GitHub Copilot CLI: AI coding agent for the terminal

At a Glance

Type

Developer tools

Pricing

FreemiumFree tier included; Pro $10/mo, Pro+ $39/mo, Max $100/mo (USD, individual plans); Business/Enterprise need admin approval, price not public

Best For

Running multi-step coding tasks (debugging, PR descriptions, issue triage) from the terminal on an existing GitHub Copilot subscription.

Platforms

CLI, macOS, Linux, Windows

Models

Claude Opus 4.6, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.3-Codex, GPT-5 mini, GPT-4.1, Gemini 3 Pro

Founded

2008

Headquarters

San Francisco, USA

Free Tier

Available

Key Features

Terminal-native agent for build, debug, refactor and code-review tasks via natural-language prompts

Installable via npm, Homebrew, WinGet, a shell script or a standalone executable; bundled in the default GitHub Codespaces image

Ships with GitHub's own MCP server and supports adding custom MCP servers, skills and plugins

In-terminal tabs for session, gists, issues and pull requests, added in the June 2026 interface update

Mid-session model switching via /model across Anthropic, OpenAI and Google models

Preview-before-execution step requires approval before proposed commands or changes run

Pros & Cons

Strengths

Included in every Copilot tier, including the Free plan, with no separate CLI licence fee
MCP, skills and plugin support let developers extend it with custom tools
Multiple install paths (npm, Homebrew, WinGet, script, binary) and default inclusion in GitHub Codespaces

Limitations

Proprietary licence: the repository's LICENSE.md forbids modification or creating derivative works, so it can't be forked or audited like an open-source tool.
Business and Enterprise seats need an admin to enable Copilot CLI via Enterprise's 'AI controls > Copilot > Configure features & clients', before anyone in the org can use it.
Windows requires PowerShell v6 or later, an extra dependency not needed on macOS or Linux.
The README names Claude Sonnet 4.5 as default, but the GA changelog says GPT-5 mini and GPT-4.1 are the no-cost defaults, with the rest as premium options — the two disagree on the default model.

What it is

GitHub Copilot CLI is a terminal-native coding agent from GitHub, included with a Copilot subscription rather than sold as a separate product. It runs as a standalone copilot command, installable via npm, Homebrew, WinGet, a shell install script or a standalone executable, and it ships by default in the GitHub Codespaces image and as a Dev Container feature.

Interface and dependencies

The CLI needs an active GitHub Copilot subscription to authenticate, and on Windows it also requires PowerShell v6 or later. Inside a session it ships with GitHub's own MCP server and lets you register custom MCP servers, skills and plugins through /mcp add, /skills and /plugin commands. A June 2026 interface update added tabs for switching between the current session, gists, issues and pull requests without leaving the terminal, plus screen-reader and colourblind-friendly themes.

What you build with it

A developer points the CLI at a repository and asks it, in natural language, to debug a failing test, draft a pull-request description, or triage an issue; it plans and executes multi-step changes with a preview-before-execution step so nothing runs unreviewed. The model can be switched mid-session with /model.

Limits

It is not open source: the public repository ships only an install script, a changelog and a proprietary "GitHub Copilot CLI License" that forbids modification or derivative works, so there is no source code to audit or fork. Organisation-wide (Business/Enterprise) access must be switched on by an administrator first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is GitHub Copilot CLI open source?

No. Its repository distributes an install script and changelog under a proprietary "GitHub Copilot CLI License" that bars modification or derivative works, so there's no source code to inspect or fork.

Do I need a paid plan to use it?

No — GitHub's Copilot plans page lists CLI access under the Free tier as well as Pro, Pro+ and Max, though Business and Enterprise seats must be enabled by an administrator first.