microsoft--agent-framework/python/packages/github_copilot/README.md

Get Started with Microsoft Agent Framework GitHub Copilot

Please install this package via pip:

pip install agent-framework-github-copilot --pre

GitHub Copilot Agent

The GitHub Copilot agent enables integration with GitHub Copilot, allowing you to interact with Copilot's agentic capabilities through the Agent Framework.

Tool approval (approval_mode="always_require")

The GitHub Copilot SDK owns the tool-calling loop for this provider, so approval for custom function tools is enforced through the SDK's native pre-execution hook rather than the standard Agent Framework approval round-trip.

When you register a FunctionTool declared with approval_mode="always_require" and you do not supply your own on_pre_tool_use hook, GitHubCopilotAgent installs a default on_pre_tool_use hook that returns "ask" for that tool and defers (None) for all other tools. The "ask" decision routes to your on_permission_request handler, where you approve or deny the call:

from agent_framework import tool
from agent_framework.github import GitHubCopilotAgent, GitHubCopilotOptions
from copilot.session import PermissionHandler


@tool(approval_mode="always_require")
def delete_file(path: str) -> str:
    """Delete a file."""
    ...


agent = GitHubCopilotAgent(
    tools=[delete_file],
    # The "ask" decision is routed here; approve or deny the call.
    default_options=GitHubCopilotOptions(on_permission_request=PermissionHandler.approve_all),
)

⚠️ If you provide your own on_pre_tool_use hook, it takes precedence and the agent does not install its default approval hook. In that case you are fully responsible for enforcing approval — including for any approval_mode="always_require" tool (e.g. by returning a "deny" or "ask" decision). The agent logs a warning naming any approval-required tool that your hook must handle.

Note: with the default (deny-all) permission handler, an always_require tool is denied unless you wire an approving on_permission_request.

Deprecated: on_function_approval

The on_function_approval callback is deprecated. It still works (and is still enforced inside the tool handler for backward compatibility), but it emits a DeprecationWarning and will be removed in a future version. Migrate to the on_pre_tool_use + on_permission_request model described above. When on_function_approval is set, it gates always_require tools and the default ask-hook is not installed. It is mutually exclusive with on_pre_tool_use — setting both (whether at construction or per run) raises ValueError.