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)

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Detection

# 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.

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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)

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:

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_*).

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Available Roles