GitHub Copilot CLI is a command-line interface tool designed to bring AI-powered coding assistance directly to your terminal. It enables developers to build, debug, and understand code through natural language conversations, powered by the same agentic capabilities as GitHub's Copilot coding agent.
Key Features:
Terminal-native development: Work seamlessly with an AI assistant directly in your command line without switching contexts.
GitHub integration: Access repositories, issues, and pull requests using natural language, authenticated with your existing GitHub account.
Agentic capabilities: Build, edit, debug, and refactor code with an AI collaborator that can plan and execute complex tasks.
MCP-powered extensibility: Leverage GitHub's MCP server or customize it to extend the tool's capabilities.
Full control: Preview every action before execution, ensuring nothing happens without explicit approval.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for developers working on Linux, macOS, or Windows who seek seamless AI integration into their terminal workflows. By providing intelligent assistance and deep GitHub integration, Copilot CLI enhances productivity, improves code quality, and simplifies debugging.
The tool can be installed via winget, making it easy to integrate into your development environment.
README
GitHub Copilot CLI (Public Preview)
The power of GitHub Copilot, now in your terminal.
GitHub Copilot CLI brings AI-powered coding assistance directly to your command line, enabling you to build, debug, and understand code through natural language conversations. Powered by the same agentic harness as GitHub's Copilot coding agent, it provides intelligent assistance while staying deeply integrated with your GitHub workflow.
We're bringing the power of GitHub Copilot coding agent directly to your terminal. With GitHub Copilot CLI, you can work locally and synchronously with an AI agent that understands your code and GitHub context.
Terminal-native development: Work with Copilot coding agent directly in your command line — no context switching required.
GitHub integration out of the box: Access your repositories, issues, and pull requests using natural language, all authenticated with your existing GitHub account.
Agentic capabilities: Build, edit, debug, and refactor code with an AI collaborator that can plan and execute complex tasks.
MCP-powered extensibility: Take advantage of the fact that the coding agent ships with GitHub's MCP server by default and supports custom MCP servers to extend capabilities.
Full control: Preview every action before execution — nothing happens without your explicit approval.
We're still early in our journey, but with your feedback, we're rapidly iterating to make the GitHub Copilot CLI the best possible companion in your terminal.
If you have access to GitHub Copilot via your organization or enterprise, you cannot use GitHub Copilot CLI if your organization owner or enterprise administrator has disabled it in the organization or enterprise settings. See for more information.
On first launch, you'll be greeted with our adorable animated banner! If you'd like to see this banner again, launch copilot with the --banner flag.
If you're not currently logged in to GitHub, you'll be prompted to use the /login slash command. Enter this command and follow the on-screen instructions to authenticate.
Authenticate with a Personal Access Token (PAT)
You can also authenticate using a fine-grained PAT with the "Copilot Requests" permission enabled.
Under "Permissions," click "add permissions" and select "Copilot Requests"
Generate your token
Add the token to your environment via the environment variable GH_TOKEN or GITHUB_TOKEN (in order of precedence)
Using the CLI
Launch copilot in a folder that contains code you want to work with.
By default, copilot utilizes Claude Sonnet 4.5. Run the /model slash command to choose from other available models, including Claude Sonnet 4 and GPT-5.
Each time you submit a prompt to GitHub Copilot CLI, your monthly quota of premium requests is reduced by one. For information about premium requests, see About premium requests.
We're excited to have you join us early in the Copilot CLI journey.
This is an early-stage preview, and we're building quickly. Expect frequent updates--please keep your client up to date for the latest features and fixes!
Your insights are invaluable! Open issue in this repo, join Discussions, and run /feedback from the CLI to submit a confidential feedback survey!