generated: '2026-06-20'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://github.com/github/copilot-cli and the npm package @github/copilot,
  plus the gh copilot extension (github.com/github/gh-copilot). There are two
  distinct first-party Copilot command-line surfaces.
description: >-
  GitHub Copilot's command-line surfaces. (1) The standalone GitHub Copilot CLI
  (@github/copilot) — an agentic coding assistant that runs in the terminal.
  (2) The `gh copilot` extension for the GitHub CLI — suggest/explain shell
  commands. The binaries are catalogued in packages/github-copilot-packages.yml.
clis:
  - name: GitHub Copilot CLI
    binary: copilot
    package: "@github/copilot"
    repo: https://github.com/github/copilot-cli
    docs: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/use-copilot-in-the-cli
    install:
      npm: npm install -g @github/copilot
    description: >-
      Brings the Copilot coding agent to the terminal — reads/edits files, runs
      commands, and completes tasks interactively or non-interactively. Supports
      MCP servers, custom agents, slash commands, and multiple model families.
    surface:
      - {kind: mode, name: interactive, description: Launch an interactive agent session in the current directory.}
      - {kind: mode, name: non-interactive, description: Run a single prompt/task and exit (scriptable).}
      - {kind: feature, name: slash-commands, description: In-session slash commands to control context, models, and agents.}
      - {kind: feature, name: mcp, description: Connect MCP servers for additional tools/context (see mcp/github-copilot-mcp.yml).}
      - {kind: feature, name: custom-agents, description: Define specialized agents for specific tasks.}
  - name: gh copilot (GitHub CLI extension)
    binary: gh copilot
    repo: https://github.com/github/gh-copilot
    docs: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-in-the-cli
    install:
      gh_extension: gh extension install github/gh-copilot
    description: An extension for the GitHub CLI (gh) that suggests and explains shell/git/gh commands.
    surface:
      - {kind: command, name: gh copilot suggest, description: Ask Copilot to suggest a command for a described task.}
      - {kind: command, name: gh copilot explain, description: Ask Copilot to explain what a given command does.}
      - {kind: command, name: gh copilot config, description: Configure the extension (e.g. usage analytics opt-in).}