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How to use Workday with VS Code

You want Workday inside VS Code so it can check time-off availability before planning, submit a time-off request, track pending time-off requests, and review past time off — without you copy-pasting between tabs. Here is the whole setup, once.

Create your Workday gateway

The gateway is the thing VS Code connects to, and it is where you decide which Workday tools an agent may use. You create it once and every client reuses it.

  1. Create an Arcade account

    Sign up and open the dashboard. The free tier is enough to follow this through.

  2. Create an MCP Gateway and select your Workday tools

    In the dashboard, create a gateway and pick the Workday tools you want to expose. The gateway is what your client connects to, and it is where tool access is decided.

  3. Copy your gateway URL

    Every client below needs it.

    https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/<YOUR-GATEWAY-SLUG>

Create a Workday gateway Opens the gateway builder in your Arcade dashboard.

Connect the gateway to VS Code

  1. Add the server

    VS Code 1.107.0 or higher. Command Palette → MCP: Add Server… → choose HTTP, paste your gateway URL, and name it something like mcp-arcade.

  2. Start it and authenticate

    Click Start next to the server in mcp.json or under Extensions → MCP Servers - Installed, then approve the Arcade sign-in and consent screens.

  3. Try it out

    Open the chat pane, switch to Agent mode, and ask it to use one of your Workday tools.

Full VS Code guide in the docs steps verified 2026-08-13

Get started with Workday prompts

VS Code can now act on your Workday account. Click a prompt to copy it.

Limit the agent to checking balances, eligible types, history, status, and valid dates until a person approves a request. Pair it with Contextual Access policies so time-off requests cannot be submitted without that approval.

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