Secure the Terraform GitHub Copilot writes

Review it while the context is still loaded

The best moment to review agent-written Terraform is while the agent still has the change in its head. Copilot generates the resources, calls audytx, reads the findings, and repairs them before a diff exists. For that to work, the findings have to deserve Copilot's trust — a scanner that cries wolf sends the agent off "hardening" code that was fine. audytx checks every finding against the resource graph first and prints the reason whenever it suppresses one, so what's left is worth fixing.

Two steps

1. Add audytx to .vscode/mcp.json

   In VS Code, Copilot agent mode reads MCP servers from .vscode/mcp.json. Use a promptString input so VS Code asks for the Client ID once and stores it as a secret — it never sits in the file:

   .vscode/mcp.json

   {
     "inputs": [
       {
         "type": "promptString",
         "id": "audytx-client-id",
         "description": "audytx Client ID (from audytx.com/dashboard)",
         "password": true
       }
     ],
     "servers": {
       "audytx": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://audytx.com/mcp",
         "headers": { "X-Client-ID": "${input:audytx-client-id}" }
       }
     }
   }

   Get the free Client ID first. On the next agent-mode session, Copilot picks up scan_terraform, autofix_terraform, scan_cloudformation, and the rest.

2. Add repository custom instructions

   GitHub Copilot reads .github/copilot-instructions.md — a repository-wide instruction file that Copilot Chat, agent mode, and Copilot code review all honor. Put the standing scan policy there:

   .github/copilot-instructions.md

   ## Terraform security
   
   Before opening a pull request that changes .tf files, call the
   audytx scan_terraform tool on the full set of Terraform files in
   the repository — not only the diff, because cross-resource reasoning
   needs the unchanged files too. Fix every High and Critical finding and
   re-scan. Use autofix_terraform for the mechanical ones.

   Because .github/copilot-instructions.md is also read by Copilot code review on the pull request itself, the same policy reinforces the review even for changes an agent didn't write.

The gaps a single-file review can't see

Here's what tends to surface — the patterns our June 2026 study found one model ship by default:

• Secrets Manager rotation. A secret is created for a database password, but never the companion aws_secretsmanager_secret_rotation. audytx finds the missing resource across the plan, not merely a missing attribute on one.
• IAM privilege-escalation paths. iam:PassRole into a compute service the same principal controls is an escalation even when each statement reads scoped. audytx traces the documented paths across the trust graph.
• Operational debt. Dead-letter queues wired but never alarmed, encryption enabled but rotation omitted, loose provider pins. Reliability and observability gaps dominate the count — the quiet ones a resource-by-resource lint doesn't connect.

And the suppressions that stop the agent chasing ghosts — a DLQ not asked to have its own DLQ, a role that reads privileged but can't escalate — each printed with its reasoning, so the call is visible rather than silent.

Same engine on every other surface

The MCP loop is the pre-PR half. For the review, install the GitHub App — a summary comment on the pull request, inline annotations, SARIF to GitHub Code Scanning — so anything the agent misses is caught on the PR alongside Copilot's own code review. Building CloudFormation? The same loop runs with scan_cloudformation, same rule ids and context.

Common questions