GitHub Copilot Provider Skill

Overview

GitHub Copilot CLI (GA since Feb 2026) serves as an optional provider in the Claude Octopus multi-LLM ecosystem. Integration uses the official copilot -p programmatic mode, not reverse-engineered API endpoints.

Core principle: Copilot supplements existing providers for research and exploration at zero additional cost (uses existing GitHub Copilot subscription). Each prompt counts as one premium request against your subscription quota.

Agent types: copilot (general), copilot-research (research-focused)

Detection

bash
# Check copilot CLI is available
if ! command -v copilot &>/dev/null; then
  # Copilot CLI not installed — silently skip
  return 0
fi

Graceful degradation: When Copilot CLI is unavailable or unauthenticated, silently skip. Other providers continue to operate normally.

Authentication

Copilot CLI checks credentials in this precedence order:

1. COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN env var (highest priority — fine-grained PAT with "Copilot Requests" permission)
2. GH_TOKEN env var
3. GITHUB_TOKEN env var
4. OAuth token from system keychain (via copilot login)
5. GitHub CLI (gh) authentication fallback

Setup

Option 1: Interactive login (recommended for local dev)

bash
copilot login

Option 2: Fine-grained PAT (recommended for CI/automation)

1. Create a fine-grained PAT at https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new
2. Enable the "Copilot Requests" permission
3. Set the env var:

bash
export COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN="github_pat_..."

Option 3: Reuse existing gh auth If gh auth login is already configured, Copilot CLI will use it automatically.

Note: Classic PATs (ghp_*) are NOT supported. Use fine-grained PATs (github_pat_*).

Available Roles

| Role | Agent Type | Use Case | |------|-----------|----------| | General | copilot | Broad research, code explanation, exploration | | Research | copilot-research | Research-focused exploration and analysis |

Dispatch

bash
# Programmatic mode (non-interactive)
copilot -p "<prompt>" --no-ask-user

Provider Indicators

When Copilot is active in a multi-provider workflow:

Providers:
🔴 Codex CLI - Implementation
🟡 Gemini CLI - Security review
🟢 Copilot CLI - Research perspective
🔵 Claude - Synthesis

Indicator legend:

• 🔴 = Codex CLI
• 🟡 = Gemini CLI
• 🟢 = Copilot CLI
• 🟣 = Perplexity
• 🔵 = Claude

Doctor Integration

The /octo:doctor providers check reports Copilot availability and auth method:

Providers:
  ✓ Copilot CLI installed (auth: keychain)

When unauthenticated: ⚠ Copilot CLI installed but not authenticated When missing: ℹ Copilot CLI not installed (optional)

Integration Notes

1. Zero additional cost — Uses existing GitHub Copilot subscription (Pro, Pro+, Business, Enterprise)
2. Premium request quota — Each copilot -p prompt = 1 premium request from your monthly allowance
3. Graceful degradation — When unavailable, silently skip with no errors or warnings
4. No provider cascade — If unavailable, the role is reassigned to another provider
5. Model selection — Copilot CLI selects the model internally (default: Claude Sonnet 4.5, configurable via /model)
6. Multi-model access — Copilot subscription includes access to Claude, GPT, and Gemini models

Example Workflows

Research with Copilot

🐙 **CLAUDE OCTOPUS ACTIVATED** - Multi-provider research mode
🔍 Discover Phase: Researching WebSocket authentication patterns

Providers:
🔴 Codex CLI - Technical implementation analysis
🟡 Gemini CLI - Ecosystem research
🟢 Copilot CLI - Research perspective
🔵 Claude - Strategic synthesis

Copilot Unavailable (Graceful Degradation)

🐙 **CLAUDE OCTOPUS ACTIVATED** - Multi-provider research mode
🔍 Discover Phase: Researching WebSocket authentication patterns

Providers:
🔴 Codex CLI - Technical implementation analysis
🟡 Gemini CLI - Ecosystem research
🔵 Claude - Strategic synthesis

When Copilot is not detected, it is silently omitted from the provider list.