GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — March 2026 Update

TL;DR

• Custom agents now definable as .agent.md files with full workspace access and MCP connections
• New find_symbol tool adds language-aware navigation for agents across C++, C#, TypeScript, and LSP-supported languages
• Profiling, debugging, and vulnerability fixes now integrated with Copilot agents

New

• Custom agents — Define specialized Copilot agents as .agent.md files in your repo with full workspace awareness, code understanding, and MCP connections to external knowledge sources.
• Enterprise MCP governance — Admins can now set allowlist policies for MCP servers at the organization level, controlling which external knowledge sources are accessible.
• Agent skills — Reusable instruction sets that teach agents specific tasks; define them in your repo or user profile and Copilot auto-discovers them.
• find_symbol tool — Language-aware symbol navigation for agents including reference finding, type metadata, and scope understanding; supports C++, C#, Razor, TypeScript, and LSP extensions.
• Profile with Copilot — New Test Explorer command runs profiling analysis on specific tests, with the Profiling Agent automatically analyzing CPU and instrumentation data.
• PerfTips with live profiling — Debug-time PerfTips now integrate with the Profiler Agent; click inline performance signals and Copilot suggests optimizations based on elapsed time, CPU, and memory behavior.
• Smart Watch suggestions — Copilot offers context-aware expression suggestions in Watch windows during debugging.
• Fix NuGet vulnerabilities — Click Fix with GitHub Copilot in Solution Explorer when a vulnerability is detected and Copilot recommends targeted dependency updates.

Update Visual Studio to the latest version via the Visual Studio Installer or check release notes for full details.

Source: GitHub Changelog