GitHub Copilot CLI

Section 2

Configuring & Customizing Copilot CLI

Every lever you can pull — instructions, skills, hooks, agents, plugins, extensions, and more.

📋

Repository Instructions

Scope: Entire repo · Always loaded

Persistent, repo-wide guidance loaded at session start. Coding standards, conventions, build commands, preferred patterns. Applied to every prompt automatically. Docs ↗

.github/copilot-instructions.md

🎯

Path-based Instructions

Scope: Matching files · Contextual

File-pattern specific instructions with applyTo glob in YAML frontmatter. Target TypeScript files, test directories, API routes, etc. Combines with repo-wide instructions.

.github/instructions/**/*.instructions.md

🤖

Agent Instructions

Scope: Repo root / CWD · Primary

Multi-agent instruction files at repo root. Supports AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and GEMINI.md. Root-level files are treated as primary instructions.

AGENTS.md · CLAUDE.md · GEMINI.md

🏠

Local / Personal Instructions

Scope: All projects · User-level

Personal preferences applied across all repos. Coding style, communication preferences, tool choices. Also supports COPILOT_CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS env var.

~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md

⚡

Skills

Scope: On-demand · Task-specific

Folders of instructions, scripts, and resources loaded when relevant. SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter (name + description). Invoke with /skill-name or auto-detected. Open standard (agentskills spec). Docs ↗

.github/skills/<name>/SKILL.md · ~/.copilot/skills/

🔌

MCP Servers

Scope: Session · Extensibility

Model Context Protocol servers provide external tools and data sources. GitHub MCP server is built-in. Add custom servers for DBs, APIs, calendars, ticketing systems. Manage with /mcp add. Docs ↗

~/.copilot/mcp-config.json · /mcp add

🪝

Agent Hooks

Scope: Repository · Lifecycle events

Execute custom shell commands at key points: sessionStart, sessionEnd, preToolUse, postToolUse, userPromptSubmitted, agentStop, subagentStop, errorOccurred. Approve/deny tools programmatically, add logging, security scanning. Docs ↗

.github/hooks/*.json

🧑‍💼

Custom Agents

Scope: Repo / User / Org · Specialist personas

Define specialized personas in Markdown with YAML frontmatter: role, allowed tools, MCP connections, infer: true for auto-delegation. React reviewer, docs writer, security auditor, etc.

.github/agents/ · ~/.copilot/agents/ · .github-private/agents/

👥

Built-in Subagents

Scope: System · Always available

Pre-built specialized agents the CLI auto-delegates to: explore (codebase analysis), task (commands/builds), general-purpose (complex tasks), code-review (change analysis), research (deep investigation).

Automatic · /fleet for parallel execution

📦

Plugins

Scope: Installable bundles · New!

Packages that deliver agents + skills + hooks + MCP configs in one install. plugin.json manifest. Install from repos or marketplaces. Update, list, uninstall via /plugin. Docs ↗

plugin.json · copilot plugin install ./my-plugin

🏪

Plugin Marketplace

Scope: Distribution · Registry

Registry of plugins in a Git repo. marketplace.json in .github/plugin/. Users add with /plugin marketplace add org/repo. Official marketplaces: github/copilot-plugins, github/awesome-copilot.

.github/plugin/marketplace.json

🧩

Extensions New

Scope: Session · Experimental

Ask Copilot to write custom tools and hooks for itself using the @github/copilot-sdk. Extend the CLI with your own capabilities beyond built-in features. Enable with /experimental on. Added in v1.0.3. Changelog ↗

/experimental on · @github/copilot-sdk

🔍

LSP Servers

Scope: Code intelligence · Per-language

Language Server Protocol for go-to-definition, hover info, diagnostics. Configure per language with command, args, and file extension mappings. Manage with /lsp.

~/.copilot/lsp-config.json · .github/lsp.json

🧠

Copilot Memory

Scope: Persistent · Automatic learning

Copilot builds persistent understanding of your repository by storing "memories" — coding conventions, patterns, and preferences deduced while working. Reduces repetitive context in prompts.

Automatic · Persistent across sessions

🧭 When to Use What?

Requirement	Best Option
Copilot should always follow our repo conventions	Custom Instructions
I want a repeatable workflow I can invoke on demand	Skills
I want guardrails, policy, or automation around tool use	Hooks
I need Copilot to use tools from an external service	MCP Servers
I want Copilot to operate as a specialist for certain tasks	Custom Agent
I want to add a package of functionality without manual config	Plugin
I want to share plugins with my team or publicly	Plugin Marketplace
I want rich code intelligence (go-to-def, diagnostics)	LSP Servers

Section 3

Quick Start & Usage Guide

Install, launch, and master — every command, shortcut, and workflow pattern.

Installation

macOS / Linux (script)

curl -fsSL https://gh.io/copilot-install | bash

Homebrew

brew install copilot-cli

Windows (WinGet)

winget install GitHub.Copilot

npm (cross-platform)

npm install -g @github/copilot

Modes (Shift+Tab to cycle)

Interactive

Default

Conversational — Copilot asks before each action. You review and approve tool use step by step.

Plan

Shift+Tab

Structured planning — Copilot analyzes your request, asks clarifying questions, builds a plan before writing code.

Autopilot

Shift+Tab ×2

Autonomous — Copilot continues working until the task is complete. Experimental feature.

Typical Demo Flow

Launch

copilot

→

Trust & Auth

/login

→

Init Repo

/init

→

Give Task

Prompt

→

Agent Works

Read → Edit → Run

→

Review

/diff

→

Ship It

/delegate · git push

Essential Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`@file`	Include file contents in context
`#issue`	Reference GitHub issues, PRs, discussions New
`!cmd`	Run shell command directly
`&prompt`	Delegate to coding agent
`Shift+Tab`	Cycle modes (interactive → plan → autopilot)
`Ctrl+S`	Run command while preserving input
`Ctrl+T`	Toggle reasoning display
`Ctrl+O`	Expand all timeline items
`Ctrl+E`	Expand all timeline items
`Ctrl+G`	Edit prompt in external editor
`Ctrl+L`	Clear terminal screen without clearing session New
`Ctrl+X → B`	Move running task/shell to background New
`Ctrl+Y`	In plan mode, opens most recent research report New
`Esc`	Cancel current operation
`↑ / ↓`	Navigate command history (includes past shell commands in normal mode) New
`Ctrl+R`	Search command history including shell commands (reverse incremental search) New
`Ctrl+Z`	Suspend/resume (Unix platforms) New
`Esc-Esc`	Rewind file changes to any previous snapshot New
`Tab`	Resume local & remote coding agent sessions New
`s` (in picker)	Cycle session sort order (relevance/last used/created/name) New
`Ctrl+C`	Cancel operation (×2 to exit session) New
`Ctrl+D`	Exit interactive session (no longer queues messages) New
`Ctrl+Q / Ctrl+Enter`	Queue message to submit New
`Shift+Enter`	Insert line break in prompt (Kitty protocol terminals) New
`Ctrl+Enter`	Submit multiline prompt New
`Page Up / Down`	Scroll in alt-screen mode; navigate in diff viewer New
`Alt+Scroll`	Scroll one line at a time (Option on macOS) New
`Ctrl+F / Ctrl+B`	Page down/up in scrollable views New
`w` (in /diff)	Hide whitespace-only changes in diff view New
`n / N` (in /diff)	Navigate to next/previous match in diff search New
`/` (in Issues/PR)	Search GitHub with server-side filtering New
`Home / End`	Jump to top/bottom of scroll buffer; navigate in diff viewer New
`Ctrl+A`	Move cursor to beginning of line New
`Ctrl+K`	Delete from cursor to end of line New
`Ctrl+U`	Delete from cursor to beginning of line New
`Ctrl+W`	Delete word before cursor New
`Ctrl+H`	Delete character before cursor New
`Alt+← / →`	Move cursor by word New

Key Slash Commands

Command	Purpose
`/init`	Initialize copilot instructions for the repo
`/model`	Select AI model (Sonnet 5, Sonnet 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Opus 4.8 Fast, Opus 4.8, Fable 5, kimi-k2.7-code, grok-4.5, GPT-5.6, GPT-5.4, gemini-3.6-flash, etc.) New
`/plan`	Create implementation plan before coding
`/autopilot` / `/goal`	Toggle autopilot mode or set a specific objective; /goal is an alias New
`/review`	Run code review agent on changes
`/security-review`	Review code changes for security vulnerabilities New
`/delegate`	Push work to Copilot coding agent (cloud)
`/fleet`	Parallel subagent execution
`/fork` / `/branch`	Fork current session into new independent session (/branch is alias) New
`/research`	Deep research with web + GitHub sources
`/diff`	Review all changes in current directory
`/undo`	Undo the last turn and revert file changes New
`/refine`	Rewrite a rough, stream-of-consciousness prompt into a clear one New
`/rewind`	Timeline picker to roll back to any point in conversation history New
`/pr`	Create PRs, fix CI failures, address review feedback, resolve conflicts New
`/worktree`	Create new git worktree and switch to it (alias: /move) New
`/new-worktree`	Create a new worktree and start a new conversation in it (experimental) New
`/compact`	Compress context to free token space
`/agent`	Browse and select custom agents
`/subagents`	Configure subagent model, reasoning effort, and context tier (alias: /agents) New
`/skills` / `/skill`	List, enable, disable, add, remove skills (/skill is alias) New
`/mcp`	Add, edit, enable, disable, reload, auth, list MCP servers New
`/remote`	Manage remote session connections and status New
`/extensions`	View, enable, and disable CLI extensions New
`/restart`	Hot restart CLI while preserving session New
`/update`	View changelog and update instructions New
`/version`	Display CLI version and check for updates New
`/plugin`	Install, update, list, uninstall plugins
`/plugins`	Dashboard to manage installed plugins New
`/resume`	Resume a previous session
`/share`	Export session to file, GitHub gist, or HTML New
`/copy`	Copy the last response to clipboard New
`/ask`	Ask a quick question without affecting conversation history New
`/rubber-duck`	Get an independent critique of the agent's current work New
`/context`	Show token usage visualization
`/usage`	Session metrics and statistics
`/chronicle`	Show session timeline and command history New
`/chronicle search`	Search all session content by keyword or topic New
`/chronicle skills review`	Review proposed draft skill changes with options to accept, reject, or defer New
`/chronicle cost-tips`	Personalized token usage and cost reduction recommendations New
`/tasks`	View and manage background tasks New
`/after`	Schedule task to run after specified time (experimental) New
`/every`	Schedule recurring task with cron or natural language (experimental) New
`/changelog`	View recent release notes and updates New
`/ide`	Connect to an IDE workspace
`/lsp`	Manage language server configuration
`/clear`	Clear session history and context New
`/settings`	Browse and edit all user settings in one place New
`/cwd` / `/cd`	Show or change working directory (/cd persists directory on session resume) New
`/add-dir`	Add directory for file access New
`/list-dirs`	Show allowed directories New
`/session`	Display current session info New
`/session id`	Display current session ID and copy to clipboard New
`/session rename`	Rename current session (auto-generates name if not provided) New
`/env`	Show loaded environment (instructions, MCP servers, skills, agents, plugins) New
`/memory`	Enable, disable, or view memory status with on/off/show options New
`/statusline`	Customize status bar items (directory, branch, effort, context, quota) — alias: /footer New
`/theme`	Configure terminal theme (auto/dark/light) New
`/terminal-setup`	Enable multiline input mode New
`/voice`	Configure voice mode settings including microphone device selection New
`/permissions`	Switch between approval modes (allow-all, auto, manual) New
`/reset-allowed-tools`	Reset all tool permissions New
`/user`	Show, list, or switch GitHub accounts New
`/limits`	View or manage AI credit limits; use /limits predict to suggest limits from similar sessions New
`/login` / `/logout`	Sign in or out of Copilot New
`/exit` / `/quit`	Exit the CLI session ('exit' or 'quit' as bare commands also work; use /exit print to print session before exiting) New
`/help`	Show all available commands and shortcuts New
`/feedback`	Submit feedback to GitHub New
`/keep-alive`	Prevent system sleep while CLI active New
`/app`	Open the GitHub app or browser fallback New
`/remote`	Show remote control status or toggle with on/off New

CLI Flags (Command Line)

Flag	Purpose
`-p "prompt"`	Programmatic mode — execute and exit
`-C <directory>`	Change working directory before starting, similar to git -C New
`--autopilot`	Enable autonomous continuation
`--yolo`	Allow all permissions (alias: --allow-all)
`--model MODEL`	Select AI model
`--agent AGENT`	Use a specific custom agent
`--continue`	Resume most recent session
`--resume [ID]` / `-r [ID]`	Resume a specific session (-r is shorthand) New
`--session-id <ID>`	Resume known session/task or start new session with specific UUID New
`--name NAME`	Name a session on start New
`--allow-tool 'X'`	Pre-approve specific tools
`--deny-tool 'X'`	Block specific tools
`--experimental`	Enable experimental features
`--acp`	Start Agent Client Protocol server
`-s / --silent`	Output only agent response (scripting)
`--mode MODE`	Start directly in a specific agent mode New
`--plan`	Start directly in plan mode New
`--max-autopilot-continues N`	Cap autopilot continuations (default: 5) New
`--no-custom-instructions`	Skip loading instruction files
`--share [PATH]`	Export session transcript to markdown file New
`--share-gist`	Export session to shareable GitHub gist New
`--available-tools`	Allowlist specific tools for the session New
`--excluded-tools`	Denylist specific tools for the session New
`--additional-mcp-config`	Add MCP config files per-session New
`--output-format json`	Emit JSONL in prompt mode for programmatic integrations New
`--plugin-dir PATH`	Load a plugin from a local directory New
`--binary-version`	Query CLI binary version without launching New
`--mouse / --no-mouse`	Enable/disable mouse mode in alt screen New
`--bash-env`	Source BASH_ENV in shell sessions New
`--alt-screen on/off`	Control alternate screen buffer mode New
`--print-debug-info`	Display version, terminal capabilities, and environment variables New
`--connect ID`	Directly connect to a remote session by ID New
`--list-env`	Log loaded plugins, agents, skills, and MCP servers in prompt mode New
`--sandbox / --no-sandbox`	Turn OS-level shell sandbox on/off for current session only (doesn't change saved setting) New
`--config-dir PATH`	Specify custom config directory — deprecated, use `COPILOT_HOME` env var Deprecated
`--session-idle-timeout SECONDS`	Configure session idle timeout (disabled by default) New

CLI Subcommands (Outside Session)

Command	Purpose
`copilot completion bash`	Generate Bash completion script New
`copilot completion zsh`	Generate Zsh completion script New
`copilot completion fish`	Generate Fish completion script New
`copilot login`	Authenticate with GitHub
`copilot logout`	Sign out of GitHub
`copilot plugin install`	Install a plugin
`copilot plugin update`	Update installed plugins
`copilot plugin list`	List installed plugins
`copilot plugin uninstall`	Remove a plugin
`copilot plugin marketplace`	Manage plugin marketplaces (list, add, remove, browse, update) New
`copilot mcp add`	Add an MCP server
`copilot skill`	List, add, and remove skills from file, URL, or directory New
`copilot help`	Show CLI help

Deprecated Commands

Command	Status
`gh copilot suggest` / `gh cs`	Removed Oct 2025 — replaced by Copilot CLI interactive mode Deprecated
`gh copilot explain` / `gh ce`	Removed Oct 2025 — replaced by Copilot CLI interactive mode Deprecated
`gh-copilot` extension	Fully deprecated Oct 25, 2025 — migrate to standalone Copilot CLI Deprecated

Programmatic Examples

# Quick one-shot task
copilot -p "Add error handling to src/api.ts" --yolo

# Autonomous with limits
copilot --autopilot --yolo --max-autopilot-continues 10 \
  -p "Fix all failing tests"

# Specific permissions
copilot --allow-all-tools --deny-tool 'shell(rm)' \
  --deny-tool 'shell(git push)'

# Use a custom agent
copilot --agent=security-auditor -p "Audit this codebase"

# Resume last session
copilot --continue

# Pipe options from a script
./my-options.sh | copilot
            

Repository Configuration Structure

# Your repository
my-project/
├── .github/
│   ├── copilot-instructions.md         # Repo-wide instructions
│   ├── instructions/
│   │   ├── typescript.instructions.md  # Path-based (applyTo: "**/*.ts")
│   │   └── tests.instructions.md       # Path-based (applyTo: "**/*.test.*")
│   ├── skills/
│   │   └── deploy/
│   │       └── SKILL.md                # Skill definition
│   ├── agents/
│   │   └── reviewer.agent.md           # Custom agent
│   ├── hooks/
│   │   └── security.json               # Hook configuration
│   ├── plugin/
│   │   └── marketplace.json            # Plugin marketplace
│   └── lsp.json                        # LSP server config
├── AGENTS.md                           # Agent instructions
└── ...

# Your home directory
~/.copilot/
├── copilot-instructions.md             # Personal instructions
├── mcp-config.json                     # MCP server config
├── lsp-config.json                     # LSP config (user-level)
├── config.json                         # CLI settings
├── skills/                             # Personal skills
└── agents/                             # Personal agents
            

The GitHub Copilot Ecosystem

Configuring & Customizing Copilot CLI

🧭 When to Use What?

Quick Start & Usage Guide