[ca] Update Copilot CLI: 1.0.18 → 1.0.19 (major new features)

[github-actions]

Overview

GitHub Copilot CLI updated from 1.0.18 to 1.0.19. This is a significant feature release adding BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) model provider support, new CLI flags, and extensive new configuration and environment variable documentation.

No changes to pkg/constants/constants.go required — Copilot CLI is pinned to latest.

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Version Summary

Tool	Previous	Latest	Change
Copilot CLI	1.0.18	1.0.19	Updated
GitHub MCP Server	v0.32.0	v0.32.0	No change
Playwright MCP	0.0.70	0.0.70	No change
Playwright Browser	v1.59.1	v1.59.1	No change
MCP Gateway	v0.2.15	v0.2.15	No change
Claude Code	2.1.92 (latest)	—	No change
Codex	0.118.0 (latest)	—	No change

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Update: Copilot CLI 1.0.18 → 1.0.19

Breaking Changes

None detected.

Key New Features

• BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) — Use your own model provider instead of GitHub Copilot's model routing via COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL. Supports OpenAI-compatible, Azure, and Anthropic endpoints including Ollama and vLLM.
• Session sharing — --share[=path] saves session to a markdown file; --share-gist uploads to a secret GitHub gist.
• JSON output — --output-format json (JSONL format) for scripting and automation.
• Secret env vars — --secret-env-vars[=vars...] strips named env var values from shell and MCP server environments and redacts them from output.
• Plugin support — --plugin-dir <directory> loads a local plugin directory.
• Offline mode — COPILOT_OFFLINE=true disables all network access; requires a local BYOK provider.
• --yolo — Alias for --allow-all (all tools, all paths, all URLs).
• --no-ask-user — Disables the ask_user tool so the agent works fully autonomously.
• --max-autopilot-continues <count> — Caps continuation messages in autopilot mode.
• --no-custom-instructions — Disables loading AGENTS.md and related files.
• --screen-reader — Enables screen reader optimizations (persists to config).
• --no-color — Disables all color output.
• --plain-diff / PLAIN_DIFF — Disables rich diff rendering.
• --stream <mode> — Explicit on/off streaming control.
• -s, --silent — Outputs only the agent response (no stats), useful with -p.
• --mouse[=value] / --no-mouse — Mouse support in alt screen mode (persists to config).

CLI Changes (1.0.18 → 1.0.19)

New flags (not present in 1.0.18):

Flag	Description
--max-autopilot-continues <count>	Cap autopilot continuation messages
--mouse[=value] / --no-mouse	Mouse support in alt screen mode
--no-ask-user	Disable ask_user tool
--no-auto-update	Disable auto-update
--no-bash-env	Disable BASH_ENV support
--no-color	Disable all color output
--no-custom-instructions	Disable AGENTS.md loading
--no-experimental	Disable experimental features
--output-format <format>	text or json (JSONL)
--plain-diff	Disable rich diff rendering
--plugin-dir <directory>	Load a local plugin
-s, --silent	Minimal output for scripting
--screen-reader	Screen reader mode
--secret-env-vars[=vars...]	Strip/redact env vars
--share[=path]	Share session to markdown
--share-gist	Share session to GitHub gist
--stream <mode>	Enable/disable streaming
--yolo	Alias for --allow-all

Changed flags:

Flag	Before	After
-r, --resume	Simple resume flag	--resume[=sessionId] — optional session ID or task ID

New subcommand:

• version — Display version information (previously only available as a flag)

New Help Topics (via copilot help <topic>):

• commands — Interactive Mode Commands
• config — Configuration Settings
• environment — Environment Variables
• logging — Logging
• permissions — Permissions
• providers — Custom Model Providers (BYOK)

View New Environment Variables (copilot help environment)

New in 1.0.19:

Variable	Description
COPILOT_AUTO_UPDATE	Set to "false" to disable auto-update (disabled by default in CI)
COPILOT_CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS	Additional directories for custom instruction files
COPILOT_OFFLINE	Set to "true" for offline mode (requires local BYOK provider)
COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL	API endpoint for BYOK provider (activates BYOK mode)
COPILOT_PROVIDER_TYPE	"openai" (default), "azure", or "anthropic"
COPILOT_PROVIDER_API_KEY	API key for BYOK provider
COPILOT_PROVIDER_BEARER_TOKEN	Bearer token (takes precedence over API key)
COPILOT_PROVIDER_WIRE_API	"completions" (default) or "responses" (for GPT-5 series)
COPILOT_PROVIDER_AZURE_API_VERSION	Azure API version (default: "2024-10-21")
COPILOT_PROVIDER_MODEL_LIMITS_ID	Override model name for catalog token limit lookup
COPILOT_PROVIDER_MAX_PROMPT_TOKENS	Max prompt tokens for BYOK model
COPILOT_PROVIDER_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS	Max output tokens for BYOK model
PLAIN_DIFF	Set to "true" to disable rich diff rendering
USE_BUILTIN_RIPGREP	Set to "false" to use ripgrep from PATH instead of bundled version

View Available Models (from copilot help config)

As of 1.0.19, models available via --model / COPILOT_MODEL:

Claude:

• claude-sonnet-4.6
• claude-sonnet-4.5
• claude-haiku-4.5
• claude-opus-4.6
• claude-opus-4.6-fast
• claude-opus-4.5
• claude-sonnet-4

GPT:

• gpt-5.4
• gpt-5.3-codex
• gpt-5.2-codex
• gpt-5.2
• gpt-5.1
• gpt-5.4-mini
• gpt-5-mini
• gpt-4.1

Impact Assessment

• Risk: Low (no breaking changes, pinned to latest)
• Affects: gh-aw workflows using Copilot CLI — new flags like --secret-env-vars, --output-format json, --silent, and --no-ask-user may be useful for agentic workflow scripting
• Migration: No migration required

Recommendations

• --secret-env-vars: Consider using this in gh-aw agentic workflows to prevent secrets from leaking through MCP server environments.
• --output-format json: Useful for parsing Copilot output in automated workflows.
• --no-ask-user: Combine with --allow-all-tools for fully autonomous non-interactive runs.
• BYOK: Useful for testing with local models (Ollama, vLLM) without GitHub authentication.

Package Links

• NPM Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/`@github/copilot`
• Release Notes: https://github.com/github/copilot-cli (private repository)

References:

• §24064014747

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• expires on Apr 9, 2026, 4:23 AM UTC

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