Commit b2e39ca

GitHub Copilot CLI Action 🤖

A GitHub Action wrapper for the GitHub Copilot CLI that enables AI-powered automation in your workflow files.

Installation

Permissions

Add the copilot-requests: write permission to your workflow. The default GITHUB_TOKEN now handles Copilot authentication — no PAT required.

Note

Your organization must have the "Allow use of Copilot CLI billed to the organization" policy enabled.

Basic Setup

Add the following workflow to your .github/workflows folder:

name: 'Copilot Automation'
on: [pull_request]

permissions:
  copilot-requests: write
  pull-requests: write

jobs:
  copilot:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: 'Checkout Repository'
        uses: actions/checkout@v5

      - name: 'Run Copilot CLI'
        uses: austenstone/copilot-cli@v3
        with:
          prompt: |
            Review this pull request for:
            1. Code quality and best practices
            2. Security vulnerabilities
            3. Performance implications
            4. Documentation completeness

Advanced Setup with MCP Servers

          prompt: 'What time is it?'
          mcp-config: |
            {
              "mcpServers": {
                "time": {
                  "type": "local",
                  "command": "uvx",
                  "args": ["mcp-server-time", "--local-timezone", "America/New_York"],
                  "tools": ["*"]
                }
              }
            }

Configuration

Input Parameters

Parameter Description Required Default

prompt Natural language prompt to send to GitHub Copilot ✅ -

copilot-token (Deprecated) Override token for Copilot auth. The default github.token now works. ❌ github.token

copilot-config GitHub Copilot CLI configuration (JSON) ❌ See below

mcp-config MCP server configuration in JSON format ❌ -

Agent Behavior

autopilot Enable autopilot continuation in prompt mode ❌ true

max-turns Maximum number of autopilot continuation turns ❌ unlimited

no-ask-user Disable ask_user tool for fully autonomous CI execution ❌ true

silent Output only the agent response without usage statistics ❌ false

model AI model to use (e.g., "claude-sonnet-4", "gpt-5") ❌ -

agent Specify a custom agent to use (e.g., "explore") ❌ -

reasoning-effort Reasoning effort level (low, medium, high, xhigh) ❌ -

experimental Enable experimental CLI features ❌ false

Tool Permissions

allow-all-tools Allow all tools without approval ❌ true

allowed-tools Comma-separated list of tools to allow (e.g., "shell(git:*)") ❌ -

denied-tools Comma-separated list of tools to deny (e.g., "shell(rm)") ❌ -

allowed-urls Comma-separated list of URLs/domains to allow ❌ -

denied-urls Comma-separated list of URLs/domains to deny ❌ -

MCP Configuration

enable-all-github-mcp-tools Enable all GitHub MCP tools ❌ false

add-github-mcp-tools Comma-separated list of specific GitHub MCP tools to enable ❌ -

add-github-mcp-toolsets Comma-separated list of GitHub MCP toolsets to enable ❌ -

disable-mcp-servers Comma-separated list of MCP servers to disable ❌ -

disable-builtin-mcps Disable all built-in MCP servers ❌ false

Files & Directories

additional-directories Comma-separated list of additional directories to trust ❌ -

Session Management

resume-session Resume from a previous session ID (use "latest" for most recent) ❌ -

share Share session to a markdown file after completion ❌ -

share-gist Share session to a secret GitHub gist ❌ false

Output & Logging

output-format Output format (json for JSONL output) ❌ -

log-level Log level: none, error, warning, info, debug, all ❌ all

upload-artifact Upload Copilot logs as workflow artifacts ❌ true

fail-on-error Fail the step if Copilot CLI exits with non-zero code ❌ false

copilot-version Version of Copilot CLI to install ❌ prerelease

options Additional CLI flags (e.g., "--no-custom-instructions") ❌ --screen-reader --no-color --stream off

Parameter	Description	Required	Default
`prompt`	Natural language prompt to send to GitHub Copilot	✅	-
`copilot-token`	(Deprecated) Override token for Copilot auth. The default `github.token` now works.	❌	`github.token`
`repo-token`	Token for repository operations (`gh` CLI). Use a PAT if the agent needs elevated permissions.	❌	`github.token`
`copilot-config`	GitHub Copilot CLI configuration (JSON)	❌	See below
`mcp-config`	MCP server configuration in JSON format	❌	-
Agent Behavior
`autopilot`	Enable autopilot continuation in prompt mode	❌	`true`
`max-turns`	Maximum number of autopilot continuation turns	❌	unlimited
`no-ask-user`	Disable ask_user tool for fully autonomous CI execution	❌	`true`
`silent`	Output only the agent response without usage statistics	❌	`false`
`model`	AI model to use (e.g., `"claude-sonnet-4"`, `"gpt-5"`)	❌	-
`agent`	Specify a custom agent to use (e.g., `"explore"`)	❌	-
`reasoning-effort`	Reasoning effort level (`low`, `medium`, `high`, `xhigh`)	❌	-
`experimental`	Enable experimental CLI features	❌	`false`
Tool Permissions
`allow-all-tools`	Allow all tools without approval	❌	`true`
`allowed-tools`	Comma-separated list of tools to allow (e.g., `"shell(git:*)"`)	❌	-
`denied-tools`	Comma-separated list of tools to deny (e.g., `"shell(rm)"`)	❌	-
`allowed-urls`	Comma-separated list of URLs/domains to allow	❌	-
`denied-urls`	Comma-separated list of URLs/domains to deny	❌	-
MCP Configuration
`enable-all-github-mcp-tools`	Enable all GitHub MCP tools	❌	`false`
`add-github-mcp-tools`	Comma-separated list of specific GitHub MCP tools to enable	❌	-
`add-github-mcp-toolsets`	Comma-separated list of GitHub MCP toolsets to enable	❌	-
`disable-mcp-servers`	Comma-separated list of MCP servers to disable	❌	-
`disable-builtin-mcps`	Disable all built-in MCP servers	❌	`false`
Files & Directories
`additional-directories`	Comma-separated list of additional directories to trust	❌	-
Session Management
`resume-session`	Resume from a previous session ID (use `"latest"` for most recent)	❌	-
`share`	Share session to a markdown file after completion	❌	-
`share-gist`	Share session to a secret GitHub gist	❌	`false`
Output & Logging
`output-format`	Output format (`json` for JSONL output)	❌	-
`log-level`	Log level: `none`, `error`, `warning`, `info`, `debug`, `all`	❌	`all`
`upload-artifact`	Upload Copilot logs as workflow artifacts	❌	`true`
`fail-on-error`	Fail the step if Copilot CLI exits with non-zero code	❌	`false`
`copilot-version`	Version of Copilot CLI to install	❌	`prerelease`
`options`	Additional CLI flags (e.g., `"--no-custom-instructions"`)	❌	`--screen-reader --no-color --stream off`

Output Parameters

Output	Description
`exit-code`	Exit code from the Copilot CLI command
`logs-path`	Path to the copilot logs directory
`session-path`	Path to the shared session markdown file (when `share` is used)

MCP Server Configuration

The action supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for extending Copilot's capabilities. Configure MCP servers using JSON format with an mcpServers object where each key is the server name and the value contains its configuration.

Important

See the official MCP server configuration docs for complete details.

Examples

📋 View All Example Workflows

Workflow	Description
CI Fix	Automatically analyzes failed workflow runs and creates a pull request with fixes
Comment Trigger	Responds to issue comments starting with `/copilot` and executes the requested task
Dependabot Analysis	Reviews Dependabot PRs with detailed dependency analysis, breaking changes, and migration guidance
PR Review	Performs comprehensive autonomous code reviews on pull requests with severity-based feedback
Research	Conducts deep research on GitHub issues using Firecrawl to gather and synthesize information
Security Triage	Triages all security alerts (Dependabot, Secret Scanning, Code Scanning) into a single comprehensive report
Issue Triage	Automatically labels issues based on their title and content using existing repository labels
Usage Report	Generates comprehensive Copilot usage reports and analytics

Troubleshooting

Note

Most issues stem from permissions configuration.

Common Issues

"Copilot token required" / Permission Denied
- Ensure your workflow has copilot-requests: write permission
- Your org must enable the "Allow use of Copilot CLI billed to the organization" policy
- If using a legacy PAT, ensure it has the "Copilot Requests" permission
Copilot starts but permission denied on repo operations
- Add appropriate permissions (e.g., contents: write, pull-requests: write)
- Check Settings > Actions > General > Workflow permissions
Tool Access Denied
- Check your allowed-tools and denied-tools configuration
- If allow-all-tools: false, you must explicitly allow needed tools
MCP Server Connection Issues
- Verify MCP server URLs are accessible from GitHub-hosted runners
- Check authentication headers and tokens
- Ensure type is set correctly (local, http, or sse)
Session Resume Not Working
- Session data is stored in logs; ensure upload-artifact: true
- Use resume-session: latest to continue the most recent session
Large Output Truncation
- Set log-level: error or log-level: warning to reduce verbosity
- Break complex prompts into smaller, focused tasks

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Commit b2e39ca

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`‎README.md‎`

GitHub Copilot CLI Action 🤖

Installation

Permissions

Basic Setup

Advanced Setup with MCP Servers

Configuration

Input Parameters

Output Parameters

MCP Server Configuration

Examples

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Related Resources

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1 file changed

1 file changed

‎README.md‎

GitHub Copilot CLI Action 🤖

Installation

Permissions

Basic Setup

Advanced Setup with MCP Servers

Configuration

Input Parameters

Output Parameters

MCP Server Configuration

Examples

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Related Resources

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`‎README.md‎`