Embed Copilot's agentic workflows in any application using Python, TypeScript, Go, or .NET.
Overview
The GitHub Copilot SDK exposes the same engine behind Copilot CLI: a production-tested agent runtime you can invoke programmatically. No need to build your own orchestration - you define agent behavior, Copilot handles planning, tool invocation, file edits, and more.
Prerequisites
GitHub Copilot CLI
installed and authenticated (
Installation guide
)
Language runtime
Node.js 18+, Python 3.8+, Go 1.21+, or .NET 8.0+
Verify CLI:
copilot --version
Installation
Node.js/TypeScript
mkdir
copilot-demo
&&
cd
copilot-demo
npm
init
-y
--init-type module
npm
install
@github/copilot-sdk tsx
Python
pip
install
github-copilot-sdk
Go
mkdir
copilot-demo
&&
cd
copilot-demo
go mod init copilot-demo
go get github.com/github/copilot-sdk/go
.NET
dotnet new console
-n
CopilotDemo
&&
cd
CopilotDemo
dotnet
add
package GitHub.Copilot.SDK
Quick Start
TypeScript
import
{
CopilotClient
}
from
"@github/copilot-sdk"
;
const
client
=
new
CopilotClient
(
)
;
const
session
=
await
client
.
createSession
(
{
model
:
"gpt-4.1"
}
)
;
const
response
=
await
session
.
sendAndWait
(
{
prompt
:
"What is 2 + 2?"
}
)
;
console
.
log
(
response
?.
data
.
content
)
;
await
client
.
stop
(
)
;
process
.
exit
(
0
)
;
Run:
npx tsx index.ts
Python
import
asyncio
from
copilot
import
CopilotClient
async
def
main
(
)
:
client
=
CopilotClient
(
)
await
client
.
start
(
)
session
=
await
client
.
create_session
(
{
"model"
:
"gpt-4.1"
}
)
response
=
await
session
.
send_and_wait
(
{
"prompt"
:
"What is 2 + 2?"
}
)
print
(
response
.
data
.
content
)
await
client
.
stop
(
)
asyncio
.
run
(
main
(
)
)
Go
package
main
import
(
"fmt"
"log"
"os"
copilot
"github.com/github/copilot-sdk/go"
)
func
main
(
)
{
client
:=
copilot
.
NewClient
(
nil
)
if
err
:=
client
.
Start
(
)
;
err
!=
nil
{
log
.
Fatal
(
err
)
}
defer
client
.
Stop
(
)
session
,
err
:=
client
.
CreateSession
(
&
copilot
.
SessionConfig
{
Model
:
"gpt-4.1"
}
)
if
err
!=
nil
{
log
.
Fatal
(
err
)
}
response
,
err
:=
session
.
SendAndWait
(
copilot
.
MessageOptions
{
Prompt
:
"What is 2 + 2?"
}
,
0
)
if
err
!=
nil
{
log
.
Fatal
(
err
)
}
fmt
.
Println
(
*
response
.
Data
.
Content
)
os
.
Exit
(
0
)
}
.NET (C#)
using
GitHub
.
Copilot
.
SDK
;
await
using
var
client
=
new
CopilotClient
(
)
;
await
using
var
session
=
await
client
.
CreateSessionAsync
(
new
SessionConfig
{
Model
=
"gpt-4.1"
}
)
;
var
response
=
await
session
.
SendAndWaitAsync
(
new
MessageOptions
{
Prompt
=
"What is 2 + 2?"
}
)
;
Console
.
WriteLine
(
response
?.
Data
.
Content
)
;
Run:
dotnet run
Streaming Responses
Enable real-time output for better UX:
TypeScript
import
{
CopilotClient
,
SessionEvent
}
from
"@github/copilot-sdk"
;
const
client
=
new
CopilotClient
(
)
;
const
session
=
await
client
.
createSession
(
{
model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
streaming
:
true
,
}
)
;
session
.
on
(
(
event
:
SessionEvent
)
=>
{
if
(
event
.
type
===
"assistant.message_delta"
)
{
process
.
stdout
.
write
(
event
.
data
.
deltaContent
)
;
}
if
(
event
.
type
===
"session.idle"
)
{
console
.
log
(
)
;
// New line when done
}
}
)
;
await
session
.
sendAndWait
(
{
prompt
:
"Tell me a short joke"
}
)
;
await
client
.
stop
(
)
;
process
.
exit
(
0
)
;
Python
import
asyncio
import
sys
from
copilot
import
CopilotClient
from
copilot
.
generated
.
session_events
import
SessionEventType
async
def
main
(
)
:
client
=
CopilotClient
(
)
await
client
.
start
(
)
session
=
await
client
.
create_session
(
{
"model"
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
"streaming"
:
True
,
}
)
def
handle_event
(
event
)
:
if
event
.
type
==
SessionEventType
.
ASSISTANT_MESSAGE_DELTA
:
sys
.
stdout
.
write
(
event
.
data
.
delta_content
)
sys
.
stdout
.
flush
(
)
if
event
.
type
==
SessionEventType
.
SESSION_IDLE
:
print
(
)
session
.
on
(
handle_event
)
await
session
.
send_and_wait
(
{
"prompt"
:
"Tell me a short joke"
}
)
await
client
.
stop
(
)
asyncio
.
run
(
main
(
)
)
Go
session
,
err
:=
client
.
CreateSession
(
&
copilot
.
SessionConfig
{
Model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
Streaming
:
true
,
}
)
session
.
On
(
func
(
event copilot
.
SessionEvent
)
{
if
event
.
Type
==
"assistant.message_delta"
{
fmt
.
Print
(
*
event
.
Data
.
DeltaContent
)
}
if
event
.
Type
==
"session.idle"
{
fmt
.
Println
(
)
}
}
)
_
,
err
=
session
.
SendAndWait
(
copilot
.
MessageOptions
{
Prompt
:
"Tell me a short joke"
}
,
0
)
.NET
await
using
var
session
=
await
client
.
CreateSessionAsync
(
new
SessionConfig
{
Model
=
"gpt-4.1"
,
Streaming
=
true
,
}
)
;
session
.
On
(
ev
=>
{
if
(
ev
is
AssistantMessageDeltaEvent
deltaEvent
)
Console
.
Write
(
deltaEvent
.
Data
.
DeltaContent
)
;
if
(
ev
is
SessionIdleEvent
)
Console
.
WriteLine
(
)
;
}
)
;
await
session
.
SendAndWaitAsync
(
new
MessageOptions
{
Prompt
=
"Tell me a short joke"
}
)
;
Custom Tools
Define tools that Copilot can invoke during reasoning. When you define a tool, you tell Copilot:
What the tool does
(description)
What parameters it needs
(schema)
What code to run
(handler)
TypeScript (JSON Schema)
import
{
CopilotClient
,
defineTool
,
SessionEvent
}
from
"@github/copilot-sdk"
;
const
getWeather
=
defineTool
(
"get_weather"
,
{
description
:
"Get the current weather for a city"
,
parameters
:
{
type
:
"object"
,
properties
:
{
city
:
{
type
:
"string"
,
description
:
"The city name"
}
,
}
,
required
:
[
"city"
]
,
}
,
handler
:
async
(
args
:
{
city
:
string
}
)
=>
{
const
{
city
}
=
args
;
// In a real app, call a weather API here
const
conditions
=
[
"sunny"
,
"cloudy"
,
"rainy"
,
"partly cloudy"
]
;
const
temp
=
Math
.
floor
(
Math
.
random
(
)
*
30
)
+
50
;
const
condition
=
conditions
[
Math
.
floor
(
Math
.
random
(
)
*
conditions
.
length
)
]
;
return
{
city
,
temperature
:
`
${
temp
}
°F
`
,
condition
}
;
}
,
}
)
;
const
client
=
new
CopilotClient
(
)
;
const
session
=
await
client
.
createSession
(
{
model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
streaming
:
true
,
tools
:
[
getWeather
]
,
}
)
;
session
.
on
(
(
event
:
SessionEvent
)
=>
{
if
(
event
.
type
===
"assistant.message_delta"
)
{
process
.
stdout
.
write
(
event
.
data
.
deltaContent
)
;
}
}
)
;
await
session
.
sendAndWait
(
{
prompt
:
"What's the weather like in Seattle and Tokyo?"
,
}
)
;
await
client
.
stop
(
)
;
process
.
exit
(
0
)
;
Python (Pydantic)
import
asyncio
import
random
import
sys
from
copilot
import
CopilotClient
from
copilot
.
tools
import
define_tool
from
copilot
.
generated
.
session_events
import
SessionEventType
from
pydantic
import
BaseModel
,
Field
class
GetWeatherParams
(
BaseModel
)
:
city
:
str
=
Field
(
description
=
"The name of the city to get weather for"
)
@define_tool
(
description
=
"Get the current weather for a city"
)
async
def
get_weather
(
params
:
GetWeatherParams
)
-
>
dict
:
city
=
params
.
city
conditions
=
[
"sunny"
,
"cloudy"
,
"rainy"
,
"partly cloudy"
]
temp
=
random
.
randint
(
50
,
80
)
condition
=
random
.
choice
(
conditions
)
return
{
"city"
:
city
,
"temperature"
:
f"
{
temp
}
°F"
,
"condition"
:
condition
}
async
def
main
(
)
:
client
=
CopilotClient
(
)
await
client
.
start
(
)
session
=
await
client
.
create_session
(
{
"model"
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
"streaming"
:
True
,
"tools"
:
[
get_weather
]
,
}
)
def
handle_event
(
event
)
:
if
event
.
type
==
SessionEventType
.
ASSISTANT_MESSAGE_DELTA
:
sys
.
stdout
.
write
(
event
.
data
.
delta_content
)
sys
.
stdout
.
flush
(
)
session
.
on
(
handle_event
)
await
session
.
send_and_wait
(
{
"prompt"
:
"What's the weather like in Seattle and Tokyo?"
}
)
await
client
.
stop
(
)
asyncio
.
run
(
main
(
)
)
Go
type
WeatherParams
struct
{
City
string
json:"city" jsonschema:"The city name"
}
type
WeatherResult
struct
{
City
string
json:"city"
Temperature
string
json:"temperature"
Condition
string
json:"condition"
}
getWeather
:=
copilot
.
DefineTool
(
"get_weather"
,
"Get the current weather for a city"
,
func
(
params WeatherParams
,
inv copilot
.
ToolInvocation
)
(
WeatherResult
,
error
)
{
conditions
:=
[
]
string
{
"sunny"
,
"cloudy"
,
"rainy"
,
"partly cloudy"
}
temp
:=
rand
.
Intn
(
30
)
+
50
condition
:=
conditions
[
rand
.
Intn
(
len
(
conditions
)
)
]
return
WeatherResult
{
City
:
params
.
City
,
Temperature
:
fmt
.
Sprintf
(
"%d°F"
,
temp
)
,
Condition
:
condition
,
}
,
nil
}
,
)
session
,
_
:=
client
.
CreateSession
(
&
copilot
.
SessionConfig
{
Model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
Streaming
:
true
,
Tools
:
[
]
copilot
.
Tool
{
getWeather
}
,
}
)
.NET (Microsoft.Extensions.AI)
using
GitHub
.
Copilot
.
SDK
;
using
Microsoft
.
Extensions
.
AI
;
using
System
.
ComponentModel
;
var
getWeather
=
AIFunctionFactory
.
Create
(
(
[
Description
(
"The city name"
)
]
string
city
)
=>
{
var
conditions
=
new
[
]
{
"sunny"
,
"cloudy"
,
"rainy"
,
"partly cloudy"
}
;
var
temp
=
Random
.
Shared
.
Next
(
50
,
80
)
;
var
condition
=
conditions
[
Random
.
Shared
.
Next
(
conditions
.
Length
)
]
;
return
new
{
city
,
temperature
=
$"
{
temp
}
°F"
,
condition
}
;
}
,
"get_weather"
,
"Get the current weather for a city"
)
;
await
using
var
session
=
await
client
.
CreateSessionAsync
(
new
SessionConfig
{
Model
=
"gpt-4.1"
,
Streaming
=
true
,
Tools
=
[
getWeather
]
,
}
)
;
How Tools Work
When Copilot decides to call your tool:
Copilot sends a tool call request with the parameters
The SDK runs your handler function
The result is sent back to Copilot
Copilot incorporates the result into its response
Copilot decides when to call your tool based on the user's question and your tool's description.
Interactive CLI Assistant
Build a complete interactive assistant:
TypeScript
import
{
CopilotClient
,
defineTool
,
SessionEvent
}
from
"@github/copilot-sdk"
;
import
*
as
readline
from
"readline"
;
const
getWeather
=
defineTool
(
"get_weather"
,
{
description
:
"Get the current weather for a city"
,
parameters
:
{
type
:
"object"
,
properties
:
{
city
:
{
type
:
"string"
,
description
:
"The city name"
}
,
}
,
required
:
[
"city"
]
,
}
,
handler
:
async
(
{
city
}
)
=>
{
const
conditions
=
[
"sunny"
,
"cloudy"
,
"rainy"
,
"partly cloudy"
]
;
const
temp
=
Math
.
floor
(
Math
.
random
(
)
*
30
)
+
50
;
const
condition
=
conditions
[
Math
.
floor
(
Math
.
random
(
)
*
conditions
.
length
)
]
;
return
{
city
,
temperature
:
`
${
temp
}
°F
`
,
condition
}
;
}
,
}
)
;
const
client
=
new
CopilotClient
(
)
;
const
session
=
await
client
.
createSession
(
{
model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
streaming
:
true
,
tools
:
[
getWeather
]
,
}
)
;
session
.
on
(
(
event
:
SessionEvent
)
=>
{
if
(
event
.
type
===
"assistant.message_delta"
)
{
process
.
stdout
.
write
(
event
.
data
.
deltaContent
)
;
}
}
)
;
const
rl
=
readline
.
createInterface
(
{
input
:
process
.
stdin
,
output
:
process
.
stdout
,
}
)
;
console
.
log
(
"Weather Assistant (type 'exit' to quit)"
)
;
console
.
log
(
"Try: 'What's the weather in Paris?'\n"
)
;
const
prompt
=
(
)
=>
{
rl
.
question
(
"You: "
,
async
(
input
)
=>
{
if
(
input
.
toLowerCase
(
)
===
"exit"
)
{
await
client
.
stop
(
)
;
rl
.
close
(
)
;
return
;
}
process
.
stdout
.
write
(
"Assistant: "
)
;
await
session
.
sendAndWait
(
{
prompt
:
input
}
)
;
console
.
log
(
"\n"
)
;
prompt
(
)
;
}
)
;
}
;
prompt
(
)
;
Python
import
asyncio
import
random
import
sys
from
copilot
import
CopilotClient
from
copilot
.
tools
import
define_tool
from
copilot
.
generated
.
session_events
import
SessionEventType
from
pydantic
import
BaseModel
,
Field
class
GetWeatherParams
(
BaseModel
)
:
city
:
str
=
Field
(
description
=
"The name of the city to get weather for"
)
@define_tool
(
description
=
"Get the current weather for a city"
)
async
def
get_weather
(
params
:
GetWeatherParams
)
-
>
dict
:
conditions
=
[
"sunny"
,
"cloudy"
,
"rainy"
,
"partly cloudy"
]
temp
=
random
.
randint
(
50
,
80
)
condition
=
random
.
choice
(
conditions
)
return
{
"city"
:
params
.
city
,
"temperature"
:
f"
{
temp
}
°F"
,
"condition"
:
condition
}
async
def
main
(
)
:
client
=
CopilotClient
(
)
await
client
.
start
(
)
session
=
await
client
.
create_session
(
{
"model"
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
"streaming"
:
True
,
"tools"
:
[
get_weather
]
,
}
)
def
handle_event
(
event
)
:
if
event
.
type
==
SessionEventType
.
ASSISTANT_MESSAGE_DELTA
:
sys
.
stdout
.
write
(
event
.
data
.
delta_content
)
sys
.
stdout
.
flush
(
)
session
.
on
(
handle_event
)
print
(
"Weather Assistant (type 'exit' to quit)"
)
print
(
"Try: 'What's the weather in Paris?'\n"
)
while
True
:
try
:
user_input
=
input
(
"You: "
)
except
EOFError
:
break
if
user_input
.
lower
(
)
==
"exit"
:
break
sys
.
stdout
.
write
(
"Assistant: "
)
await
session
.
send_and_wait
(
{
"prompt"
:
user_input
}
)
print
(
"\n"
)
await
client
.
stop
(
)
asyncio
.
run
(
main
(
)
)
MCP Server Integration
Connect to MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers for pre-built tools. Connect to GitHub's MCP server for repository, issue, and PR access:
TypeScript
const
session
=
await
client
.
createSession
(
{
model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
mcpServers
:
{
github
:
{
type
:
"http"
,
url
:
"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
,
}
,
}
,
}
)
;
Python
session
=
await
client
.
create_session
(
{
"model"
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
"mcp_servers"
:
{
"github"
:
{
"type"
:
"http"
,
"url"
:
"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
,
}
,
}
,
}
)
Go
session
,
_
:=
client
.
CreateSession
(
&
copilot
.
SessionConfig
{
Model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
MCPServers
:
map
[
string
]
copilot
.
MCPServerConfig
{
"github"
:
{
Type
:
"http"
,
URL
:
"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
,
}
,
}
,
}
)
.NET
await
using
var
session
=
await
client
.
CreateSessionAsync
(
new
SessionConfig
{
Model
=
"gpt-4.1"
,
McpServers
=
new
Dictionary
<
string
,
McpServerConfig
>
{
[
"github"
]
=
new
McpServerConfig
{
Type
=
"http"
,
Url
=
"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
,
}
,
}
,
}
)
;
Custom Agents
Define specialized AI personas for specific tasks:
TypeScript
const
session
=
await
client
.
createSession
(
{
model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
customAgents
:
[
{
name
:
"pr-reviewer"
,
displayName
:
"PR Reviewer"
,
description
:
"Reviews pull requests for best practices"
,
prompt
:
"You are an expert code reviewer. Focus on security, performance, and maintainability."
,
}
]
,
}
)
;
Python
session
=
await
client
.
create_session
(
{
"model"
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
"custom_agents"
:
[
{
"name"
:
"pr-reviewer"
,
"display_name"
:
"PR Reviewer"
,
"description"
:
"Reviews pull requests for best practices"
,
"prompt"
:
"You are an expert code reviewer. Focus on security, performance, and maintainability."
,
}
]
,
}
)
System Message
Customize the AI's behavior and personality:
TypeScript
const
session
=
await
client
.
createSession
(
{
model
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
systemMessage
:
{
content
:
"You are a helpful assistant for our engineering team. Always be concise."
,
}
,
}
)
;
Python
session
=
await
client
.
create_session
(
{
"model"
:
"gpt-4.1"
,
"system_message"
:
{
"content"
:
"You are a helpful assistant for our engineering team. Always be concise."
,
}
,
}
)
External CLI Server
Run the CLI in server mode separately and connect the SDK to it. Useful for debugging, resource sharing, or custom environments.
Start CLI in Server Mode
copilot
--server
--port
4321
Connect SDK to External Server
TypeScript
const
client
=
new
CopilotClient
(
{
cliUrl
:
"localhost:4321"
}
)
;
const
session
=
await
client
.
createSession
(
{
model
:
"gpt-4.1"
}
)
;
Python
client
=
CopilotClient
(
{
"cli_url"
:
"localhost:4321"
}
)
await
client
.
start
(
)
session
=
await
client
.
create_session
(
{
"model"
:
"gpt-4.1"
}
)
Go
client
:=
copilot
.
NewClient
(
&
copilot
.
ClientOptions
{
CLIUrl
:
"localhost:4321"
,
}
)
if
err
:=
client
.
Start
(
)
;
err
!=
nil
{
log
.
Fatal
(
err
)
}
session
,
_
:=
client
.
CreateSession
(
&
copilot
.
SessionConfig
{
Model
:
"gpt-4.1"
}
)
.NET
using
var
client
=
new
CopilotClient
(
new
CopilotClientOptions
{
CliUrl
=
"localhost:4321"
}
)
;
await
using
var
session
=
await
client
.
CreateSessionAsync
(
new
SessionConfig
{
Model
=
"gpt-4.1"
}
)
;
Note:
When
cliUrl
is provided, the SDK will not spawn or manage a CLI process - it only connects to the existing server.
Event Types
Event
Description
user.message
User input added
assistant.message
Complete model response
assistant.message_delta
Streaming response chunk
assistant.reasoning
Model reasoning (model-dependent)
assistant.reasoning_delta
Streaming reasoning chunk
tool.execution_start
Tool invocation started
tool.execution_complete
Tool execution finished
session.idle
No active processing
session.error
Error occurred
Client Configuration
Option
Description
Default
cliPath
Path to Copilot CLI executable
System PATH
cliUrl
Connect to existing server (e.g., "localhost:4321")
Subscribe to error events for robust error handling
Use streaming
Enable streaming for better UX on long responses
Persist sessions
Use custom session IDs for multi-turn conversations
Define clear tools
Write descriptive tool names and descriptions
Architecture
Your Application
|
SDK Client
| JSON-RPC
Copilot CLI (server mode)
|
GitHub (models, auth)
The SDK manages the CLI process lifecycle automatically. All communication happens via JSON-RPC over stdio or TCP.
Resources
GitHub Repository
:
https://github.com/github/copilot-sdk
Getting Started Tutorial
:
https://github.com/github/copilot-sdk/blob/main/docs/tutorials/first-app.md
GitHub MCP Server
:
https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server
MCP Servers Directory
:
https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers
Cookbook
:
https://github.com/github/copilot-sdk/tree/main/cookbook
Samples
:
https://github.com/github/copilot-sdk/tree/main/samples
Status
This SDK is in
Technical Preview
and may have breaking changes. Not recommended for production use yet.