Visual Studio update rejiggers GitHub Copilot usage tracking

Microsoft's June 2026 Visual Studio update adds a GitHub Copilot usage window that tracks token consumption in real time under GitHub's new usage-based billing model. The update also introduces trust validation for Model Context Protocol servers, comparing configurations and fingerprints to detect changes before allowing execution.

Microsoft has fitted the June 2026 update to Visual Studio IDE https://www.infoworld.com/article/4058164/visual-studio-2026-doubles-down-on-ai-assisted-coding.html with a GitHub Copilot https://www.infoworld.com/article/3609013/github-copilot-everything-you-need-to-know.html usage window that gives a clearer view of where a user stands against the GitHub’s new usage-based model. The update also adds trust validation for Model Context Protocol https://www.infoworld.com/article/4029634/what-is-model-context-protocol-how-mcp-bridges-ai-and-external-services.html MCP servers. GitHub Copilot usage now is calculated based on token consumption rather than by request, as part of GitHub’s new usage-based billing model https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/github-copilot-is-moving-to-usage-based-billing/ , Microsoft said on June 30 https://devblogs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/visual-studio-june-update-track-your-usage-trust-your-tools/ . The refreshed usage window in Visual Studio gives a clearer view of the stance against that model, with real-time updates as the developer works. This can be opened by selecting Copilot Usage from the Copilot badge menu. GitHub Copilot switched to usage-based billing on June 1. Also with the June update, Visual Studio now validates MCP server trust in two places during startup. Before the MCP server process starts, the current configuration is compared against a previously trusted baseline. After it starts, the fingerprint of its tools, prompts, resources, and instructions is compared to the last-trusted fingerprint. If anything has changed, a trust dialog asks the user to review the changes before the server is allowed to run. Microsoft also announced these developments with the June 2026 update: Visual Studio 2026 https://www.infoworld.com/article/4088876/microsoft-releases-ai-native-visual-studio-2026.html was released in November 2025.