github/app

GitHub Copilot app – an agent‑native desktop UI for your GitHub work

What it is – A desktop application (Windows, macOS, Linux) that lets you run GitHub Copilot‑powered AI agents locally or in the cloud and manage the whole development workflow from a single window. It is not a library or a model; it is a user‑facing product that orchestrates Copilot’s code‑generation agents, git worktrees, and GitHub pull‑request lifecycle.

Why it matters – Copilot is usually accessed through an editor extension or the web UI. This app adds a dedicated UI for:

• Discovering work (issues, PRs) across all your repositories.
• Starting an AI‑driven “session” that runs in an isolated git worktree (or a remote GitHub‑hosted environment) so multiple agents can work in parallel without branch collisions.
• Visual “canvases” that surface the agent’s terminal output, plan, diffs, and previews in one place, letting you edit or redirect the work.
• Automations that turn repeatable prompts into scheduled background tasks.
• An “Agent Merge” flow that automatically pushes an agent‑generated PR through checks and merges once you approve it.

Key capabilities

Feature	What you can do
Parallel agent sessions	Run several independent Copilot agents at once, each in its own git worktree or remote environment.
Canvases	Interactive panels that show the agent’s plan, terminal, file changes, and preview links side‑by‑side.
My Work view	Consolidated list of issues, PRs, and sessions across all repos to help you pick the next task.
Automations / scheduled prompts	Define repeatable prompts (e.g., nightly code‑review, dependency‑update) that run without manual intervention.
Agent Merge	After an agent finishes a PR, the app can automatically run CI checks and merge when conditions are met.
Cloud sessions	Let agents run in isolated GitHub‑hosted environments, so you can pick up work from any machine.
BYOK (bring‑your‑own‑key)	If you don’t have a Copilot subscription, you can point the app at another model provider using your own API key.

Getting started

1. Prerequisites – Install Git and have a GitHub Copilot plan (or a personal API key for another model).
2. Install – Download the appropriate installer from the Releases page (Windows x64/ARM, macOS Intel/Apple‑Silicon, Linux AppImage).
3. First run – The app opens a welcome tour; follow the on‑screen steps to sign in, select a repository, and launch your first Copilot session.
4. Documentation – Detailed walkthroughs are at https://gh.io/github-app-docs.

Community & support

• Issues – Report bugs or request features in the repository’s Issues tab (include app version, OS, steps to reproduce, logs, etc.).
• Discussions – Use the Discussions tab for open‑ended questions.
• Stale‑issue automation – Issues inactive for 30 days are labelled stale and closed after a further week unless activity resumes.

License & data

• The repository is owned by GitHub, Inc.; all rights reserved (no open‑source license is granted for the app itself).
• When used with a Copilot account, usage telemetry (code acceptance/rejection, conversation snippets, feedback) is collected as described in the GitHub Copilot Trust Center.

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This summary is based solely on the repository’s README; no additional features are inferred.