---
title: GitHub Copilot (Agent HQ)
slug: github-copilot
url: "https://toolweight.com/tools/github-copilot"
homepage: "https://github.com/features/copilot"
categories: coding-agents
last_verified: 2026-11-07
dataset_version: 0738be72
license: CC-BY-4.0
---

# GitHub Copilot (Agent HQ)

> Copilot's coding agent plus a control plane for running third-party agents on your repos.

- A coding agent that runs in GitHub Actions, pushes under a bot identity and opens pull requests.
- Agent HQ is a mission control inside github.com for dispatching third-party agents (Claude Code, Codex, Devin) against one repo.
- Best-resolved identity and permissions here: the agent cannot approve its own pull request.
- Billing runs on premium requests, whose multipliers are the opaque part.

## Identity

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Name | GitHub Copilot (Agent HQ) |
| Company | GitHub |
| One-liner | Copilot's coding agent plus a control plane for running third-party agents on your repos. |
| Site | https://github.com/features/copilot |
| Docs | https://docs.github.com/en/copilot |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Open source | No |
| Licence | Proprietary |
| Compared in | 1 |

## Where it is compared

### [Coding agents](https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents)
Ranked **#6 of 17** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Surface | GitHub-native, IDE extension, CLI, web, cloud delegate | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://docs.github.com/en/copilot | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--surface |
| Default model | Selectable across OpenAI, Anthropic and Google models | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--default_model |
| Model breadth | multi-vendor | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--model_breadth |
| Repo indexing | hybrid index + agentic | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | GitHub already indexes the repo for code search; the agent reads from that plus live search. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--repo_indexing |
| Plan mode | ◐ | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--plan_mode |
| Checkpoint & undo | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | The agent's work is a branch, so reverting is a git operation. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--checkpointing |
| Headless / CI | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | The coding agent runs inside GitHub Actions by design. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--headless_ci |
| Local models | ◐ | Vendor-claimed | - | https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/customization/language-models | Corrected: VS Code documents adding a local Ollama model through Manage Models, so this is not a no. It is partial rather than yes because a local model only appears for agent work if it supports tool calling, which many do not, exactly the unreliability this field's partial describes. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--local_models |
| Where it stops | 4 | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/using-github-copilot/coding-agent | Rung 4 is the deliberate ceiling: the agent pushes to a branch and opens a PR, and is structurally barred from approving its own work. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--stops_at |
| MCP | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--mcp_support |
| Subagents | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Agent HQ dispatches third-party agents rather than spawning child agents of its own. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--subagents |
| Hooks | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/coding-agent/about-hooks | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--hooks |
| Skills / commands | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Repo-level custom instructions and prompt files. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--skills_commands |
| Background agents | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--background_agents |
| Opens PRs | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--pr_authoring |
| Permissions | vendor-hosted sandbox | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Runs in a GitHub-hosted Actions runner, so nothing executes on your machine, and under a bot identity inside your existing branch protections. This column ranks a vendor-hosted boundary level with a local kernel sandbox rather than below it: you get isolation without visibility into it, which is a trade rather than a deficit. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--permission_model |
| BYOK | ◐ | Community-reported | - | - | BYOK exists for some models and plans; the coding agent assumes GitHub's own billing. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--byok |
| Licence | proprietary | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--licence |
| Pricing model | subscription + token overage | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://github.com/features/copilot/plans | Seat price plus premium requests above the included allowance. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--pricing_model |
| Entry price | $10/seat/mo | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://github.com/features/copilot/plans | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--entry_price |
| Token markup | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Premium-request multipliers vary by model and are not a published token conversion. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--gateway_markup |
| GitHub stars | - | Unknown | - | - | Closed source. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--github_stars |
| Terminal-Bench | 60.4% | Community-reported | 2026-11-07 | https://huggingface.co/datasets/harborframework/terminal-bench-2-leaderboard/raw/main/submissions/terminal-bench/2.0/copilot-cli__claude-opus-4.6/2026-04-02__18-13-37/result.json | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--terminal_bench |
| Bench model | Claude Opus 4.6, Terminal-Bench 2.0 | Community-reported | 2026-11-07 | https://huggingface.co/datasets/harborframework/terminal-bench-2-leaderboard/raw/main/submissions/terminal-bench/2.0/copilot-cli__claude-opus-4.6/metadata.yaml | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--terminal_bench_model |
| Positioning | Mission control for every agent working on your repositories. | Vendor-claimed | - | https://github.com/features/copilot | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--positioning |
| First release | 2021-06-29 | Community-reported | - | - | Original Copilot preview; Agent HQ was announced in October 2025. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#github-copilot--first_release |

**Verdict.** The only vendor to properly solve agent identity, with opaque premium-request billing.

## Alternatives

- [Aider](https://toolweight.com/tools/aider), Minimal terminal pair-programmer with a tree-sitter repo map and automatic git commits.
- [Amp](https://toolweight.com/tools/amp), Sourcegraph's opinionated agent with no model picker and an ad-supported free tier.
- [Claude Code](https://toolweight.com/tools/claude-code), Anthropic's terminal-first agent, with IDE, web and GitHub Action surfaces.
- [Cline](https://toolweight.com/tools/cline), Open-source VS Code and JetBrains agent built around an explicit plan/act split.
- [Codex CLI](https://toolweight.com/tools/codex-cli), OpenAI's open-source Rust agent, with the strongest local sandboxing on this page.
- [Cursor](https://toolweight.com/tools/cursor), VS Code fork with a real codebase index, background cloud agents and a CLI.
- [Devin](https://toolweight.com/tools/devin), Fully delegated cloud engineer: file a task in Slack or the web app, get a PR back.
- [DIY harness](https://toolweight.com/tools/diy-harness), Your own loop over a model API with an agent SDK, the build-it-yourself reference point.
- [Gemini CLI](https://toolweight.com/tools/gemini-cli), Apache-2.0 terminal agent from Google with an unusually generous free tier.
- [Goose](https://toolweight.com/tools/goose), Block's Apache-2.0 agent, MCP-native from the start, as both a CLI and a desktop app.
- [Grok Build](https://toolweight.com/tools/grok-build), xAI's coding harness, launched July 2026, on this page but not yet verified.
- [Kilo Code](https://toolweight.com/tools/kilo-code), Open-source VS Code agent in the Cline/Roo lineage, with an orchestrator mode and a CLI.

## Logo & brand colours

SVG files: https://toolweight.com/teams/github-copilot/logo.svg and https://toolweight.com/teams/github-copilot/mono.svg. JSON: https://toolweight.com/api/v1/brands/github-copilot.

| Hex | oklch |
| --- | --- |
| #000000 | oklch(0.0% 0.000 0.0) |

## Licence and attribution

Data from Toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0.

- Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/tools/github-copilot
- Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/tools/github-copilot.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp
- Toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements.