GitHub Copilot SDK

Build applications that programmatically interact with GitHub Copilot. The SDK wraps the Copilot CLI via JSON-RPC, providing session management, custom tools, hooks, MCP server integration, and streaming across Node.js, Python, Go, and .NET.

Prerequisites

• GitHub Copilot CLI installed and authenticated (copilot --version to verify)
• GitHub Copilot subscription (Individual, Business, or Enterprise) — not required for BYOK
• Runtime: Node.js 18+ / Python 3.8+ / Go 1.21+ / .NET 8.0+

Installation

Core Pattern: Client → Session → Message

All SDK usage follows this pattern: create a client, create a session, send messages.

Node.js / 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();

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

client := copilot.NewClient(nil)
if err := client.Start(ctx); err != nil { log.Fatal(err) }
defer client.Stop()

session, _ := client.CreateSession(ctx, &copilot.SessionConfig{Model: "gpt-4.1"})
response, _ := session.SendAndWait(ctx, copilot.MessageOptions{Prompt: "What is 2 + 2?"})
fmt.Println(*response.Data.Content)

.NET

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);

Streaming Responses

Enable real-time output by setting streaming: true and subscribing to delta events.

const session = await client.createSession({ model: "gpt-4.1", streaming: true });

session.on("assistant.message_delta", (event) => {
    process.stdout.write(event.data.deltaContent);
});
session.on("session.idle", () => console.log());

await session.sendAndWait({ prompt: "Tell me a joke" });

Python equivalent:

from copilot.generated.session_events import SessionEventType

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()

session.on(handle_event)
await session.send_and_wait({"prompt": "Tell me a joke"})

Event Subscription

Custom Tools

Define tools that Copilot can call to extend its capabilities.

Node.js

import { CopilotClient, defineTool } 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 ({ city }) => ({ city, temperature: "72°F", condition: "sunny" }),
});

const session = await client.createSession({
    model: "gpt-4.1",
    tools: [getWeather],
});

Python

from copilot.tools import define_tool
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field

class GetWeatherParams(BaseModel):
    city: str = Field(description="The city name")

@define_tool(description="Get the current weather for a city")
async def get_weather(params: GetWeatherParams) -> dict:
    return {"city": params.city, "temperature": "72°F", "condition": "sunny"}

session = await client.create_session({"model": "gpt-4.1", "tools": [get_weather]})

Go

type WeatherParams struct {
    City string `json:"city" jsonschema:"The city name"`
}

getWeather := copilot.DefineTool("get_weather", "Get weather for a city",
    func(params WeatherParams, inv copilot.ToolInvocation) (WeatherResult, error) {
        return WeatherResult{City: params.City, Temperature: "72°F"}, nil
    },
)

session, _ := client.CreateSession(ctx, &copilot.SessionConfig{
    Model: "gpt-4.1",
    Tools: []copilot.Tool{getWeather},
})

.NET

var getWeather = AIFunctionFactory.Create(
    ([Description("The city name")] string city) => new { city, temperature = "72°F" },
    "get_weather", "Get the current weather for a city");

await using var session = await client.CreateSessionAsync(new SessionConfig {
    Model = "gpt-4.1", Tools = [getWeather],
});

Hooks

Intercept and customize session behavior at key lifecycle points.

Example: Tool Permission Control

const session = await client.createSession({
    hooks: {
        onPreToolUse: async (input) => {
            if (["shell", "bash"].includes(input.toolName)) {
                return { permissionDecision: "deny", permissionDecisionReason: "Shell access not permitted" };
            }
            return { permissionDecision: "allow" };
        },
    },
});

Pre-Tool Use Output

MCP Server Integration

Connect to MCP servers for pre-built tool capabilities.

Remote HTTP Server

const session = await client.createSession({
    mcpServers: {
        github: { type: "http", url: "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/" },
    },
});

Local Stdio Server

const session = await client.createSession({
    mcpServers: {
        filesystem: {
            type: "local",
            command: "npx",
            args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/allowed/path"],
            tools: ["*"],
        },
    },
});

MCP Config Fields

Authentication

Methods (Priority Order)

1. **Ex