Add persistent browser auth to connector canvas

Replace Azure CLI-only authentication with InteractiveBrowserCredential, protected sign-in lifecycle endpoints, and subscription refresh after sign-in. Persist the Azure Identity cache securely across extension reloads and align connector restart guidance with the GitHub Copilot app.

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

.github/plugin/marketplace.json

@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@
       "name": "connector-namespaces",
       "source": "extensions/connector-namespaces",
       "description": "Browse, connect, and open MCP connectors from an Azure Connector Namespace.",
-      "version": "1.1.2"
+      "version": "1.2.0"
     },
     {
       "name": "context-engineering",

extensions/connector-namespaces/.github/plugin/plugin.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "connector-namespaces",
   "description": "Browse, connect, and open MCP connectors from an Azure Connector Namespace.",
-  "version": "1.1.2",
+  "version": "1.2.0",
   "author": {
     "name": "Alex Yang",
     "url": "https://github.com/alexyaang"

extensions/connector-namespaces/README.md

@@ -6,14 +6,16 @@ session. Search by name or category, sign in to a connector, then restart the
 session to make its tools available to the agent.
 
 > The canvas talks to public Azure Resource Manager (`management.azure.com`)
-> using the signed-in Azure CLI account. The extension does not register its own
-> Entra application or persist Azure credentials.
+> using an interactive Microsoft Entra browser sign-in. It does not register its
+> own Entra application. Azure Identity persists the account session in the
+> operating system's encrypted credential store.
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
 - **GitHub Copilot CLI** (the host that loads canvas extensions).
-- **Azure CLI**, signed in with `az login`. The extension asks Azure CLI for a
-  short-lived ARM access token and refreshes it through the same broker.
+- A browser for Microsoft Entra sign-in. The extension prompts when Azure
+  authentication is required and restores the encrypted Azure Identity session
+  after extension or Copilot CLI restarts.
 - **An Azure subscription with a Connector Namespace** — resource type
   `Microsoft.Web/connectorGateways` (API version `2026-05-01-preview`). This is
   a preview resource provider; you must have access to it for the catalog to
@@ -41,14 +43,15 @@ The destination **scope** is chosen at install time:
 ## Usage
 
 1. Open the **MCP Connectors** canvas from Copilot CLI.
-2. The canvas loads subscriptions from your signed-in Azure CLI account. Pick an
+2. If prompted, choose **Sign in** and complete Microsoft Entra authentication
+   in the browser. The canvas reloads your subscriptions automatically. Pick an
    Azure **subscription** and a **Connector Namespace**. The choice is saved for
    future sessions (change it any time via **Change namespace**).
 3. Browse or filter the connector catalog, then **Connect**. A browser tab
    opens for Microsoft sign-in; complete it and the canvas updates on its own.
 4. Connected connectors move into **My MCPs**. Use **Sandbox** on a tile to open
    that server directly in the namespace MCP playground.
-5. Restart the Copilot CLI session so the agent can load the connected tools.
+5. Restart the GitHub Copilot app so the agent can load the connected tools.
 
 The extension registers the native `connector_namespaces_open_playground` tool,
 so GitHub Copilot can open a named connector from **My MCPs** without installing
@@ -59,9 +62,11 @@ an additional Agent Skill.
 - `extension.mjs` — entry point; declares the canvas, `open_sandbox` action, and
   native `connector_namespaces_open_playground` tool.
 - `server.mjs` — a loopback HTTP server (bound to `127.0.0.1` only) that serves
-  the canvas UI and the JSON/OAuth endpoints the iframe calls.
-- `armClient.mjs` — thin ARM client (token brokered by Azure CLI, public ARM
-  base only, SSRF-guarded path segments).
+  the canvas UI and the JSON/authentication endpoints the iframe calls.
+- `auth.mjs` — `InteractiveBrowserCredential` broker for sign-in lifecycle,
+  cancellation, encrypted token-cache persistence, and ARM token refresh.
+- `armClient.mjs` — thin ARM client (public ARM base only, SSRF-guarded path
+  segments).
 - `catalog.mjs` — fetches and curates the connector list for a namespace.
 - `install.mjs` — the connect/install pipeline (managed-API connection, consent,
   rollback on cancel, and native HTTPS MCP config registration).
@@ -71,9 +76,11 @@ an additional Agent Skill.
 
 ## Privacy & security
 
-- ARM tokens come from `az account get-access-token`, stay in process memory,
-  and are never logged or written by the extension. Azure CLI owns sign-in and
-  credential storage.
+- ARM tokens come from `@azure/identity`'s `InteractiveBrowserCredential` and
+  are never logged. Azure Identity stores its refreshable account cache through
+  the operating system's encrypted credential store. A non-secret account
+  locator is saved with user-only permissions so a new process can select that
+  cache entry; the extension never writes raw tokens to its artifact files.
 - All servers bind to loopback (`127.0.0.1`) and are never exposed externally.
 - ARM requests go only to `https://management.azure.com/`; path segments are
   validated to prevent SSRF-style host smuggling.

extensions/connector-namespaces/armClient.mjs

@@ -1,62 +1,17 @@
-// ARM API client — fetches real connector data with Azure CLI credentials.
+// ARM API client — fetches real connector data with interactive Azure credentials.
 
-import { exec, execFile } from "node:child_process";
 import { constants as fsConstants, promises as fs } from "node:fs";
-import { homedir, platform } from "node:os";
-import { basename, delimiter, dirname, isAbsolute, join, resolve, sep } from "node:path";
-import { promisify } from "node:util";
+import { platform } from "node:os";
+import { basename, isAbsolute, join, resolve, sep } from "node:path";
+import { getToken } from "./auth.mjs";
+
+export { getToken };
 
 const API_VERSION = "2026-05-01-preview";
 const RG_API_VERSION = "2021-04-01";
 const MSI_API_VERSION = "2023-01-31";
 const SUBS_API_VERSION = "2020-01-01";
 
-const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
-const execAsync = promisify(exec);
-const ARM_RESOURCE = "https://management.azure.com/";
-const EXPIRY_SKEW_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000;
-const LEGACY_AUTH_CACHE = join(
-    process.env.COPILOT_HOME || join(homedir(), ".copilot"),
-    "extensions",
-    "connector-namespaces",
-    "artifacts",
-    "auth-cache.json",
-);
-
-let s_auth = null; // { token, expiresAt }
-let s_authInFlight = null;
-let s_legacyAuthCacheRemoved = false;
-
-export function parseAzureCliToken(stdout) {
-    let data;
-    try {
-        data = JSON.parse(stdout);
-    } catch {
-        throw new Error("Azure CLI returned invalid token JSON.");
-    }
-    const token = data?.accessToken;
-    const epochSeconds = Number(data?.expires_on);
-    const expiresAt = Number.isFinite(epochSeconds) && epochSeconds > 0
-        ? epochSeconds * 1000
-        : Date.parse(data?.expiresOn);
-    if (typeof token !== "string" || token.length === 0 || !Number.isFinite(expiresAt)) {
-        throw new Error("Azure CLI returned an incomplete ARM token.");
-    }
-    return { token, expiresAt };
-}
-
-async function removeLegacyAuthCache() {
-    if (s_legacyAuthCacheRemoved) return;
-    try {
-        await fs.unlink(LEGACY_AUTH_CACHE);
-    } catch (error) {
-        if (error?.code !== "ENOENT") {
-            throw new Error(`Could not remove the legacy connector credential cache at ${LEGACY_AUTH_CACHE}: ${error.message}`);
-        }
-    }
-    s_legacyAuthCacheRemoved = true;
-}
-
 function windowsSystemExecutable(name) {
     const systemRoot = process.env.SystemRoot;
     if (systemRoot && isAbsolute(systemRoot)) return join(systemRoot, "System32", name);
@@ -92,29 +47,6 @@ async function trustedExecutablePath(path, expectedName, workspaceRoot = process
     return candidate;
 }
 
-async function resolveWindowsAzureCli() {
-    const trustedCwd = homedir();
-    const { stdout } = await execFileAsync(
-        windowsSystemExecutable("where.exe"),
-        ["az.cmd"],
-        { cwd: trustedCwd, encoding: "utf8", windowsHide: true, timeout: 10_000, maxBuffer: 64 * 1024 },
-    );
-    for (const path of stdout.split(/\r?\n/).map((line) => line.trim())) {
-        if (/[%]/.test(path)) continue;
-        const candidate = await trustedExecutablePath(path, "az.cmd");
-        if (candidate) return candidate;
-    }
-    throw new Error("Azure CLI was not found outside the current workspace.");
-}
-
-export async function resolvePosixAzureCli(pathValue = process.env.PATH || "", workspaceRoot = process.cwd()) {
-    for (const directory of pathValue.split(delimiter)) {
-        const candidate = await trustedExecutablePath(resolve(directory || workspaceRoot, "az"), "az", workspaceRoot);
-        if (candidate) return candidate;
-    }
-    throw new Error("Azure CLI was not found outside the current workspace.");
-}
-
 export async function resolveSystemExecutable(name, workspaceRoot = process.cwd()) {
     const candidates = platform() === "win32"
         ? [windowsSystemExecutable(name)]
@@ -126,41 +58,6 @@ export async function resolveSystemExecutable(name, workspaceRoot = process.cwd(
     throw new Error(`Could not resolve the trusted system executable ${name}.`);
 }
 
-async function acquireToken() {
-    await removeLegacyAuthCache();
-    try {
-        const windows = platform() === "win32";
-        const azureCli = windows ? await resolveWindowsAzureCli() : await resolvePosixAzureCli();
-        const options = { cwd: homedir(), encoding: "utf8", windowsHide: true, timeout: 60_000, maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024 };
-        const { stdout } = windows
-            ? await execAsync(
-                `"${azureCli}" account get-access-token --resource https://management.azure.com/ --output json --only-show-errors`,
-                { ...options, shell: windowsSystemExecutable("cmd.exe") },
-            )
-            : await execFileAsync(
-                azureCli,
-                ["account", "get-access-token", "--resource", ARM_RESOURCE, "--output", "json", "--only-show-errors"],
-                options,
-            );
-        s_auth = parseAzureCliToken(stdout);
-        return s_auth.token;
-    } catch (error) {
-        const detail = String(error?.stderr || error?.message || "").trim();
-        throw new Error(
-            `Azure CLI authentication failed. Install Azure CLI and run "az login" before opening the canvas.${detail ? ` ${detail}` : ""}`,
-        );
-    }
-}
-
-export async function getToken() {
-    if (s_auth && s_auth.expiresAt - EXPIRY_SKEW_MS > Date.now()) return s_auth.token;
-    if (s_authInFlight) return s_authInFlight;
-    s_authInFlight = acquireToken().finally(() => {
-        s_authInFlight = null;
-    });
-    return s_authInFlight;
-}
-
 /**
  * List all enabled Azure subscriptions the user has access to.
  */
@@ -170,9 +67,13 @@ export async function getToken() {
 let s_subsCache = null; // { subs, expiresAt }
 const SUBS_TTL_MS = 30 * 60 * 1000;
 
-export async function listSubscriptions() {
+export function invalidateSubscriptionsCache() {
+    s_subsCache = null;
+}
+
+export async function listSubscriptions({ forceRefresh = false } = {}) {
     const now = Date.now();
-    if (s_subsCache && s_subsCache.expiresAt > now) return s_subsCache.subs;
+    if (!forceRefresh && s_subsCache && s_subsCache.expiresAt > now) return s_subsCache.subs;
     const token = await getToken();
     const url = `https://management.azure.com/subscriptions?api-version=${SUBS_API_VERSION}`;
     const raw = await paginateAll(url, token);

extensions/connector-namespaces/auth.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,268 @@
+import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
+import { promises as fs } from "node:fs";
+import { homedir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import {
+    deserializeAuthenticationRecord,
+    InteractiveBrowserCredential,
+    serializeAuthenticationRecord,
+    useIdentityPlugin,
+} from "@azure/identity";
+import { cachePersistencePlugin } from "@azure/identity-cache-persistence";
+
+export const ARM_SCOPE = "https://management.azure.com/.default";
+export const TOKEN_CACHE_NAME = "github-copilot-connector-namespaces";
+
+const TOKEN_EXPIRY_SKEW_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000;
+const SIGN_IN_SESSION_TTL_MS = 10 * 60 * 1000;
+const AUTH_STORAGE_DIR = join(
+    process.env.COPILOT_HOME || join(homedir(), ".copilot"),
+    "extensions",
+    "connector-namespaces",
+    "artifacts",
+);
+const AUTH_RECORD_FILE = join(AUTH_STORAGE_DIR, "azure-auth-record.json");
+const LEGACY_AUTH_CACHE = join(AUTH_STORAGE_DIR, "auth-cache.json");
+
+let legacyAuthCacheRemoved = false;
+
+useIdentityPlugin(cachePersistencePlugin);
+
+async function loadAuthenticationRecord() {
+    try {
+        const serialized = await fs.readFile(AUTH_RECORD_FILE, "utf-8");
+        return deserializeAuthenticationRecord(serialized);
+    } catch (error) {
+        if (error?.code === "ENOENT") return undefined;
+        throw error;
+    }
+}
+
+async function saveAuthenticationRecord(record) {
+    await fs.mkdir(AUTH_STORAGE_DIR, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+    await fs.chmod(AUTH_STORAGE_DIR, 0o700);
+    await fs.writeFile(
+        AUTH_RECORD_FILE,
+        serializeAuthenticationRecord(record),
+        { encoding: "utf-8", mode: 0o600 },
+    );
+    await fs.chmod(AUTH_RECORD_FILE, 0o600);
+}
+
+async function removeLegacyAuthCache() {
+    if (legacyAuthCacheRemoved) return;
+    try {
+        await fs.unlink(LEGACY_AUTH_CACHE);
+    } catch (error) {
+        if (error?.code !== "ENOENT") {
+            throw new Error(`Could not remove the legacy connector credential cache at ${LEGACY_AUTH_CACHE}: ${error.message}`);
+        }
+    }
+    legacyAuthCacheRemoved = true;
+}
+
+export class ConnectorAuthenticationRequiredError extends Error {
+    constructor(message = "Sign in to Azure to continue.", options) {
+        super(message, options);
+        this.name = "ConnectorAuthenticationRequiredError";
+        this.code = "authentication_required";
+    }
+}
+
+export function isAuthenticationRequiredError(error) {
+    return error instanceof ConnectorAuthenticationRequiredError
+        || error?.code === "authentication_required"
+        || error?.name === "AuthenticationRequiredError";
+}
+
+function credentialFactory(options) {
+    return new InteractiveBrowserCredential(options);
+}
+
+function hasUsableToken(accessToken, now) {
+    return !!accessToken?.token
+        && Number.isFinite(accessToken.expiresOnTimestamp)
+        && accessToken.expiresOnTimestamp - TOKEN_EXPIRY_SKEW_MS > now;
+}
+
+function errorDetail(error) {
+    return String(error?.message || error || "Azure sign-in failed.").slice(0, 400);
+}
+
+export class InteractiveAuthBroker {
+    constructor({
+        createCredential = credentialFactory,
+        createSessionId = randomUUID,
+        cleanupLegacyCredentials = async () => {},
+        loadAuthRecord = async () => undefined,
+        saveAuthRecord = async () => {},
+        now = Date.now,
+        scope = ARM_SCOPE,
+        tokenCacheName = TOKEN_CACHE_NAME,
+    } = {}) {
+        this.createCredential = createCredential;
+        this.createSessionId = createSessionId;
+        this.cleanupLegacyCredentials = cleanupLegacyCredentials;
+        this.loadAuthRecord = loadAuthRecord;
+        this.saveAuthRecord = saveAuthRecord;
+        this.now = now;
+        this.scope = scope;
+        this.tokenCacheName = tokenCacheName;
+        this.credential = null;
+        this.accessToken = null;
+        this.cleanupInFlight = null;
+        this.tokenInFlight = null;
+        this.sessions = new Map();
+    }
+
+    createInteractiveCredential(authenticationRecord) {
+        return this.createCredential({
+            redirectUri: "http://localhost",
+            disableAutomaticAuthentication: true,
+            tokenCachePersistenceOptions: {
+                enabled: true,
+                name: this.tokenCacheName,
+            },
+            ...(authenticationRecord ? { authenticationRecord } : {}),
+        });
+    }
+
+    ensureLegacyCredentialsRemoved() {
+        if (!this.cleanupInFlight) {
+            this.cleanupInFlight = Promise.resolve().then(() => this.cleanupLegacyCredentials());
+        }
+        return this.cleanupInFlight;
+    }
+
+    pruneSessions() {
+        const cutoff = this.now() - SIGN_IN_SESSION_TTL_MS;
+        for (const [sessionId, session] of this.sessions) {
+            if (session.createdAt >= cutoff) continue;
+            session.status = "cancelled";
+            session.abortController.abort();
+            this.sessions.delete(sessionId);
+        }
+    }
+
+    startSignIn() {
+        this.pruneSessions();
+        const sessionId = this.createSessionId();
+        const abortController = new AbortController();
+        let credential;
+        try {
+            credential = this.createInteractiveCredential();
+        } catch (error) {
+            return { ok: false, reason: "identity_unavailable", error: errorDetail(error) };
+        }
+
+        const session = {
+            abortController,
+            createdAt: this.now(),
+            error: "",
+            status: "pending",
+        };
+        this.sessions.set(sessionId, session);
+
+        session.promise = Promise.resolve()
+            .then(async () => {
+                await this.ensureLegacyCredentialsRemoved();
+                const authenticationRecord = await credential.authenticate(
+                    this.scope,
+                    { abortSignal: abortController.signal },
+                );
+                if (!authenticationRecord) {
+                    throw new Error("Azure identity did not return an authentication record.");
+                }
+                await this.saveAuthRecord(authenticationRecord);
+                const accessToken = await credential.getToken(this.scope, { abortSignal: abortController.signal });
+                if (!accessToken?.token || !Number.isFinite(accessToken.expiresOnTimestamp)) {
+                    throw new Error("Azure identity returned an incomplete ARM access token.");
+                }
+                if (session.status !== "pending" || this.sessions.get(sessionId) !== session) return;
+                this.credential = credential;
+                this.accessToken = accessToken;
+                session.status = "done";
+            })
+            .catch((error) => {
+                if (session.status !== "pending") return;
+                session.status = abortController.signal.aborted ? "cancelled" : "error";
+                if (session.status === "error") session.error = errorDetail(error);
+            });
+
+        return { ok: true, sessionId, mode: "interactive" };
+    }
+
+    getSignInStatus(sessionId) {
+        this.pruneSessions();
+        const session = this.sessions.get(sessionId);
+        if (!session) return { ok: false, status: "unknown" };
+        if (session.status === "pending") return { ok: true, status: "pending", mode: "interactive" };
+
+        this.sessions.delete(sessionId);
+        if (session.status === "done") return { ok: true, status: "done" };
+        if (session.status === "cancelled") return { ok: true, status: "cancelled" };
+        return { ok: false, status: "error", error: session.error || "Azure sign-in failed." };
+    }
+
+    cancelSignIn(sessionId) {
+        const session = this.sessions.get(sessionId);
+        if (!session) return { ok: true };
+        session.status = "cancelled";
+        session.abortController.abort();
+        return { ok: true };
+    }
+
+    async getToken() {
+        await this.ensureLegacyCredentialsRemoved();
+        if (hasUsableToken(this.accessToken, this.now())) return this.accessToken.token;
+        if (this.tokenInFlight) return this.tokenInFlight;
+
+        let credential = this.credential;
+        if (!credential) {
+            try {
+                const authenticationRecord = await this.loadAuthRecord();
+                credential = this.createInteractiveCredential(authenticationRecord);
+                this.credential = credential;
+            } catch (error) {
+                throw new ConnectorAuthenticationRequiredError(
+                    "Azure sign-in is unavailable. Check the secure token cache installation and try again.",
+                    { cause: error },
+                );
+            }
+        }
+        const request = credential.getToken(this.scope)
+            .then((accessToken) => {
+                if (!accessToken?.token || !Number.isFinite(accessToken.expiresOnTimestamp)) {
+                    throw new Error("Azure identity returned an incomplete ARM access token.");
+                }
+                this.accessToken = accessToken;
+                return accessToken.token;
+            })
+            .catch((error) => {
+                if (this.credential === credential) {
+                    this.credential = null;
+                    this.accessToken = null;
+                }
+                throw new ConnectorAuthenticationRequiredError(
+                    "Sign in to Azure to continue.",
+                    { cause: error },
+                );
+            })
+            .finally(() => {
+                if (this.tokenInFlight === request) this.tokenInFlight = null;
+            });
+        this.tokenInFlight = request;
+        return request;
+    }
+}
+
+export const interactiveAuth = new InteractiveAuthBroker({
+    cleanupLegacyCredentials: removeLegacyAuthCache,
+    loadAuthRecord: loadAuthenticationRecord,
+    saveAuthRecord: saveAuthenticationRecord,
+});
+
+export const startSignIn = () => interactiveAuth.startSignIn();
+export const getSignInStatus = (sessionId) => interactiveAuth.getSignInStatus(sessionId);
+export const cancelSignIn = (sessionId) => interactiveAuth.cancelSignIn(sessionId);
+export const getToken = () => interactiveAuth.getToken();

extensions/connector-namespaces/auth.test.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+
+import {
+    ConnectorAuthenticationRequiredError,
+    InteractiveAuthBroker,
+    TOKEN_CACHE_NAME,
+} from "./auth.mjs";
+
+function accessToken(token = "token", expiresOnTimestamp = 2_000_000_000_000) {
+    return { token, expiresOnTimestamp };
+}
+
+function authenticationRecord(username = "user@example.com") {
+    return {
+        authority: "login.microsoftonline.com",
+        homeAccountId: "home-account",
+        clientId: "client-id",
+        tenantId: "tenant-id",
+        username,
+    };
+}
+
+test("ARM token requests require an explicit browser sign-in", async () => {
+    let credentialOptions;
+    const broker = new InteractiveAuthBroker({
+        createCredential(options) {
+            credentialOptions = options;
+            return {
+                async getToken() {
+                    const error = new Error("No cached account found.");
+                    error.name = "AuthenticationRequiredError";
+                    throw error;
+                },
+            };
+        },
+        loadAuthRecord: async () => undefined,
+    });
+    await assert.rejects(
+        broker.getToken(),
+        (error) => error instanceof ConnectorAuthenticationRequiredError
+            && error.code === "authentication_required",
+    );
+    assert.deepEqual(credentialOptions.tokenCachePersistenceOptions, {
+        enabled: true,
+        name: TOKEN_CACHE_NAME,
+    });
+});
+
+test("interactive sign-in reports pending then done and caches the ARM token", async () => {
+    let credentialOptions;
+    let authenticateOptions;
+    const credential = {
+        async authenticate(scope, options) {
+            assert.equal(scope, "https://management.azure.com/.default");
+            authenticateOptions = options;
+            return authenticationRecord();
+        },
+        async getToken(scope, options) {
+            assert.equal(scope, "https://management.azure.com/.default");
+            assert.equal(options.abortSignal, authenticateOptions.abortSignal);
+            return accessToken();
+        },
+    };
+    const broker = new InteractiveAuthBroker({
+        createCredential(options) {
+            credentialOptions = options;
+            return credential;
+        },
+        createSessionId: () => "signin-session",
+        saveAuthRecord: async (record) => assert.deepEqual(record, authenticationRecord()),
+        now: () => 1_000,
+    });
+
+    const started = broker.startSignIn();
+    assert.deepEqual(started, {
+        ok: true,
+        sessionId: "signin-session",
+        mode: "interactive",
+    });
+    assert.deepEqual(broker.getSignInStatus(started.sessionId), {
+        ok: true,
+        status: "pending",
+        mode: "interactive",
+    });
+
+    await broker.sessions.get(started.sessionId).promise;
+
+    assert.deepEqual(credentialOptions, {
+        redirectUri: "http://localhost",
+        disableAutomaticAuthentication: true,
+        tokenCachePersistenceOptions: {
+            enabled: true,
+            name: TOKEN_CACHE_NAME,
+        },
+    });
+    assert.equal(authenticateOptions.abortSignal.aborted, false);
+    assert.deepEqual(broker.getSignInStatus(started.sessionId), { ok: true, status: "done" });
+    assert.equal(await broker.getToken(), "token");
+});
+
+test("a new broker restores the persisted credential without reopening the browser", async () => {
+    const cache = { record: null, token: null };
+    let authenticateCalls = 0;
+    const createCredential = (options) => {
+        assert.deepEqual(options.tokenCachePersistenceOptions, {
+            enabled: true,
+            name: TOKEN_CACHE_NAME,
+        });
+        return {
+            async authenticate() {
+                authenticateCalls++;
+                cache.token = accessToken("persisted-token");
+                return authenticationRecord();
+            },
+            async getToken() {
+                if (cache.token && options.authenticationRecord) return cache.token;
+                const error = new Error("No cached account found.");
+                error.name = "AuthenticationRequiredError";
+                throw error;
+            },
+        };
+    };
+    const signedInBroker = new InteractiveAuthBroker({
+        createCredential,
+        createSessionId: () => "persist-session",
+        saveAuthRecord: async (record) => { cache.record = record; },
+        now: () => 1_000,
+    });
+    const started = signedInBroker.startSignIn();
+    await signedInBroker.sessions.get(started.sessionId).promise;
+    assert.equal(authenticateCalls, 1);
+
+    const restartedBroker = new InteractiveAuthBroker({
+        createCredential,
+        loadAuthRecord: async () => cache.record,
+        now: () => 1_000,
+    });
+    assert.equal(await restartedBroker.getToken(), "persisted-token");
+    assert.equal(authenticateCalls, 1);
+});
+
+test("cancelling sign-in aborts the credential request", async () => {
+    let abortSignal;
+    const credential = {
+        authenticate(_scope, options) {
+            abortSignal = options.abortSignal;
+            return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+                options.abortSignal.addEventListener("abort", () => reject(new Error("aborted")), { once: true });
+            });
+        },
+        async getToken() {
+            throw new Error("getToken should not run after cancellation");
+        },
+    };
+    const broker = new InteractiveAuthBroker({
+        createCredential: () => credential,
+        createSessionId: () => "cancel-session",
+        loadAuthRecord: async () => undefined,
+        now: () => 1_000,
+    });
+
+    const started = broker.startSignIn();
+    const pending = broker.sessions.get(started.sessionId).promise;
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+    assert.equal(abortSignal.aborted, false);
+
+    assert.deepEqual(broker.cancelSignIn(started.sessionId), { ok: true });
+    await pending;
+
+    assert.equal(abortSignal.aborted, true);
+    assert.deepEqual(broker.getSignInStatus(started.sessionId), { ok: true, status: "cancelled" });
+    await assert.rejects(broker.getToken(), ConnectorAuthenticationRequiredError);
+});
+
+test("sign-in failures are surfaced through the status endpoint contract", async () => {
+    const broker = new InteractiveAuthBroker({
+        createCredential: () => ({
+            async authenticate() {
+                throw new Error("browser launch failed");
+            },
+            async getToken() {
+                throw new Error("unreachable");
+            },
+        }),
+        createSessionId: () => "failed-session",
+        now: () => 1_000,
+    });
+
+    const started = broker.startSignIn();
+    await broker.sessions.get(started.sessionId).promise;
+
+    assert.deepEqual(broker.getSignInStatus(started.sessionId), {
+        ok: false,
+        status: "error",
+        error: "browser launch failed",
+    });
+});

extensions/connector-namespaces/install.reauth.test.mjs

@@ -12,26 +12,18 @@
 import { test, after } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
-import { chmodSync, existsSync, mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, readdirSync, rmSync, unlinkSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { delimiter, join } from "node:path";
+import { existsSync, mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, readdirSync, rmSync, unlinkSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 
 // Isolate COPILOT_HOME before importing install.mjs because its paths are bound at
-// module-eval time. Put a fake Azure CLI on PATH so getToken() stays offline, and
-// seed a profile config so the local entry reads as inCli.
+// module-eval time. Seed the interactive broker with an in-memory token so ARM
+// calls stay offline, and seed a profile config so the local entry reads as inCli.
 const TMP = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "cn-reauth-"));
 process.env.COPILOT_HOME = TMP;
 process.env.USERPROFILE = TMP; // homedir() on Windows
 process.env.HOME = TMP; // homedir() on posix
 
-const binDir = join(TMP, "bin");
-mkdirSync(binDir, { recursive: true });
-const tokenJson = JSON.stringify({ accessToken: "fake-token", expires_on: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600 });
-writeFileSync(join(binDir, "az"), `#!/usr/bin/env node\nprocess.stdout.write(${JSON.stringify(tokenJson)});\n`);
-chmodSync(join(binDir, "az"), 0o755);
-writeFileSync(join(binDir, "az.cmd"), `@echo ${tokenJson}\r\n`);
-process.env.PATH = `${binDir}${delimiter}${process.env.PATH || ""}`;
-
 const legacyAuthCache = join(TMP, "extensions", "connector-namespaces", "artifacts", "auth-cache.json");
 mkdirSync(join(TMP, "extensions", "connector-namespaces", "artifacts"), { recursive: true });
 writeFileSync(legacyAuthCache, JSON.stringify({ accessToken: "legacy", refreshToken: "legacy" }));
@@ -41,6 +33,14 @@ writeFileSync(
     JSON.stringify({ mcpServers: { "docusign-bbb": { type: "http", url: "https://example/mcp" } } }),
 );
 
+const { interactiveAuth } = await import("./auth.mjs");
+interactiveAuth.credential = {
+    async getToken() {
+        return { token: "fake-token", expiresOnTimestamp: Date.now() + 60 * 60 * 1000 };
+    },
+};
+interactiveAuth.accessToken = { token: "fake-token", expiresOnTimestamp: Date.now() + 60 * 60 * 1000 };
+
 // Dynamic import AFTER the env is set. A static top-level import would be hoisted
 // and evaluate install.mjs (binding the paths to the real home) before the env
 // assignments run.

extensions/connector-namespaces/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "connector-namespaces",
-  "version": "1.1.0",
+  "version": "1.2.0",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "extension.mjs",
   "description": "Browse, connect, and open MCP connectors from your Azure Connector Namespace in Sandbox.",
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
   ],
   "license": "MIT",
   "dependencies": {
+    "@azure/identity": "^4.13.1",
+    "@azure/identity-cache-persistence": "^1.3.0",
     "@github/copilot-sdk": "1.0.6"
   }
 }

extensions/connector-namespaces/preview/README.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ A standalone way to **see** every canvas state without launching the Copilot
 app. It imports the real, pure renderer functions from `../renderer.mjs` and
 serves each state on a fixed loopback port, with every `/api/*` endpoint stubbed
 so you can force the states that keep regressing (the connecting spinner and the
-"Restart your Copilot session…" banner).
+"Restart the GitHub Copilot app…" banner).
 
 This exists because those two bugs have each shipped multiple times:
 

extensions/connector-namespaces/renderer.mjs

@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ export function baseStyles() {
     }
 }
 * { box-sizing: border-box; }
+[hidden] { display: none !important; }
 body {
     font-family: "Segoe UI Variable", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, system-ui, sans-serif;
     margin: 0;
@@ -303,7 +304,7 @@ button:focus-visible, a:focus-visible, [tabindex]:focus-visible { outline: 2px s
 // Setup / Namespace Picker
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-export function renderSetupHtml(subscriptions, notice = "", capabilityToken = "") {
+export function renderSetupHtml(subscriptions = [], notice = "", capabilityToken = "") {
     const subOptions = subscriptions.map((s) =>
         `<option value="${s.id}">${esc(s.name)} (${s.id.slice(0, 8)}\u2026)</option>`
     ).join("");
@@ -336,6 +337,19 @@ export function renderSetupHtml(subscriptions, notice = "", capabilityToken = ""
 }
 .create-link:hover { background: var(--accent); color: #fff; }
 .create-link .plus { font-size: 1.05rem; line-height: 1; font-weight: 700; }
+.create-link:disabled { opacity: .55; cursor: not-allowed; background: transparent; color: var(--fg-muted); border-color: var(--border-strong); }
+.signin-panel { margin: .25rem 0 1rem; max-width: 540px; }
+.signin-message { color: var(--fg-muted); font-size: .82rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0 0 .7rem; }
+.signin-actions { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: .35rem; }
+.signin-primary { min-width: 0; padding: .35rem .75rem; font-size: .82rem; }
+.signin-cancel {
+    appearance: none; border: 0; border-radius: 4px; background: transparent;
+    color: var(--fg-muted); padding: .3rem .45rem; font: inherit; font-size: .78rem;
+    cursor: pointer;
+}
+.signin-cancel:hover { color: var(--accent); background: var(--bg-hover); }
+.signin-actions button:disabled { opacity: .55; cursor: wait; }
+.signin-panel[data-state="error"] .signin-message { color: var(--danger); }
 .setup-notice {
     margin: 0 0 1rem; padding: .55rem .7rem; border-radius: 6px;
     background: var(--bg-pill); border: 1px solid var(--accent);
@@ -347,19 +361,28 @@ export function renderSetupHtml(subscriptions, notice = "", capabilityToken = ""
     <div class="sub">Choose which connector namespace to browse. This choice is saved for future sessions.</div>
 </div>
 ${notice ? `<div class="setup-notice">${esc(notice)}</div>` : ""}
-<div class="create-row">
-    <button id="create-ns-btn" class="create-link" type="button"><span class="plus">+</span><span>New connector namespace</span></button>
+<div id="signin-panel" class="signin-panel" data-state="idle" aria-busy="false" hidden>
+    <p id="signin-message" class="signin-message" aria-live="polite">Sign in to Azure to load your subscriptions and connector namespaces.</p>
+    <div class="signin-actions">
+        <button id="signin-btn" class="item-add primary signin-primary" type="button">Sign in to Azure</button>
+        <button id="cancel-signin-btn" class="signin-cancel" type="button" hidden>Cancel</button>
+    </div>
 </div>
-<div style="margin-bottom: 1rem;">
-    <label for="sub-select">Subscription</label>
-    <select id="sub-select">
-        <option value="">-- Select subscription --</option>
-        ${subOptions}
-    </select>
-</div>
-<input id="gw-filter" type="text" placeholder="Filter namespaces by name\u2026" autocomplete="off" spellcheck="false">
-<div id="gateway-list">
-    <div class="empty">Select a subscription to see available connector namespaces.</div>
+<div id="setup-content">
+    <div class="create-row">
+        <button id="create-ns-btn" class="create-link" type="button"${subscriptions.length ? "" : " disabled"}><span class="plus">+</span><span>New connector namespace</span></button>
+    </div>
+    <div style="margin-bottom: 1rem;">
+        <label for="sub-select">Subscription</label>
+        <select id="sub-select"${subscriptions.length ? "" : " disabled"}>
+            <option value="">-- Select subscription --</option>
+            ${subOptions}
+        </select>
+    </div>
+    <input id="gw-filter" type="text" placeholder="Filter namespaces by name\u2026" autocomplete="off" spellcheck="false">
+    <div id="gateway-list">
+        <div class="empty">${subscriptions.length ? "Select a subscription to see available connector namespaces." : "Loading subscriptions\u2026"}</div>
+    </div>
 </div>
 <script>
 const connectorNamespaceToken = ${JSON.stringify(capabilityToken)};
@@ -379,7 +402,15 @@ window.fetch = (input, init = {}) => {
 const subSelect = document.getElementById("sub-select");
 const gatewayList = document.getElementById("gateway-list");
 const gwFilter = document.getElementById("gw-filter");
-document.getElementById("create-ns-btn").addEventListener("click", () => {
+const setupContent = document.getElementById("setup-content");
+const createNamespaceButton = document.getElementById("create-ns-btn");
+const signinPanel = document.getElementById("signin-panel");
+const signinMessage = document.getElementById("signin-message");
+const signinButton = document.getElementById("signin-btn");
+const cancelSigninButton = document.getElementById("cancel-signin-btn");
+const signin = { sessionId: null, timer: null, starting: false };
+
+createNamespaceButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
     window.location.href = "/create" + (subSelect.value ? "?subscriptionId=" + encodeURIComponent(subSelect.value) : "");
 });
 let allGateways = [];
@@ -387,6 +418,158 @@ let hasMoreGateways = false;
 let loadedAll = false;
 let gatewayRequestSeq = 0;
 
+function setSigninRequired(message, state = "idle") {
+    signinPanel.hidden = false;
+    signinPanel.dataset.state = state;
+    signinPanel.setAttribute("aria-busy", "false");
+    setupContent.hidden = true;
+    signinMessage.textContent = message || "Sign in to Azure to load your subscriptions and connector namespaces.";
+    signinButton.disabled = false;
+    signinButton.hidden = false;
+    cancelSigninButton.hidden = true;
+}
+
+function setSetupReady() {
+    signinPanel.hidden = true;
+    signinPanel.dataset.state = "idle";
+    signinPanel.setAttribute("aria-busy", "false");
+    setupContent.hidden = false;
+    subSelect.disabled = false;
+    createNamespaceButton.disabled = false;
+}
+
+function replaceSubscriptions(subscriptions) {
+    subSelect.replaceChildren(new Option("-- Select subscription --", ""));
+    for (const subscription of subscriptions) {
+        const id = String(subscription.id || "");
+        if (!id) continue;
+        const name = String(subscription.name || id);
+        subSelect.appendChild(new Option(name + " (" + id.slice(0, 8) + "\u2026)", id));
+    }
+}
+
+async function loadSubscriptions(force) {
+    subSelect.disabled = true;
+    createNamespaceButton.disabled = true;
+    gatewayList.innerHTML = '<div class="empty">Loading subscriptions\u2026</div>';
+    try {
+        const response = await fetch("/api/subscriptions" + (force ? "?refresh=true" : ""));
+        const data = await response.json();
+        if (data.reason === "not_signed_in") {
+            replaceSubscriptions([]);
+            setSigninRequired();
+            return false;
+        }
+        if (!data.ok) throw new Error(data.error || "Could not load subscriptions.");
+        replaceSubscriptions(Array.isArray(data.subscriptions) ? data.subscriptions : []);
+        setSetupReady();
+        gatewayList.innerHTML = '<div class="empty">Select a subscription to see available connector namespaces.</div>';
+        return true;
+    } catch (error) {
+        setupContent.hidden = false;
+        signinPanel.hidden = true;
+        gatewayList.innerHTML = '<div class="empty" style="color:var(--danger);">Couldn\\'t load subscriptions: ' + escH(error.message) + '<br><button id="retry-subscriptions" class="change-btn" type="button" style="margin-top:.6rem;">Retry</button></div>';
+        document.getElementById("retry-subscriptions").addEventListener("click", () => loadSubscriptions(true));
+        return false;
+    }
+}
+
+function stopSigninPolling() {
+    if (signin.timer) clearTimeout(signin.timer);
+    signin.timer = null;
+    signin.sessionId = null;
+    signin.starting = false;
+    signinPanel.setAttribute("aria-busy", "false");
+    signinButton.disabled = false;
+    cancelSigninButton.hidden = true;
+}
+
+function scheduleSigninPoll() {
+    if (signin.sessionId) signin.timer = setTimeout(pollSignin, 2500);
+}
+
+async function startSignin() {
+    if (signin.starting || signin.sessionId) return;
+    signin.starting = true;
+    signinPanel.dataset.state = "pending";
+    signinPanel.setAttribute("aria-busy", "true");
+    signinButton.disabled = true;
+    signinMessage.textContent = "Opening your browser for Azure sign-in\u2026";
+    try {
+        const response = await fetch("/api/signin", {
+            method: "POST",
+            headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+            body: "{}",
+        });
+        const data = await response.json();
+        if (!data.ok || !data.sessionId) throw new Error(data.error || "Could not start Azure sign-in.");
+        signin.sessionId = data.sessionId;
+        signin.starting = false;
+        signinPanel.dataset.state = "pending";
+        signinButton.hidden = true;
+        cancelSigninButton.hidden = false;
+        signinMessage.textContent = "Complete sign-in in the browser window. This page will update automatically.";
+        scheduleSigninPoll();
+    } catch (error) {
+        signin.starting = false;
+        signinPanel.dataset.state = "error";
+        signinPanel.setAttribute("aria-busy", "false");
+        signinButton.disabled = false;
+        signinMessage.textContent = "Couldn\\'t start sign-in: " + error.message;
+    }
+}
+
+async function pollSignin() {
+    const sessionId = signin.sessionId;
+    if (!sessionId) return;
+    try {
+        const response = await fetch("/api/signin/status?sessionId=" + encodeURIComponent(sessionId));
+        const data = await response.json();
+        if (sessionId !== signin.sessionId) return;
+        if (data.status === "done") {
+            stopSigninPolling();
+            signinPanel.dataset.state = "pending";
+            signinPanel.setAttribute("aria-busy", "true");
+            signinMessage.textContent = "Signed in. Loading subscriptions\u2026";
+            signinPanel.hidden = false;
+            await loadSubscriptions(true);
+            return;
+        }
+        if (data.status === "error" || data.status === "cancelled" || data.status === "unknown") {
+            stopSigninPolling();
+            signinButton.hidden = false;
+            setSigninRequired(
+                data.status === "cancelled" ? "Sign-in was cancelled." : data.error || "Azure sign-in failed. Please try again.",
+                data.status === "cancelled" ? "idle" : "error",
+            );
+            return;
+        }
+    } catch {
+        // A transient loopback request failure should not cancel the browser flow.
+    }
+    scheduleSigninPoll();
+}
+
+async function cancelSignin() {
+    const sessionId = signin.sessionId;
+    stopSigninPolling();
+    signinButton.hidden = false;
+    setSigninRequired("Sign-in was cancelled.", "idle");
+    if (!sessionId) return;
+    try {
+        await fetch("/api/signin/cancel", {
+            method: "POST",
+            headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+            body: JSON.stringify({ sessionId }),
+        });
+    } catch {
+        // The local broker also expires abandoned sign-in sessions.
+    }
+}
+
+signinButton.addEventListener("click", startSignin);
+cancelSigninButton.addEventListener("click", cancelSignin);
+
 subSelect.addEventListener("change", async () => {
     const requestSeq = ++gatewayRequestSeq;
     const subId = subSelect.value;
@@ -507,6 +690,9 @@ async function selectGateway(subscriptionId, resourceGroup, gatewayName) {
     if (data.ok) { window.location.href = "/"; }
     else { gatewayList.innerHTML = '<div class="empty" style="color:var(--danger);">Failed to save.</div>'; }
 }
+
+if (${subscriptions.length > 0}) setSetupReady();
+else loadSubscriptions(false);
 </script></body></html>`;
 }
 
@@ -592,11 +778,6 @@ export function renderCatalogHtml(instanceId, catalog, { filter, category, sourc
 .restart-banner .rb-dismiss { flex:none; appearance:none; border:0; background:transparent; color:var(--fg-muted); font:inherit; font-size:.78rem; cursor:pointer; padding:.1rem .35rem; border-radius:4px; }
 .restart-banner .rb-dismiss:hover { color:var(--accent); background:var(--bg-hover); }
 .is-hidden { display:none !important; }
-/* The [hidden] attribute must always win. A class rule like .restart-banner{display:flex}
-   has the same (0,1,0) specificity as the UA [hidden]{display:none} rule and, being an
-   author rule, overrides it -- so setting el.hidden=true does nothing and dismiss silently
-   breaks. This reset restores the attribute's authority for every element. */
-[hidden] { display:none !important; }
 
 /* ---- split "remove" control + its popover menu + delete-confirm dialog ---- */
 /* main + caret read as one pill; the shared 1px border between them is the
@@ -688,7 +869,7 @@ export function renderCatalogHtml(instanceId, catalog, { filter, category, sourc
 </div>
 <div id="restart-banner" class="restart-banner" role="status" hidden>
     <svg class="rb-ico" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M13.4 8a5.4 5.4 0 1 1-1.6-3.8"/><path d="M13.6 2.2v3h-3"/></svg>
-    <div class="rb-body"><strong>Restart your Copilot session to use newly added tools.</strong><br>Connectors are saved to your MCP config now, but their tools only load when a session starts.</div>
+    <div class="rb-body"><strong>Restart the GitHub Copilot app to use newly added tools.</strong><br>Connectors are saved to your MCP config now, but their tools only load when the app starts.</div>
     <button class="rb-dismiss" type="button" aria-label="Dismiss this message">Dismiss</button>
 </div>
 ${sectionsHtml}
@@ -866,9 +1047,9 @@ if (input.value) applyFilters();
 // for now because it writes a plaintext API key into a git-tracked .mcp.json.
 const installScope = "profile";
 
-// --- Restart-required banner (tools load at session start) ---
+// --- Restart-required banner (tools load at app start) ---
 // Visibility is driven by the server's in-process pendingRestart flag via
-// /api/state, not local storage — a real session restart spawns a fresh
+// /api/state, not local storage — a full app restart spawns a fresh
 // extension process and clears it, so the banner can't go stale.
 const restartBanner = document.getElementById("restart-banner");
 // Once the user dismisses the banner, a late/racing hydrateState (its
@@ -1068,7 +1249,7 @@ function openSignInModal(displayName, consentUrl) {
             cancellable = false;
             icon.innerHTML = '<div class="si-check">\u2713</div>';
             title.textContent = "Connected";
-            sub.textContent = displayName + " is configured. Restart your Copilot session to load its tools.";
+            sub.textContent = displayName + " is configured. Restart the GitHub Copilot app to load its tools.";
             meta.textContent = "";
         },
         close() { doClose(); },
@@ -1116,7 +1297,7 @@ async function onConnect(btn) {
             pendingConn = null;
         }
 
-        await showConnectionSuccess(modal, item, 'Connected "' + displayName + '". Restart your session to use its tools.');
+        await showConnectionSuccess(modal, item, 'Connected "' + displayName + '". Restart the GitHub Copilot app to use its tools.');
     } catch (err) {
         const recovery = await recoverConnectorFailure(
             err,
@@ -1128,7 +1309,7 @@ async function onConnect(btn) {
             true
         );
         if (recovery.complete) {
-            await showConnectionSuccess(modal, item, 'Connected "' + displayName + '". Restart your session to use its tools.');
+            await showConnectionSuccess(modal, item, 'Connected "' + displayName + '". Restart the GitHub Copilot app to use its tools.');
             return;
         }
         if (modal) modal.close();
@@ -1218,7 +1399,7 @@ async function onReauth(btn) {
         await showConnectionSuccess(
             modal,
             item,
-            (isConnect ? 'Connected "' : 'Re-authenticated "') + displayName + '". Restart your session to use its tools.'
+            (isConnect ? 'Connected "' : 'Re-authenticated "') + displayName + '". Restart the GitHub Copilot app to use its tools.'
         );
     } catch (err) {
         const recovery = await recoverConnectorFailure(
@@ -1234,7 +1415,7 @@ async function onReauth(btn) {
             await showConnectionSuccess(
                 modal,
                 item,
-                (isConnect ? 'Connected "' : 'Re-authenticated "') + displayName + '". Restart your session to use its tools.'
+                (isConnect ? 'Connected "' : 'Re-authenticated "') + displayName + '". Restart the GitHub Copilot app to use its tools.'
             );
             return;
         }

extensions/connector-namespaces/renderer.test.mjs

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 //      loaders without a visible fallback. Reduced motion now stops the
 //      animation while forcing each loader into a visible static busy state;
 //      nearby text continues to communicate progress.
-//   2. The "Restart your Copilot session" banner ignoring Dismiss. The real
+//   2. The "Restart the GitHub Copilot app" banner ignoring Dismiss. The real
 //      root cause was CSS specificity: `.restart-banner{display:flex}` is an
 //      author rule with the same (0,1,0) specificity as the UA
 //      `[hidden]{display:none}` rule, so it overrode the hidden attribute and
@@ -56,6 +56,33 @@ test("setup subscription label names its select", () => {
     assert.match(html, /<label for="sub-select">Subscription<\/label>/);
 });
 
+test("setup prompts, polls, cancels, and reloads subscriptions after browser sign-in", () => {
+    const html = renderSetupHtml([], "", "token");
+    assert.match(html, /id="signin-btn"/);
+    assert.match(html, /fetch\("\/api\/signin"/);
+    assert.match(html, /\/api\/signin\/status\?sessionId=/);
+    assert.match(html, /fetch\("\/api\/signin\/cancel"/);
+    assert.match(html, /setTimeout\(pollSignin, 2500\)/);
+    assert.match(html, /await loadSubscriptions\(true\)/);
+    assert.match(html, /\/api\/subscriptions/);
+});
+
+test("setup sign-in uses a compact borderless blank state", () => {
+    const html = renderSetupHtml([], "", "token");
+    assert.match(html, /id="signin-btn" class="item-add primary signin-primary"/);
+    assert.match(html, /id="cancel-signin-btn" class="signin-cancel"/);
+    assert.match(html, /Sign in to Azure to load your subscriptions and connector namespaces\./);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(html, /signin-row|signin-icon|signin-title|>Azure account</);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(html, /\.signin-panel\s*\{[^}]*(?:border|background|padding)\s*:/);
+});
+
+test("setup browser script parses after rendering", () => {
+    const html = renderSetupHtml([], "", "token");
+    const script = html.match(/<script>([\s\S]*)<\/script>/)?.[1];
+    assert.ok(script, "setup page must include its client script");
+    assert.doesNotThrow(() => new Function(script));
+});
+
 test("load-all and installed-state failures stay visible and fail closed", () => {
     const setup = renderSetupHtml([], "", "token");
     const catalog = catalogHtml();
@@ -143,6 +170,12 @@ test("restart banner dismiss is sticky against a racing state refresh", () => {
     );
 });
 
+test("restart guidance names the GitHub Copilot app rather than the session", () => {
+    const html = catalogHtml();
+    assert.match(html, /Restart the GitHub Copilot app to use newly added tools\./);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(html, /Restart (?:your Copilot )?session/);
+});
+
 test("a global [hidden] reset makes the hidden attribute authoritative", () => {
     // The actual dismiss bug: .restart-banner{display:flex} (an author rule)
     // ties the UA [hidden]{display:none} rule on specificity and wins, so the

extensions/connector-namespaces/review-fixes.test.mjs

@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { mkdtemp, mkdir, readFile, realpath, rm, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
-import { delimiter, join } from "node:path";
-import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
 
-import { armSegment, parseAzureCliToken, resolvePosixAzureCli, waitForProvisioning } from "./armClient.mjs";
+import { armSegment, waitForProvisioning } from "./armClient.mjs";
 
 const here = new URL(".", import.meta.url);
 
@@ -51,50 +49,18 @@ test("namespace creation polls an empty 202 result until explicit success", asyn
     );
 });
 
-test("Azure authentication is brokered by Azure CLI", async () => {
-    const source = await readFile(new URL("armClient.mjs", here), "utf8");
-    assert.match(source, /account get-access-token --resource/);
-    assert.doesNotMatch(source, /04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46/);
-    assert.doesNotMatch(source, /refreshToken/);
-    assert.match(source, /await fs\.unlink\(LEGACY_AUTH_CACHE\)/);
-    assert.match(source, /resolveWindowsAzureCli/);
-    assert.match(source, /resolvePosixAzureCli/);
-    assert.match(source, /fs\.realpath\(path\)/);
-    assert.match(source, /windowsSystemExecutable\("cmd\.exe"\)/);
-    assert.match(source, /\{ cwd: homedir\(\), encoding: "utf8"/);
-    assert.deepEqual(
-        parseAzureCliToken(JSON.stringify({ accessToken: "token", expires_on: 2_000_000_000 })),
-        { token: "token", expiresAt: 2_000_000_000_000 },
-    );
-    assert.throws(() => parseAzureCliToken("{}"), /incomplete ARM token/);
-});
-
-test("POSIX Azure CLI resolution rejects workspace-controlled binaries", async () => {
-    const root = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "cn-az-path-"));
-    const workspace = join(root, "workspace");
-    const workspaceBin = join(workspace, "node_modules", ".bin");
-    const trustedBin = join(root, "trusted-bin");
-    await Promise.all([
-        mkdir(workspaceBin, { recursive: true }),
-        mkdir(trustedBin, { recursive: true }),
+test("Azure authentication uses an interactive browser and persistent encrypted cache", async () => {
+    const [authSource, armSource] = await Promise.all([
+        readFile(new URL("auth.mjs", here), "utf8"),
+        readFile(new URL("armClient.mjs", here), "utf8"),
     ]);
-    await Promise.all([
-        writeFile(join(workspaceBin, "az"), "workspace", { mode: 0o755 }),
-        writeFile(join(trustedBin, "az"), "trusted", { mode: 0o755 }),
-    ]);
-    try {
-        const resolved = await resolvePosixAzureCli(
-            [workspaceBin, trustedBin].join(delimiter),
-            workspace,
-        );
-        assert.equal(resolved, await realpath(join(trustedBin, "az")));
-        await assert.rejects(
-            resolvePosixAzureCli(workspaceBin, workspace),
-            /outside the current workspace/,
-        );
-    } finally {
-        await rm(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
-    }
+    assert.match(authSource, /new InteractiveBrowserCredential\(options\)/);
+    assert.match(authSource, /useIdentityPlugin\(cachePersistencePlugin\)/);
+    assert.match(authSource, /disableAutomaticAuthentication: true/);
+    assert.match(authSource, /tokenCachePersistenceOptions/);
+    assert.match(authSource, /credential\.authenticate\(\s*this\.scope,\s*\{ abortSignal/);
+    assert.match(authSource, /serializeAuthenticationRecord/);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(armSource, /get-access-token|az login|resolvePosixAzureCli/);
 });
 
 test("installer preserves capability tokens and persists direct HTTP entries", async () => {

extensions/connector-namespaces/server.mjs

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { fetchCatalog, invalidateCache } from "./catalog.mjs";
 import {
     listConnectorGateways,
     listSubscriptions,
+    invalidateSubscriptionsCache,
     listResourceGroups,
     listUserAssignedIdentities,
     checkConnectorGatewayNameAvailable,
@@ -16,6 +17,12 @@ import {
     createConnectorGateway,
     buildGatewayIdentity,
 } from "./armClient.mjs";
+import {
+    cancelSignIn,
+    getSignInStatus,
+    isAuthenticationRequiredError,
+    startSignIn,
+} from "./auth.mjs";
 import { installConnector, finishInstall, reauthConnector, finishReauth, openInBrowser, openMcpConfigFile, getInstalledState, uninstallConnector, removeLocalEntry, deleteConnection, prewarmMeta } from "./install.mjs";
 
 const servers = new Map();
@@ -83,8 +90,8 @@ export function runIdempotentOperation(operations, key, start, now = Date.now())
 
 // Whether a connector was added during the life of THIS extension process.
 // MCP tools are only loaded by the CLI at session start, so an install done
-// after the process started isn't usable until the session restarts. A real
-// session restart spawns a fresh process and resets this to false. `acked`
+// after the process started isn't usable until the app restarts. A full app
+// restart spawns a fresh process and resets this to false. `acked`
 // lets the user dismiss the reminder for the rest of the process.
 let pendingRestart = false;
 let restartAcked = false;
@@ -158,6 +165,44 @@ async function handleRequest(req, res, instanceId, serverEntry) {
 
     // --- API routes ---
 
+    if (req.method === "POST" && url.pathname === "/api/signin") {
+        json(res, startSignIn());
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (req.method === "GET" && url.pathname === "/api/signin/status") {
+        const result = getSignInStatus(url.searchParams.get("sessionId") || "");
+        if (result.status === "done") {
+            invalidateSubscriptionsCache();
+            gatewayCache.clear();
+            invalidateCache();
+        }
+        json(res, result);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (req.method === "POST" && url.pathname === "/api/signin/cancel") {
+        const body = await parseBody(req);
+        json(res, cancelSignIn(body.sessionId || ""));
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (req.method === "GET" && url.pathname === "/api/subscriptions") {
+        try {
+            const subscriptions = await listSubscriptions({
+                forceRefresh: url.searchParams.get("refresh") === "true",
+            });
+            json(res, { ok: true, subscriptions });
+        } catch (error) {
+            if (isAuthenticationRequiredError(error)) {
+                json(res, { ok: false, reason: "not_signed_in", subscriptions: [] });
+            } else {
+                json(res, { ok: false, error: error.message, subscriptions: [] });
+            }
+        }
+        return;
+    }
+
     if (req.method === "POST" && url.pathname === "/api/add") {
         const body = await parseBody(req);
         const config = serverEntry.config;
@@ -485,21 +530,19 @@ async function handleRequest(req, res, instanceId, serverEntry) {
             res.end(renderCreateNamespaceHtml(subs, preselected, serverEntry.token));
         } catch (err) {
             res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8");
-            res.end(renderErrorHtml(`Failed to load subscriptions. Run az login in a terminal, then reload this page.\n\n${err.message}`));
+            if (isAuthenticationRequiredError(err)) {
+                res.end(renderSetupHtml([], "Sign in to Azure before creating a connector namespace.", serverEntry.token));
+            } else {
+                res.end(renderErrorHtml(`Failed to load subscriptions.\n\n${err.message}`));
+            }
         }
         return;
     }
 
     // Setup page (no gateway configured)
     if (!config || url.pathname === "/setup") {
-        try {
-            const subs = await listSubscriptions();
-            res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8");
-            res.end(renderSetupHtml(subs, "", serverEntry.token));
-        } catch (err) {
-            res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8");
-            res.end(renderErrorHtml(`Failed to load subscriptions. Run az login in a terminal, then reload this page.\n\n${err.message}`));
-        }
+        res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8");
+        res.end(renderSetupHtml([], "", serverEntry.token));
         return;
     }
 
@@ -516,20 +559,15 @@ async function handleRequest(req, res, instanceId, serverEntry) {
         res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8");
         res.end(renderCatalogHtml(instanceId, catalog, { filter, category, source, config }, serverEntry.token));
     } catch (err) {
-        // Trust-and-fallback: a saved namespace that can no longer be read
-        // (deleted, access revoked, a transient outage) should drop the user
-        // back to the picker, not a dead-end error page. Only if even the
-        // picker can't load its subscriptions do we surface the raw error.
-        try {
-            const subs = await listSubscriptions();
-            res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8");
-            res.end(renderSetupHtml(subs, `couldn't open namespace ${config.gatewayName} .. pick another to continue.`, serverEntry.token));
-        } catch (subErr) {
-            // Both the namespace catalog and the subscription list failed. Surface
-            // the subscription error (the reason the picker itself can't render) and
-            // keep the original namespace error for context.
-            res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8");
-            res.end(renderErrorHtml(`couldn't load subscriptions: ${subErr.message} .. opening namespace ${config.gatewayName} also failed: ${err.message}`));
+        res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8");
+        if (isAuthenticationRequiredError(err)) {
+            res.end(renderSetupHtml([], "", serverEntry.token));
+        } else {
+            res.end(renderSetupHtml(
+                [],
+                `Couldn't load the saved namespace "${config.gatewayName}". Choose another namespace or try again.`,
+                serverEntry.token,
+            ));
         }
     }
 }

extensions/connector-namespaces/server.test.mjs

@@ -10,12 +10,19 @@
 // harness — through untouched. Importing server.mjs has no side effects at eval;
 // the HTTP server only starts when startServer() is called.
 
-import { test } from "node:test";
+import { after, test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { EventEmitter } from "node:events";
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
 import { Readable } from "node:stream";
 
-import {
+const TEST_COPILOT_HOME = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "connector-server-test-"));
+process.env.COPILOT_HOME = TEST_COPILOT_HOME;
+after(() => rmSync(TEST_COPILOT_HOME, { recursive: true, force: true }));
+
+const {
     getServerConfig,
     hasCapabilityToken,
     isCanonicalHost,
@@ -26,8 +33,8 @@ import {
     runIdempotentOperation,
     startServer,
     stopServer,
-} from "./server.mjs";
-import { isValidConfig } from "./state.mjs";
+} = await import("./server.mjs");
+const { isValidConfig } = await import("./state.mjs");
 
 // Minimal request stub: only headers matter to the gate.
 function req(headers) {
@@ -99,11 +106,68 @@ test("Sec-Fetch-Site: same-origin (no Origin) is allowed", () => {
 
 test("state-changing and OAuth status routes require a capability token", () => {
     assert.equal(requiresCapabilityToken("/api/install"), true);
+    assert.equal(requiresCapabilityToken("/api/signin"), true);
+    assert.equal(requiresCapabilityToken("/api/signin/status"), true);
+    assert.equal(requiresCapabilityToken("/api/signin/cancel"), true);
     assert.equal(requiresCapabilityToken("/oauth-status"), true);
     assert.equal(requiresCapabilityToken("/auth/callback/conn"), true);
     assert.equal(requiresCapabilityToken("/setup"), false);
 });
 
+test("subscription and sign-in status endpoints expose the unauthenticated state", async (t) => {
+    const instanceId = `auth-routes-${Date.now()}`;
+    t.after(() => stopServer(instanceId));
+    const entry = await startServer(instanceId);
+    const headers = { "x-connector-namespace-token": entry.token };
+
+    const subscriptions = await fetch(`${entry.url}api/subscriptions`, { headers });
+    assert.deepEqual(await subscriptions.json(), {
+        ok: false,
+        reason: "not_signed_in",
+        subscriptions: [],
+    });
+
+    const status = await fetch(`${entry.url}api/signin/status?sessionId=missing`, { headers });
+    assert.deepEqual(await status.json(), { ok: false, status: "unknown" });
+
+    const cancelled = await fetch(`${entry.url}api/signin/cancel`, {
+        method: "POST",
+        headers: { ...headers, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+        body: JSON.stringify({ sessionId: "missing" }),
+    });
+    assert.deepEqual(await cancelled.json(), { ok: true });
+});
+
+test("unauthenticated setup renders browser sign-in instead of an az login dead end", async (t) => {
+    const instanceId = `auth-setup-${Date.now()}`;
+    t.after(() => stopServer(instanceId));
+    const entry = await startServer(instanceId);
+
+    const response = await fetch(entry.url);
+    const html = await response.text();
+    assert.match(html, /id="signin-btn"/);
+    assert.match(html, /Sign in to Azure/);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(html, /az login|Azure CLI authentication failed/);
+});
+
+test("saved namespace prompts for sign-in after the extension credential is reset", async (t) => {
+    const instanceId = `saved-auth-setup-${Date.now()}`;
+    t.after(() => stopServer(instanceId));
+    const entry = await startServer(instanceId, {
+        config: {
+            subscriptionId: "f34b22a3-2202-4fb1-b040-1332bd928c84",
+            resourceGroup: "jack-sandboxgroup-rg",
+            gatewayName: "yeah-github-cli",
+        },
+    });
+
+    const response = await fetch(entry.url);
+    const html = await response.text();
+    assert.match(html, /id="signin-btn"/);
+    assert.match(html, /Sign in to Azure/);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(html, /Couldn't load the saved namespace|couldn't open namespace/i);
+});
+
 test("capability token accepts the private header or OAuth callback query", () => {
     const token = "secret-token";
     assert.equal(

extensions/connector-namespaces/test/README.md

@@ -13,14 +13,15 @@ HTTP endpoint that the extension writes to the Copilot CLI config. The probe
 uses the configured `X-API-Key`, follows `Mcp-Session-Id`, and accepts standard
 JSON or SSE JSON-RPC responses.
 
-The whole point: it runs with **Node and Azure CLI**. No Copilot app, no
-canvas, no UI. Hand it to anyone (e.g. Arjun) and they can reproduce an MCP
-server issue locally.
+The whole point: it runs with **Node and a browser sign-in**. No Copilot app or
+canvas is required. Hand it to anyone (e.g. Arjun) and they can reproduce an
+MCP server issue locally.
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
-1. **Azure CLI signed in with `az login`.** The harness asks Azure CLI for the
-   same short-lived ARM token as the extension.
+1. **A browser for Microsoft Entra sign-in.** The harness opens the same
+   interactive Azure sign-in as the extension when its encrypted Azure Identity
+   session is not already available.
 2. **A gateway already picked once.** The harness reads gateway coordinates from
    `~/.copilot/extensions/connector-namespaces/artifacts/gateway-config.json`
    (`{ subscriptionId, resourceGroup, gatewayName }`). Pick a gateway once in
@@ -52,10 +53,12 @@ node extensions/connector-namespaces/test/smoke.mjs --only=WorkIQMail,WorkIQShar
 node extensions/connector-namespaces/test/smoke.mjs --limit=5 --open-consent
 ```
 
-## One-time consent, then headless forever
+## One-time connector consent
 
-This is the key behavior. OAuth-backed servers (most of them) need a human to
-consent **once** in a browser. The model:
+OAuth-backed servers (most of them) need a human to consent **once** in a
+browser. Azure ARM sign-in is restored from the operating system's encrypted
+credential store when available; the one-time behavior below applies to the
+connector's own consent. The model:
 
 1. **First run** hits a server that needs consent → the harness prints a consent
    URL and marks it `NEEDS_CONSENT`. It saves a pending record to
@@ -67,8 +70,8 @@ consent **once** in a browser. The model:
    loopback page is just a redirect target and nothing is listening on it.
 3. **Re-run the harness.** It sees the pending record, confirms the gateway
    connection is now `Connected`, finishes the install (mints the API key,
-   writes the CLI entry), and probes it headless. From then on it's reused with
-   zero human interaction.
+   writes the CLI entry), and probes it headless. From then on the connector is
+   reused without repeating its consent.
 
 So the server taxonomy is:
 

extensions/connector-namespaces/test/smoke.mjs

@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 // (install.mjs, catalog.mjs, armClient.mjs) and connects through the same native
 // Streamable HTTP endpoint persisted for the Copilot CLI.
 //
-// Runs with `node` and a signed-in Azure CLI — no Copilot app required — so it
-// can be handed to someone else to reproduce MCP issues. See README.md.
+// Runs with `node` and an interactive browser sign-in — no Copilot app required
+// — so it can be handed to someone else to reproduce MCP issues. See README.md.
 //
 // Usage:
 //   node extensions/connector-namespaces/test/smoke.mjs [options]
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 
 import { loadSavedConfig } from "../state.mjs";
 import { getToken } from "../armClient.mjs";
+import { cancelSignIn, getSignInStatus, isAuthenticationRequiredError, startSignIn } from "../auth.mjs";
 import { CATEGORY } from "../categories.mjs";
 import {
     installConnector,
@@ -115,6 +116,31 @@ function logLine(text) {
     return redact(String(text)).replace(/[\r\n]+/g, " ");
 }
 
+const sleep = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+
+async function signInToAzure() {
+    try {
+        return await getToken();
+    } catch (error) {
+        if (!isAuthenticationRequiredError(error)) throw error;
+    }
+    const started = startSignIn();
+    if (!started.ok || !started.sessionId) {
+        throw new Error(started.error || "Could not start Azure sign-in.");
+    }
+    console.log(`${C.dim}Complete Azure sign-in in the browser window...${C.reset}`);
+    for (let poll = 0; poll < 240; poll++) {
+        const status = getSignInStatus(started.sessionId);
+        if (status.status === "done") return getToken();
+        if (status.status === "error" || status.status === "cancelled" || status.status === "unknown") {
+            throw new Error(status.error || `Azure sign-in ${status.status}.`);
+        }
+        await sleep(2500);
+    }
+    cancelSignIn(started.sessionId);
+    throw new Error("Azure sign-in timed out.");
+}
+
 const C = {
     reset: "\x1b[0m", dim: "\x1b[2m", bold: "\x1b[1m",
     green: "\x1b[32m", red: "\x1b[31m", yellow: "\x1b[33m", cyan: "\x1b[36m",
@@ -124,7 +150,7 @@ const tick = (ok) => (ok ? `${C.green}PASS${C.reset}` : `${C.red}FAIL${C.reset}`
 async function main() {
     const opts = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
 
-    // 1. Bootstrap: gateway coords + ARM token (fail fast).
+    // 1. Bootstrap: gateway coords + interactive ARM token (fail fast).
     const config = loadSavedConfig();
     if (!config?.subscriptionId || !config?.resourceGroup || !config?.gatewayName) {
         console.error(`${C.red}No gateway config found.${C.reset} Expected ${join(ARTIFACTS_DIR, "gateway-config.json")}.`);
@@ -132,9 +158,9 @@ async function main() {
         process.exit(2);
     }
     try {
-        await getToken();
+        await signInToAzure();
     } catch (err) {
-        console.error(`${C.red}Could not get an ARM token.${C.reset} Sign in to Azure when the browser opens.`);
+        console.error(`${C.red}Could not get an ARM token.${C.reset}`);
         console.error(String(err.message || err).slice(0, 300));
         process.exit(2);
     }