Microsoft Visio Desktop MCP Server

What it is

Microsoft Visio Desktop MCP Server (preview) is Microsoft's official MCP server for creating, inspecting and updating native, editable Visio diagrams from an AI client such as VS Code (GitHub Copilot agent mode) or any client that supports local stdio MCP servers. Your AI client interprets the request and supplies the model; the server runs locally and automates the Visio desktop app on Windows.

It is distributed as the NuGet package Microsoft.Visio.Mcp and launched with dnx. Because it drives real Visio, results are ordinary .vsdx drawings you can keep editing by hand, using your installed stencils and templates.

What it can do

• manage_visio: Open or close the managed Visio desktop application and refresh the content index.
• manage_document: Work with drawings and pages: themes, explicit saves and exports (image or PDF).
• create_diagram: Add shapes, connectors and text to one existing page.
• read_diagram: Read diagram content, or retrieve JSON artifacts issued for large reads.
• update_diagram: Apply ordered, focused edits to a page.
• validate_diagram: Check a page for supported visual defects (it reports problems, it does not fix them).
• get_visual_model_schema: Return the nested authoring schema used for shapes, relationships and update operations.
• content_search: Search installed masters, stencils and templates.

Install

Requirements: an interactive Windows desktop session with installed, activated and licensed Visio Desktop (not Visio for the web), the .NET 10 SDK for the dnx launcher, and an AI client that supports local stdio MCP servers with a tool-capable model.

VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json):

{
  "servers": {
    "visio-local": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "dnx",
      "args": ["Microsoft.Visio.Mcp", "--prerelease"]
    }
  }
}

Other clients use the same command, dnx Microsoft.Visio.Mcp --prerelease, in their own config format. After connecting, check that the eight tools appear, then try the first-diagram walkthrough in the docs.

Limits

• Preview: for evaluation, not production or critical workloads; review the package license terms.
• Windows and Visio Desktop only: no Visio for the web, no hosted or headless cloud version. Run the client, server and Visio as the same signed-in Windows user (not WSL, containers, SSH or cloud workspaces).
• The AI client reads your source files; the server does not import CSV, JSON or Excel itself.
• Output varies between models and runs, and layouts usually need review. Changes are saved only when the agent saves the drawing.
• Visio events are turned off while it works, so add-ins and macros may not run; legacy .vss/.vst stencils need modern-format copies.
• Privacy: the server runs with your Windows account's file permissions, your AI client may send diagram content to its model provider, and the server can send Office diagnostic data to Microsoft depending on your Office privacy settings.

FAQ

Is this the official Microsoft Visio MCP server? Yes. It is published by Microsoft as the Microsoft.Visio.Mcp NuGet package, with docs at microsoft.github.io/Visio-Desktop-MCP-Server. Other "Visio MCP" projects on mcp.so are community-built.

Does it work on macOS or in the browser? No. It needs the Visio desktop app on Windows.

Does it include an AI model? No. It provides tools; the model comes from your AI client.

Sources: Documentation, GitHub, NuGet. Checked 2026-11-10.