GitHub Copilot Coding Agent

About

GitHub Copilot Coding Agent is now documented by GitHub as Copilot cloud agent. It can research a repository, create an implementation plan, make code changes on a branch, run in a GitHub Actions-powered environment, and create or update pull requests for human review.

Key Features

• Works asynchronously on GitHub issues, developer prompts, pull request comments, and integrations.
• Creates branches, commits changes, pushes updates, and opens draft pull requests.
• Can run tests, linters, and other validation steps inside its own ephemeral GitHub Actions-powered development environment.
• Supports custom instructions, Copilot Memory, custom agents, hooks, and repository-level MCP server configuration.
• Can be started from GitHub.com, GitHub Mobile, Visual Studio Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, Eclipse, GitHub CLI, REST API, integrations, and the GitHub MCP Server.
• The GitHub MCP Server exposes the create_pull_request_with_copilot tool for starting Copilot cloud agent sessions from MCP-capable hosts.

Use Cases

• Delegate straightforward backlog issues, bug fixes, documentation updates, test coverage improvements, refactors, and technical debt work.
• Ask Copilot to research a codebase and plan a change before opening a pull request.
• Use external tools such as Slack, Teams, Jira, Linear, Azure Boards, Raycast, or an MCP host to start GitHub-native development tasks.
• Configure repository MCP servers so Copilot can use approved external tools while working on tasks.

Setup or Requirements

Copilot cloud agent is available on all paid GitHub Copilot plans. It is available in repositories stored on GitHub except repositories owned by managed user accounts and repositories where it has been disabled. For Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise, an administrator must enable the relevant policy; Copilot Pro, Copilot Pro+, and Copilot Max users have the agent enabled by default unless policy or repository settings disable it.

Compatibility

Copilot cloud agent is a hosted GitHub agent, not a standalone MCP server. It can be reached through native GitHub surfaces, IDE integrations, GitHub CLI agent-task commands, the public-preview agent tasks REST API, and the remote GitHub MCP Server. Repository-level MCP configuration for Copilot cloud agent supports MCP tools only; resources and prompts are not currently supported for Copilot cloud agent and Copilot code review.

Limitations

Copilot cloud agent is designed for low-to-medium complexity software tasks in repositories with clear instructions and validation paths. It consumes GitHub Actions minutes and AI credits. MCP servers configured for Copilot cloud agent can be used autonomously without per-tool approval, so repository administrators should allowlist specific read-only tools where possible. Remote MCP servers that rely on OAuth authentication are not currently supported for Copilot cloud agent and Copilot code review repository MCP configuration.

Sources

• About Copilot cloud agent: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/cloud-agent/about-cloud-agent
• Use Copilot cloud agent: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/cloud-agent
• MCP and Copilot cloud agent: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/cloud-agent/mcp-and-cloud-agent
• Configure MCP servers for your repository: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-on-github/customize-copilot/configure-mcp-servers
• Use cloud agent via GitHub MCP Server: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/cloud-agent/use-cloud-agent-with-mcp
• GitHub MCP Server repository: https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server
• GitHub announcement: https://github.blog/news-insights/product-news/github-copilot-meet-the-new-coding-agent/

MCP Setup

Prerequisites

• Paid GitHub Copilot plan required for Copilot cloud agent
• GitHub account required
• Repository must be stored on GitHub, not owned by a managed user account, and not opted out of Copilot cloud agent
• For Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise, an administrator must enable the Copilot cloud agent policy
• GitHub Actions minutes and AI credits are consumed when Copilot cloud agent runs
• GitHub CLI v2.80.0 or later is required for the agent-task command set

Access requirements

• Copilot cloud agent is available for all paid Copilot plans
• For GitHub MCP Server tools that interact with Copilot cloud agent, the corresponding paid Copilot license is required
• The remote GitHub MCP Server is hosted by GitHub and can use OAuth or a GitHub personal access token depending on the host
• The agent tasks API requires user-to-server authentication; server-to-server tokens such as GitHub App installation access tokens are not supported
• Repository-level MCP configuration can use only Agents secrets and variables prefixed with COPILOT_MCP_

Companion app or plugin

Name: GitHub Copilot and GitHub MCP Server Install URL: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/cloud-agent

• Enable Copilot cloud agent for the user, organization, or enterprise plan where required.
• Start a task from GitHub.com, GitHub Mobile, an IDE, GitHub CLI, the REST API, an integration, or the GitHub MCP Server.
• Review the branch, commits, session logs, and pull request created by Copilot before merging.

GitHub Copilot Coding Agent is a hosted GitHub agent. It is not installed as a local MCP server package.

Client setup

Other

Transport: other

• Open the Agents tab, Copilot Chat on GitHub, an issue, or a pull request comment on GitHub.com.
• Assign an issue to Copilot, prompt Copilot to create a pull request, or mention @copilot in a pull request comment.
• Monitor the session logs and review the draft pull request created by Copilot.

Auth:

• Sign in to GitHub with an account that has access to a paid Copilot plan.
• For Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise, ensure the administrator has enabled Copilot cloud agent.

Native GitHub.com entry point for Copilot cloud agent.

VS Code

Transport: other

• Install the GitHub Pull Requests extension for Visual Studio Code.
• Open GitHub Copilot Chat in Visual Studio Code.
• Type a task prompt and click Delegate this task to the GitHub Copilot cloud agent.
• Review the pull request link returned by Copilot and track the session from the GitHub sidebar.

Auth:

• Sign in to GitHub and GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code.
• Push or ignore local changes when prompted so Copilot knows which starting state to use.

GitHub documents VS Code support for starting and tracking cloud agent sessions; directly opening sessions in VS Code is currently documented as available only in VS Code Insiders.

Other

Transport: other

gh agent-task create "Example prompt"

• Install GitHub CLI v2.80.0 or later.
• Run gh agent-task create with a prompt from a Git repository, or use --repo to target a specific repository.
• Use --base to choose a base branch and --follow to stream the session log.
• Use gh agent-task list to view sessions and gh agent-task view to inspect a session.

Auth:

• Authenticate GitHub CLI with a GitHub account that has access to a paid Copilot plan.

The gh agent-task command set is documented as public preview and subject to change.

Other

Transport: other

curl -X POST -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR-TOKEN" https://api.github.com/agents/repos/OWNER/REPO/tasks -d "{\"prompt\":\"Fix the login button on the homepage\",\"base_ref\":\"main\"}"

• Create a user-to-server token that can access the target repository.
• Send a POST request to /agents/repos/{owner}/{repo}/tasks with a prompt.
• Optionally include base_ref, model, and create_pull_request in the request body.
• Use the agent tasks API to list tasks or check task status.

Auth:

• Use a personal access token, OAuth app token, or GitHub App user-to-server token.
• Do not use GitHub App installation access tokens; server-to-server tokens are not supported for this API.

The agent tasks API is documented as public preview and subject to change.

Other

Transport: http

{
  "servers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
    }
  }
}

• Install or configure the remote GitHub MCP Server in an MCP host that supports remote MCP servers.
• Ensure the create_pull_request_with_copilot tool is enabled.
• Open the host's chat or agent mode and ask Copilot to create a pull request for a specific repository task.

Auth:

• Use OAuth in hosts that support the GitHub MCP Server OAuth flow.
• Use a GitHub personal access token when the MCP host requires PAT-based authentication.
• Ensure any organization or enterprise MCP servers in Copilot policy is enabled where required.

Starting Copilot cloud agent via MCP is only available on the remote GitHub MCP Server and host applications where remote MCP servers are supported.

Claude Code

Transport: http

• Use the GitHub MCP Server installation guide for Claude applications if you want Claude Code to reach GitHub MCP tools.
• Enable create_pull_request_with_copilot if the goal is to start Copilot cloud agent from an MCP-capable host.

Auth:

• Authenticate the GitHub MCP Server with OAuth or a GitHub personal access token as supported by the host.

GitHub documents Claude applications as supported MCP hosts for the GitHub MCP Server, but the exact Claude Code command is maintained in the GitHub MCP Server host-specific guide.

Cursor

Transport: http

• Use the GitHub MCP Server installation guide for Cursor if you want Cursor to access GitHub MCP tools.
• Use the remote GitHub MCP Server endpoint or host-specific configuration documented by GitHub.

Auth:

• Authenticate the GitHub MCP Server with OAuth or a GitHub personal access token as supported by Cursor.

GitHub lists Cursor as a compatible host for the remote GitHub MCP Server; use GitHub's host-specific guide rather than copying another client configuration.

Windsurf

Transport: http

• Use the GitHub MCP Server installation guide for Windsurf if you want Windsurf to access GitHub MCP tools.
• Configure the remote GitHub MCP Server according to the host-specific GitHub documentation.

Auth:

• Authenticate the GitHub MCP Server with OAuth or a GitHub personal access token as supported by Windsurf.

GitHub lists Windsurf as a compatible host for the remote GitHub MCP Server; some host applications may require hardcoded tokens in config files.

Authorization flow

• GitHub.com and IDE entry points require a signed-in GitHub account with a paid Copilot plan.
• The remote GitHub MCP Server can use one-click OAuth where supported, or a GitHub personal access token with the necessary scopes.
• The local GitHub MCP Server can use OAuth or GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN.
• The agent tasks API requires a personal access token, OAuth app token, or GitHub App user-to-server token.

Environment variables

• COPILOT_MCP_ prefixed Agents secrets and variables are available to repository-level MCP configuration for Copilot cloud agent.
• GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN can be used by the local GitHub MCP Server.
• GITHUB_HOST can be used with the local GitHub MCP Server for GitHub Enterprise Server or GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency.
• GITHUB_PAT is commonly used as a local shell variable that can be referenced by MCP host configuration examples.

Setup docs: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/cloud-agent/about-cloud-agent