Copilot CLI v1.0.40: Headless Auth & Research Overhaul

TL;DR

• Headless OAuth support for MCP servers — no browser required
• /research now uses orchestrator model for deeper results
• Session handling fixes: no duplicate entries, no pending message carryover, faster startup
• Autopilot limits continuations to 5 by default; custom agents now available in ACP clients

New

• Headless OAuth (client_credentials) — MCP servers can authenticate without a browser, enabling fully automated workflows
• /research orchestrator model — Deep research now delegates to subagents for more thorough, reliable results
• Autopilot continuation limits — Defaults to 5 continuations (configurable with --max-autopilot-continues) to prevent runaway loops
• Custom agents in ACP clients — Zed and other ACP editors can now list and switch agents; live task planning visible in timeline
• Skills as slash commands — Skills available as / commands in ACP clients, matching CLI behavior
• Session history for all users — /chronicle command and file tracking now available to everyone
• Azure DevOps detection — CLI auto-disables GitHub MCP server for Azure DevOps repos

Fixed

• PR branch decoration displays correctly regardless of model name length
• /clear and /new properly reset active custom agent selection
• Assistant responses stream with smoother text output
• copilot plugin list shows correct version after copilot plugin update
• Subagents evaluate tool search support for their own model instead of inheriting parent settings
• /new and /resume no longer carry pending messages to new sessions
• CLI no longer hangs at 100% CPU when sending large file attachments
• Resume session picker no longer shows duplicate entries
• Session resume selector displays summaries on single line, truncated to fit
• Ctrl+C during prompt mode prints "Exiting…" to stderr immediately for visible shutdown progress
• /update no longer re-submits original -i prompt after restart
• Remote session statusline shows remote working directory and branch instead of local context
• Resuming session no longer falsely reports as in use after unexpected exit
• --config-dir propagates correctly to plugin subcommands (deprecated in favor of COPILOT_HOME)
• Mouse selection works while /ask response dialog is open for copying content
• CLI startup speed improved by loading custom CA certificates asynchronously
• Remote control link shows full URL in timeline instead of 'Open in browser'
• MCP OAuth tokens cache correctly when multiple servers share same URL with different client IDs
• MCP tool names with dots and invalid characters now sanitized correctly
• Ctrl+C and double-Esc remove pending queued messages one at a time
• Slash command suggestions rank prefix matches above fuzzy matches

Breaking Changes

• Prompt mode (-p) now gates repo hooks and workspace MCP behind opt-in env vars (GITHUB_COPILOT_PROMPT_MODE_REPO_HOOKS and GITHUB_COPILOT_PROMPT_MODE_WORKSPACE_MCP) for secure-by-default behavior — enable explicitly if needed
• --config-dir deprecated in favor of COPILOT_HOME environment variable

Update: npm install -g @github/copilot-cli@1.0.40 or brew upgrade copilot-cli

Source: Copilot CLI