Configure Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to give your agents access to external data sources and services. MCP is the SDK's primary extensibility mechanism for connecting agents to the outside world, databases, APIs, file systems, and third-party services. You'll learn to set up local and remote MCP servers and integrate them into Copilot sessions.

Implement permission controls that enforce least-privilege access for agent tool invocations. You'll learn to design approval workflows for sensitive operations, classify tools by risk level, and build permission handlers that give humans oversight of high-stakes agent actions. A critical production safety requirement for agentic systems

Implement robust error handling for tool invocations that keeps agent workflows running when tools fail. You'll learn to design retry strategies, implement fallback tools, and build graceful degradation patterns that allow agents to continue producing useful results even when their tools encounter errors.

Build a tool-integrated agent that combines custom tools, Model Context Protocol (MCP) server connectivity, permission controls, and error handling into a functioning data research assistant. This project integrates skills into a portfolio-ready deliverable that demonstrates production-grade tool management.