How do I start using the GitHub Copilot app?

From the Copilot app home screen, select a project you've worked with before or add a new one from GitHub or your local machine. Once a project is selected, you can start an agent session with the codebase, files, and tools needed for a task.

Can I work on multiple things at once in the Copilot app?

Yes. Once you've started an agent session on a project, you can create additional sessions for other tasks or use Quick Chat to start a new conversation from the home screen, each focused on a different area of work. When you return to your original session, you can pick up where you left off.

What is the canvas feature?

Canvas is an interactive, shared space built around work artifacts such as a plan, kanban board, checklist, or running application. You can create a browser canvas using the /create-canvas command to preview your application directly within the Copilot app, and use Pick & Polish to select and refine UI elements by pointing to specific parts of the page.

What does Agent Merge do?

Agent Merge monitors your pull request as it moves through review and CI processes. You can choose which actions it takes—such as addressing review feedback, resolving CI failures, or handling merge conflicts—to help prepare the pull request for merge once required checks have passed.

Large Language ModelsAI Coding AssistantsGitHub Copilot BlogJul 27, 2026Jul 28, 2026, 01:01 JST

GitHub Copilot app lets developers manage multiple AI tasks without losing context

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3 Key Points

What happened
GitHub introduced the Copilot app, a workspace that organizes AI coding work around projects and sessions. Instead of a single chat window, it lets developers run multiple agent sessions tied to a repository, use Quick Chat for side tasks, preview changes in a browser canvas, and employ Agent Merge to help manage pull requests through review and CI processes.
Why it matters
Real development work jumps between bug fixes, code review, and exploring new parts of a codebase—activities a single chat interface handles poorly. By connecting AI sessions to projects and allowing developers to switch between tasks without losing their place, the Copilot app lets teams spend less time setting up their environment and more time building. The canvas preview and Agent Merge features close the loop from code change to merge, reducing friction in the full development cycle.
What to watch
The Copilot app is available now; developers can start by selecting a project from GitHub or their local machine and creating their first agent session. GitHub encourages trying it on backlog tasks to see how it streamlines exploration, building, and shipping with AI agents.

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Context & Analysis

The GitHub Copilot app represents a shift in how AI coding tools integrate with a developer's actual workflow. Traditional AI coding assistants treat interaction as a single linear conversation—the user asks a question, the AI answers, and the context resets. But the body describes a different reality: developers spend their day jumping between activities (fixing bugs, reviewing code, exploring unfamiliar parts of a codebase, trying new ideas). By anchoring each AI session to a project and allowing multiple parallel sessions, the Copilot app avoids the friction of re-explaining context every time a developer switches tasks.

The addition of the canvas—an embedded browser preview with direct element selection—bridges a gap that chat-only tools leave open: the gap between what code says it should do and what the UI actually shows. The Pick & Polish feature lets a developer point at a specific visual problem and use that as context for the next request, collapsing the cycle time from "ask AI to change component" to "see result, refine it, repeat." Similarly, Agent Merge extends the workflow beyond the initial code change by automating routine pull request chores (addressing review feedback, resolving CI failures, handling merge conflicts), reducing manual context-switching during the review phase.

Taken together, these features suggest the maturation of AI coding from a novelty chat interface to a tool that mirrors the actual shape of development work—sequential tasks, parallel threads, visual feedback loops, and collaborative review. The body frames this as a "workspace" rather than a chat, a distinction that signals a deeper integration into the development cycle rather than a separate assistance layer.

FAQ

How do I start using the GitHub Copilot app?: From the Copilot app home screen, select a project you've worked with before or add a new one from GitHub or your local machine. Once a project is selected, you can start an agent session with the codebase, files, and tools needed for a task.
Can I work on multiple things at once in the Copilot app?: Yes. Once you've started an agent session on a project, you can create additional sessions for other tasks or use Quick Chat to start a new conversation from the home screen, each focused on a different area of work. When you return to your original session, you can pick up where you left off.
What is the canvas feature?: Canvas is an interactive, shared space built around work artifacts such as a plan, kanban board, checklist, or running application. You can create a browser canvas using the /create-canvas command to preview your application directly within the Copilot app, and use Pick & Polish to select and refine UI elements by pointing to specific parts of the page.
What does Agent Merge do?: Agent Merge monitors your pull request as it moves through review and CI processes. You can choose which actions it takes—such as addressing review feedback, resolving CI failures, or handling merge conflicts—to help prepare the pull request for merge once required checks have passed.

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