Weekly GitHub Copilot Roundup: Agents, CLI, GPT-5.4, and Metrics

by TechHub

The Copilot section this week covers updates in AI tooling for developers, including improved agent functions in VS Code, Microsoft platform integrations, recent model rollouts, and broader workflow and analytics options. The new features reinforce Copilot's growing use in regular coding, CLI automation, and review tasks, supporting both organizational and individual needs.

Copilot Agent Automation and Extensibility in Visual Studio Code

The February 2026 update to VS Code v1.110 includes automation and extensibility features for Copilot. Building on past agent automation and custom agent creation, it introduces lifecycle hooks for automated activity, like auto-linting and output restrictions that help maintain safe workflows. You can now fork conversations to explore different code paths within agent chats. Slash commands in chat streamline approvals and actions, and terminal sandboxing adds safety for prototyping. Live steering lets you shift task focus during execution. There's experimental support for custom third-party plugins. Developers can access browser tools, and build agents, prompts, or skills from chat. Integration with the CLI is more flexible, with improved diff views and folder syncing. Persistent memory helps agents retain context and information, making recall across sessions easier. Tools like Explore Subagent speed up codebase searching, and memory compaction gives manual control over session data. Predictive edits now use complete file context for more relevant suggestions. Terminal images and interface updates (including accessibility changes) lead to a more productive and collaborative environment in VS Code.

GitHub Copilot CLI: General Availability and Practical Tutorials

Copilot CLI is now available for all users, letting developers work with Copilot in their terminal. After last week’s general availability announcement, developers can access code suggestions, reviews, and simple automation workflows outside the IDE. CLI users benefit from diff navigation, trusted sync, and snippet-based actions. There are telemetry and user-metrics options for teams to track usage. A free eight-part open source course helps you set up CLI, build custom agents, and run your own MCP server with hands-on labs. User-level metrics help with resource planning. Official dashboards and how-to guides demonstrate how Copilot CLI can help in day-to-day command-line work.

GPT-5.4 Integration: New Coding Model for Copilot

With the release of GPT-5.4, Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise users in supported IDEs can now access better code generation and improved agent workflow support. It’s available on VS Code (v1.104.1+), Visual Studio (v17.14.19+), JetBrains (v1.5.66+), Xcode, Eclipse, the web, and in the CLI. These updates bring improvements to handling multi-step coding tasks and agent interactions. Enterprise admins must enable GPT-5.4, with guides provided for migration. Tutorials explain changes that improve reasoning and task management in VS Code Copilot.

Copilot Code Review: Agentic Architecture and Workflow Evolution

Copilot Code Review uses an agent-driven architecture to support more than 60 million automated reviews, now accounting for over 20% of all reviews on GitHub. Continuing last week's agent-oriented code review discussion, Copilot supplies detailed context, recognizes recurring code issues, and makes targeted suggestions on correctness and design. Batch review comments and automated multi-line fixes are designed to make feedback clearer. Self-hosted runner setup is needed for these features, while GitHub-hosted runners work automatically. Continuous improvements are based on telemetry and team reactions. Future plans include adaptive personalization and more interactive team review features.

Copilot Memory: Persistent Context Now On by Default

For Pro and Pro+ users, Copilot Memory is now enabled by default. This feature stores repository-level conventions, patterns, and dependencies, refreshing every 28 days to keep the context relevant. This capability supports better code completion, reviewing, and CLI interaction. Users may opt out, and organization admins control settings. The documentation provides more about operation and updates, reflecting last week's move from opt-in to default for persistent memory.

Model Management: Selection and Deprecation

Now, you can select specific Copilot AI models such as GPT-5.4 when you use @copilot in pull request comments. This lets you tailor model selection for each review, with the picker available on github.com, and plans to support GitHub Mobile. Gemini 3 Pro and GPT-5.1 are being deprecated; admins are advised to migrate to Gemini 3.1 Pro and GPT-5.3-Codex with official support to guide the transition.

Figma MCP Server Integration: Design-to-Code Workflows

Copilot now connects VS Code with the Figma MCP server, allowing developers to import UX/UI content for code or export components as editable frames in Figma. This helps bridge design and engineering tasks. Setup guides are available for continuous integration, with CLI support planned. These updates provide deeper automation across tools, picking up from last week's discussion on design-engineering workflows.

Agentic Workflows: Repository Automation and Open Source Bots

Copilot’s agentic workflows allow developers to automate repository tasks using markdown scripts. Tutorials cover safety precautions, scenario-based automation, and best practices for bots that manage issues or maintain projects. Home Assistant and similar open source projects use these workflows to reduce manual work and enable community support. Guidance is provided for setting up safe, effective automations.

Jira Integration: Coding Agent for Issue-Driven PR Automation

Copilot Coding Agent’s new link to Jira Cloud lets teams assign Jira tasks to the agent, which then drafts pull requests based on details and status, asking clarifying questions when necessary. It helps automate repetitive issue-resolution steps and keeps manual reviews intact. Marketplace app installation and repository-level access are required, and data residency controls are included. Documentation is available for setup, and feedback is invited for new features. This addition complements last week's focus on agent-powered task automation.

Copilot Usage Metrics: Expanded Telemetry, Plan Mode, and Username Consistency

The Copilot metrics API now provides plan mode telemetry across IDEs and detailed CLI usage at a per-user level, helping organizations understand adoption and support users effectively. The dashboard reflects these changes, and Enterprise Managed Users (EMUs) now have consistent usernames to simplify large-scale tracking.

Agent Management and Network Configuration

Enterprise admins gain session filtering by agent status, repository, and user, simplifying oversight. Outbound network routing for Copilot agents now depends on specific plans; allowlists need updating for self-managed and Azure runners, though GitHub-hosted runners remain unchanged. Documentation explains the settings, updating last week's content on enterprise management and registry.

Global Developer Events and Skill Expansion

GitHub Copilot Dev Days are rolling out worldwide, offering workshops, demos, and hands-on sessions for VS Code and Visual Studio users starting March 15, 2026. GitHub is working with Andela to grow AI skills, offering training and mentorship in Africa and Latin America. This focus on training supports faster onboarding and more complex project management, reflecting Copilot’s dedication to developer education.

Other GitHub Copilot News

The Grok Code Fast 1 AI model is now included for automatic model selection in Copilot Free, making updated suggestions accessible in leading IDEs. Developers using .NET MAUI can try a demonstration of Copilot’s effect on their mobile workflow, covering scaffolding, troubleshooting, and deployment.