GitHub Copilot CLI programmatic reference

In addition to running Copilot CLI interactively, you can also pass a prompt directly to the CLI in a single command, without entering an interactive session. This allows you to use Copilot programmatically in scripts, CI/CD pipelines, and automation workflows. For more information, see Running CLI de GitHub Copilot programmatically.

This article describes command-line options and environment variables that are particularly relevant when running Copilot CLI programmatically.

To see a complete list of the available options, see GitHub Copilot CLI command reference or enter the following command in your terminal:

Shell

copilot help

copilot help

Command line options

There are a number of command-line options that are particularly useful when running Copilot CLI programmatically.

Option	Description
`-p PROMPT`	Execute a prompt in non-interactive mode. The CLI runs the prompt and exits when done.
`-s`	Suppress stats and decoration, outputting only the agent's response. Ideal for piping output in scripts.
`--add-dir=DIRECTORY`	Add a directory to the allowed-paths list. This can be used multiple times to add multiple directories. Useful when the agent needs to read/write outside the current working directory.
`--agent=AGENT`	Specify a assistant personnalisé to use.
`--allow-all` (or `--yolo`)	Allow the CLI all permissions. Equivalent to `--allow-all-tools --allow-all-paths --allow-all-urls`.
`--allow-all-paths`	Disable file-path verification entirely. Simpler alternative to `--add-dir` when path restrictions aren't needed.
`--allow-all-tools`	Allow every tool to run without explicit permission for each tool.
`--allow-all-urls`	Allow access to all URLs without explicit permission for each URL.
`--allow-tool=TOOL ...`	Selectively grant permission for a specific tool. For multiple tools, use a quoted, comma-separated list.
`--allow-url=URL ...`	Allow the agent to fetch a specific URL or domain. Useful when a workflow needs web access to known endpoints. For multiple URLs, use a quoted, comma-separated list.
`--deny-tool=TOOL ...`	Deny a specific tool. Useful for restricting what the agent can do in a locked-down workflow. For multiple tools, use a quoted, comma-separated list.
`--model=MODEL`	Choose the AI model (for example, `gpt-5.2` or `claude-sonnet-4.6`). Useful for pinning a model in reproducible workflows. See Choosing a model below.
`--no-ask-user`	Prevent the agent from pausing to seek additional user input.
`--secret-env-vars=VAR ...`	An environment variable whose value you want redacted in output. For multiple variables, use a quoted, comma-separated list. Essential for preventing secrets being exposed in logs. The values in the `GITHUB_TOKEN` and `COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN` environment variables are redacted by default.
`--share=PATH`	Export the session transcript to a markdown file after non-interactive completion (defaults to `./copilot-session-<ID>.md`). Useful for auditing or archiving what the agent did. Note that session transcripts may contain sensitive information.
`--share-gist`	Publish the session transcript as a secret GitHub gist after completion. Convenient for sharing results from CI. Note that session transcripts may contain sensitive information.

Tools for the `--allow-tool` option

You can specify various kinds of tools with the --allow-tool option.

Kind of tool	What it controls
shell	Executing shell commands.
write	Creating or modifying files.
read	Reading files or directories.
url	Fetching content from a URL.
memory	Storing new facts to the agent's persistent memory. This does not affect using existing memories. See À propos de la mémoire agentique pour GitHub Copilot.
MCP-SERVER	Invoking tools from a specific MCP server. Use the server's configured name as the identifier—for example, `github`. See Ajout de serveurs MCP pour CLI de GitHub Copilot.

Tool filters

The shell, write, url, and MCP server tool kinds allow you to specify a filter, in parentheses, to control which specific tools are allowed.

Kind of tool	Example	Explanation of the example
shell	`shell(git:*)`	Allow all Git subcommands (`git push`, `git status`, etc.).
	`shell(npm test)`	Allow the exact command `npm test`.
write	`write(.github/copilot-instructions.md)`	Allow the CLI to write to this specific path.
	`write(README.md)`	Allow the CLI to write to any file whose path ends with `/README.md`.
url	`url(github.com)`	Allow the CLI to access HTTPS URLs on github.com.
	`url(http://localhost:3000)`	Allow the CLI to access the local dev server with explicit protocol and port.
	`url(https://*.github.com)`	Allow the CLI to access any GitHub subdomain (for example, `api.github.com`).
	`url(https://docs.github.com/copilot/*)`	Allow access to Copilot documentation at this site.
MCP-SERVER	`github(create_issue)`	Allow only the `create_issue` tool from the `github` MCP server.

Remarque

Wildcards are only supported for shell to match all subcommands of a specified tool, and for url at the start of the host name to match any subdomain, or at the end of a path to match any path suffix—as shown in the preceding table.

Environment variables

You can use environment variables to configure various aspects of the CLI's behavior when running programmatically. This is particularly useful for setting configuration in CI/CD workflows or other automated environments where you may not want to specify certain options directly in the command line.

Variable	Description
`COPILOT_ALLOW_ALL`	Set to `true` for full permissions
`COPILOT_MODEL`	Set the model (for example, `gpt-5.2`, `claude-sonnet-4.5`)
`COPILOT_HOME`	Set the directory for the CLI configuration file (`~/.copilot` by default)
`COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN`	Authentication token (highest precedence)
`GH_TOKEN`	Authentication token (second precedence)
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	Authentication token (third precedence)

For full details of environment variables for Copilot CLI, use the command copilot help environment in your terminal.

Choosing a model

When you send a prompt to Copilot CLI in non-interactive mode, the model that the CLI uses to generate a response is shown in the response output (if the -s, or --silent, option is not used).

You can use the --model option to specify which AI model the CLI should use. This allows you to choose a model that is best suited to your prompt, balancing factors like speed, cost, and capability.

For example, for straightforward tasks, such as explaining some code or generating a summary, you might choose a fast, lower cost model such as a Claude Haiku model:

Bash

copilot -p "What does this project do?" -s --model claude-haiku-4.5

copilot -p "What does this project do?" -s --model claude-haiku-4.5

For more complex tasks that require deeper reasoning—such as debugging or refactoring code—you might choose a more powerful model, such as a GPT Codex model:

Bash

copilot -p "Fix the race condition in the worker pool" \
  --model gpt-5.3-codex \
  --allow-tool='write, shell'

copilot -p "Fix the race condition in the worker pool" \
  --model gpt-5.3-codex \
  --allow-tool='write, shell'

Remarque

You can find the model strings for all available models in the description of the --model option when you enter copilot help in your terminal.

Alternatively, you can set the COPILOT_MODEL environment variable to specify a model for the duration of the shell session.

To persist a model selection across shell sessions, you can set the model key in the CLI configuration file. This file is located at ~/.copilot/config.json (or $COPILOT_HOME/.copilot/config.json if you have set the COPILOT_HOME environment variable). Some models also allow you to set a reasoning effort level, which controls how much time the model spends thinking before responding.

JSON

{
  "model": "gpt-5.3-codex",
  "reasoning_effort": "low"
}

{
  "model": "gpt-5.3-codex",
  "reasoning_effort": "low"
}

Conseil

The easiest way to set a model persistently in the configuration file is with the /model slash command in an interactive session. The choice you make with this command is written to the configuration file.

Model precedence

When determining which model to use for a given prompt, the CLI checks for model specifications in the following order of precedence (from highest to lowest):

Where a custom agent is used: the model specified in the custom agent definition (if any).
The --model command line option.
The COPILOT_MODEL environment variable.
The model key in the configuration file (~/.copilot/config.json or $COPILOT_HOME/.copilot/config.json).
The CLI's default model.

Using custom agents

You can delegate work to a specialized agent by using the --agent option. For more information, see Création et utilisation d’agents personnalisés pour CLI de GitHub Copilot.

In this example, the code-review agent is used. This requires that a custom agent has been created with this name.

copilot -p "Review the latest commit" \
  --allow-tool='shell' \
  --agent code-review