custom_github_copilot_agent_builder: Instructions file for GitHub Copilot

Core Principles

• The SDK is in technical preview and may have breaking changes
• Requires Node.js 18.0 or later
• Requires GitHub Copilot CLI installed and in PATH
• Built with TypeScript for type safety
• Uses async/await patterns throughout
• Provides full TypeScript type definitions

Installation

Always install via npm/pnpm/yarn:

npm install @github/copilot-sdk
# or
pnpm add @github/copilot-sdk
# or
yarn add @github/copilot-sdk

Client Initialization

Basic Client Setup

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

const client = new CopilotClient();
await client.start();
// Use client...
await client.stop();

Client Configuration Options

When creating a CopilotClient, use CopilotClientOptions:

• cliPath - Path to CLI executable (default: "copilot" from PATH)
• cliArgs - Extra arguments prepended before SDK-managed flags (string[])
• cliUrl - URL of existing CLI server (e.g., "localhost:8080"). When provided, client won't spawn a process
• port - Server port (default: 0 for random)
• useStdio - Use stdio transport instead of TCP (default: true)
• logLevel - Log level (default: "debug")
• autoStart - Auto-start server (default: true)
• autoRestart - Auto-restart on crash (default: true)
• cwd - Working directory for the CLI process (default: process.cwd())
• env - Environment variables for the CLI process (default: process.env)

Manual Server Control

For explicit control:

const client = new CopilotClient({ autoStart: false });
await client.start();
// Use client...
await client.stop();

Use forceStop() when stop() takes too long.

Session Management

Creating Sessions

Use SessionConfig for configuration:

const session = await client.createSession({
    model: "gpt-5",
    streaming: true,
    tools: [...],
    systemMessage: { ... },
    availableTools: ["tool1", "tool2"],
    excludedTools: ["tool3"],
    provider: { ... }
});