Coding agent (CLI) · GitHub

GitHub Copilot CLI

GitHub's terminal coding agent, included in every Copilot plan. Uses your GitHub login, ships GitHub's MCP server, and offers custom agents, plan and autopilot modes, a local command sandbox, and optional bring-your-own-model.

Reviewed by the Termdex team · facts checked 2026-10-28 against 7 vendor sources · how we check

Official site

GitHub Copilot CLI review

GitHub Copilot CLI is GitHub's terminal coding agent for macOS, Windows and Linux. It is included in every Copilot plan, including Free, and it is not open source. We read the vendor's pages and repository in October 2026. We did not run an independent test.

Who it is for

Developers already on GitHub Copilot who want a CLI coding agent tied to their repos, issues and pull requests. It is not for people who need open-source code or want to avoid a GitHub account.

What stands out

You sign in with GitHub, and the GitHub MCP server is available out of the box. The CLI offers plan and autopilot modes, subagents, and custom agent profiles at user, repository and organisation level.

Programmatic mode uses -p with approval flags. A local /sandbox command restricts commands. A cloud option, copilot --cloud, runs sessions in isolation.

Pick models with /model or --model. Bring-your-own-model works through environment variables for OpenAI-compatible endpoints, including Ollama and vLLM, plus Azure and Anthropic endpoints. Install is a curl script, Homebrew, winget or npm.

Price and licence

The licence is not open source. It is a custom GitHub Copilot CLI License. It grants install and run rights. Redistribution is allowed only unmodified, as part of a larger application. Modification and derivative works are not allowed. The repository holds a README, licence, changelog and install script, but no source.

The CLI needs a Copilot plan. On the plans pages, seen 28 October 2026: Free is $0 with limits, and Student is free. Pro is $10 a month, Pro+ $39 and Max $100. Business is $19 per granted seat, and Enterprise $39.

Usage is metered in GitHub AI credits, where one credit is $0.01. Model cost is bundled in the plan, or comes from your own provider key.

Where it falls short

Proprietary. The repository has no source, and the licence forbids modification and derivative works.
It needs an active Copilot subscription. Organisation or enterprise admins can disable the CLI.
Credits are metered by model, so heavier models and larger context use them faster.
The README lags the docs. It still names Sonnet 4.5 and premium requests. We did not verify the current default model.
Windows needs PowerShell v6 or newer, or WSL. We found nothing on SSH or git worktrees.

Alternatives

See terminal coding agents for more. OpenCode is MIT-licensed and also takes a Copilot login. Claude Code is another closed-source option.

Facts: platforms, price and licence

platforms: macOSWindowsLinuxWindows needs PowerShell v6+ per the README; GitHub's docs say Windows use is from PowerShell or WSL. Computer use is limited to local sessions on macOS and Windows. Organisation or enterprise admins can disable the CLI.
price: FreemiumThe CLI needs a GitHub Copilot plan; all plans include it (seen 2026-10-28 on docs.github.com plans page and github.com/features/copilot/plans): Free $0 (limited), Student free, Pro $10/month, Pro+ $39/month, Max $100/month, Business $19 per granted seat, Enterprise $39 per granted seat. Usage is metered in GitHub AI credits (1 credit = $0.01); the repo README still talks about premium requests. Model cost is bundled in the Copilot plan, or you can bring your own provider key.
source: ProprietaryLicence: GitHub Copilot CLI License (no modification or derivatives)
github: github/copilot-cli 11.3k stars, seen 2026-10-28

GitHub Copilot CLI features

✓ yes MCP
✓ yes Multi-agent
✓ yes Headless / CI
✓ yes Sandbox
✓ yes Local models
✓ yes Your own API key
? not verified Git worktrees
? not verified SSH

✓ documented · – absent or not in its feature list · ? not verified

GitHub Copilot CLI strengths

Included in every Copilot plan, including Free, with GitHub auth and the GitHub MCP server out of the box
Programmatic mode (-p) with approval flags, plus custom agent profiles at user, repo and organisation level
Bring-your-own provider via environment variables, documented to work with Ollama and vLLM
Local /sandbox restriction and a cloud session option (copilot --cloud) for isolated runs

GitHub Copilot CLI weak points

Proprietary: the repo contains no source, and the licence forbids modification and derivative works
Requires an active Copilot subscription, and org admins can switch the CLI off
Usage is credit-metered by model, so heavier models and larger context burn credits faster
Repo README lags the docs (still names Sonnet 4.5 and premium requests)

Who GitHub Copilot CLI is for

best for: Developers already on GitHub Copilot who want an agent tied to their repos, issues and pull requests.
look elsewhere if: People who need open-source code or who do not want a GitHub account and subscription.

Lists that include GitHub Copilot CLI

Sources and what we could not verify

Checked 2026-10-28. Prices and features change; the vendor's page is the authority.

github.com/github/copilot-cli — README: install commands, platforms, PowerShell v6, auth, PAT, subscription requirement
github.com/github/copilot-cli/blob/main/LICENSE.md — source: custom GitHub Copilot CLI License
api.github.com/repos/github/copilot-cli — stars, license NOASSERTION, pushed_at, not archived; repo tree has only README, LICENSE, changelog, install.sh
docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/about-copilot-cli — -p programmatic mode, BYOK incl. Ollama, /sandbox, cloud, MCP, custom agents, platforms
docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/use-copilot-cli — subagents, built-in agents, agent profiles, cloud sessions
docs.github.com/en/copilot/get-started/plans — plan prices and CLI included on all plans
github.com/features/copilot/plans — Free/Pro/Pro+/Max prices and AI credits

Not verified

official_url: github.com/features/copilot/cli returns HTTP 200 but its content was not read; facts come from the repo and docs.github.com
git_worktrees, ssh, mobile_app, phone_remote: not found in fetched docs
Plans page was only read to character 100,000 of ~203,000; Business/Enterprise per-seat prices come from that portion
Default model: README says Claude Sonnet 4.5, which is likely outdated; current default not verified