Purpose This documentation is for developers using the GitHub Copilot cloud agent. It explains how, after Copilot completes a coding task and requests review, to review its output, approve related workflow runs, and provide feedback. The core principle is: Copilot's pull requests should be thoroughly reviewed just like any other contribution.
Main capabilities and usage
- Review Copilot's changes: When Copilot completes a coding task and requests review, thoroughly inspect the pull request before merging. If the repository requires pull request approvals, a user's approval of a Copilot pull request does not count toward the required number of approvals, and it must be approved by another reviewer before it can be merged. If changes need to be requested from Copilot, mention @copilot in a comment, or push commits directly to that branch.
- Manage workflow runs: By default, when Copilot pushes changes to a pull request, GitHub Actions workflows do not run automatically. Workflows may be privileged and may have access to sensitive secrets, so it is necessary to inspect the proposed changes in the pull request and confirm that workflows can be run on that pull request branch, especially being vigilant about changes in the .github/workflows/ directory that affect workflow files. To allow workflows to run, click the "Approve and run workflows" button in the pull request merge box. Optionally, the Copilot cloud agent can be configured to allow GitHub Actions workflows to run without human intervention.
- Provide feedback: Use the feedback buttons on Copilot pull requests and comments to rate the output. On Copilot's pull request or comment, click the thumbs up or thumbs down button. If you click thumbs down, you can select a reason and leave a comment, then click "Submit feedback." Feedback helps improve Copilot quality.
Applicable scenarios and limitations The Copilot cloud agent is available for all paid Copilot plans and can be used in all repositories stored on GitHub, except repositories owned by managed user accounts and repositories that are explicitly disabled. Signing up for Copilot is required. This documentation also provides further reading, including best practices for using GitHub Copilot to handle tasks and troubleshooting for the GitHub Copilot cloud agent.