copilot-sdk

GitHub Copilot SDK

Overview

The GitHub Copilot SDK is a multi-platform agent runtime that embeds Copilot's agentic workflows into applications. It exposes the same engine behind Copilot CLI, enabling programmatic invocation without requiring custom orchestration development.

Critical Constraint (TypeScript / Node.js):

• The Copilot SDK for Node.js is ESM-only
• Projects MUST use ECMAScript Modules
• CommonJS (require, module.exports) is not supported

Status: Technical Preview (suitable for development and testing)

Supported Languages: TypeScript/Node.js (ESM only), Python, Go, .NET

Primary Documentation

• GitHub Copilot SDK Repository
• Getting Started Guide
• Cookbook with Recipes

Language-Specific SDK Docs

• Node.js/TypeScript SDK
• Python SDK
• Go SDK
• .NET SDK

CLI and Configuration Docs

• About GitHub Copilot CLI
• Using GitHub Copilot CLI
• Creating Custom Agents
• Custom Agents Configuration Reference
• Enhancing Agent Mode with MCP
• Supported AI Models

Prerequisites

1. GitHub Copilot Subscription - Pro, Pro+, Business, or Enterprise

2. GitHub Copilot CLI - Installed and authenticated (copilot --version)

3. Runtime:

   • Node.js 18+ (ESM required)
   • Python 3.8+
   • Go 1.21+
   • .NET 8.0+

4. TypeScript / Node.js Project Requirements

   • package.json MUST include:

     {
       "type": "module"
     }
     

   • Use import / export
   • Do NOT use require() or module.exports

Installation

Architecture

Application (ESM) → SDK Client → JSON-RPC → Copilot CLI (server mode)

The SDK manages CLI lifecycle automatically. External server connections supported via cliUrl / cli_url.

Quick Start (TypeScript – ESM REQUIRED)

// package.json MUST include: { "type": "module" }

import { CopilotClient } from "@github/copilot-sdk";

const client = new CopilotClient();
await client.start();

const session = await client.createSession({ model: "gpt-5" });

// Register handler BEFORE send()
session.on((event) => {
  if (event.type === "assistant.message") {
    console.log(event.data.content);
  }
});

await session.send({ prompt: "What is 2 + 2?" });

await session.destroy();
await client.stop();

Critical:

• ESM only (import)
• No CommonJS
• Register event handlers before calling send()

For complete examples in all languages, see references/working-examples.md.

Core Concepts

Client

Main entry point. Manages CLI server lifecycle and session creation.

Operations: start(), stop(), createSession(), resumeSession()

Config: cliPath, cliUrl, port, useStdio, autoStart, autoRestart

Session

Individual conversation context with message history.

Operations: send(), sendAndWait(), on(), abort(), getMessages(), destroy()

Config: model, streaming, tools, systemMessage

Events

Key events during processing:

For full event lifecycle and SessionEvent structure, see references/event-system.md.

Streaming

• streaming: false (default) - Content arrives all at once
• streaming: true - Content arrives incrementally via assistant.message_delta

Final assistant.message always fires regardless of streaming setting.

Available Models

See Supported AI Models for full list.

Custom Tools

TypeScript (ESM + Zod):

const tool = defineTool("lookup_issue", {
  description: "Fetch issue details",
  parameters: z.object({ id: z.string() }),
  handler: async ({ id }) => fetchIssue(id),
});

Python (Pydantic):

@define_tool(description="Fetch issue details")
async def lookup_issue(params: IssueParams) -> dict:
    return fetch_issue(params.id)

For complete tool examples in all languages, see references/working-examples.md.

Language Conventions

For full conventions table, see references/event-system.md.

CLI Configuration

Config stored in ~/.copilot/:

• config.json - General configuration
• mcp-config.json - MCP server definitions

For custom agents and MCP setup, see references/cli-agents-mcp.md.

Troubleshooting

For debugging techniques, see references/troubleshooting.md.

Skill References

Detailed documentation in this skill:

• references/working-examples.md - Complete examples for all languages, custom tools
• references/event-system.md - Event lifecycle, SessionEvent structure, language conventions
• references/troubleshooting.md - Common issues, debugging techniques
• references/cli-agents-mcp.md - CLI configuration, custom agents, MCP server setup

Additional Resources

• SDK Samples
• SDK Releases
• Cookbook
• awesome-copilot