GitHub Copilot Agent now stable for .NET and Python

Microsoft today released the GitHub Copilot Agent as stable for both .NET and Python, marking the completion of an integration that gives developers a unified way to build production-ready coding agents. The GitHub Copilot Agent is an Agent Framework agent backed by the GitHub Copilot CLI and SDK, where Copilot owns the agent loop (model calls, tool invocation, planning, and session state) while Agent Framework provides a consistent surface for instructions, tools, streaming, middleware, observability, and human-in-the-loop approval.

Developers can use the agent to run shell commands, read and write files, fetch URLs, and invoke Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers — both local (stdio) and remote (http) — such as a filesystem server or the Microsoft Learn documentation API. Every capability is gated by a permission handler that developers provide; the handler receives each request and returns an approve/deny decision, ensuring the agent only does what is explicitly allowed. For example, developers can prompt for approval on shell commands, allow file reads silently, and always deny URL fetches — or approve all trusted operations and prompt only on custom tools marked with approval_mode="always_require" in Python or wrapped in ApprovalRequiredAIFunction in .NET.

The integration handles session management automatically. Developers can reuse a session to keep context across turns and resume an earlier conversation by its session ID, even from a new agent instance. Custom instruction directories can be pointed to for project-specific or team-shared guidelines. The agent participates in Agent Framework's OpenTelemetry tracing, giving operators the same traces and telemetry as every other agent in their system.

To get started, developers need an authenticated GitHub Copilot CLI and an active GitHub Copilot subscription. Installation is via `dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.GitHub.Copilot` for .NET or `pip install agent-framework-github-copilot` for Python. The CLI is configured through environment variables (GITHUB_COPILOT_CLI_PATH, GITHUB_COPILOT_MODEL) or directly in code via CopilotClientOptions in .NET or GitHubCopilotOptions in Python. This release opens new workflows for code review assistants, repository maintenance agents, developer copilots, and software engineering workflows, all backed by Copilot's coding capabilities and Agent Framework's extensibility and governance.