code-extension/language-model-tools.png" alt-text="Screenshot of GitHub Copilot chat window in Visual Studio Code.":::

  5. Select one or more API Center tools to be available in the chat.

    :::image type="content" source="media/enable-api-center-portal-vs-code-extension/api-center-tools.png" alt-text="Screenshot of selecting API Center tools in Visual Studio Code.":::

  6. Enter a prompt in the chat window to use the available tools. For example:

    Find potential MCP servers for a project I'm working on. I need the deployment URLs from my API center of any MCP servers that can run code snippets.

  7. Review the responses from GitHub Copilot Chat. Continue with the conversation to refine the results or ask follow-up questions.

Troubleshooting

Unable to sign in to Azure

If users who have been assigned the Azure API Center Data Reader role can't complete the sign-in flow after selecting Sign in to Azure in the API Center portal view, there might be a problem with the configuration of the connection.

Check the settings in the app registration you configured in Microsoft Entra ID. Confirm the values of the application (client) ID and the directory (tenant) ID in the app registration and the runtime URL of the API center. Then, set up the connection to the API center again.

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