Copilot Editing Tool Failures + Terminal Restrictions Block Productive Workflow

[kellypang]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Copilot in GitHub

Body

I'm experiencing a critical issue with GitHub Copilot that makes it unreliable for real project work.
What happened:
Patch Tool Failed Silently — During my recent session, the file editing tool reported success multiple times, but the changes never persisted on disk. I had to manually verify files and redo the edits myself.
Terminal Writes Restricted — AI models can't write files directly to the terminal, so I'm forced to rely on the patch tool. When it fails, I have no workaround.
Result — I had to abandon Copilot and do the work manually, defeating the purpose of using AI assistance.
Why this matters:
The patch tool is unreliable (bug).
The terminal restriction leaves no fallback when the patch tool fails (design issue).
Together, they make Copilot unsuitable for active development work.
What I need:
Either:
Fix the patch tool so it actually persists changes reliably, OR
Allow terminal file writes as a fallback when the primary editing tool fails, OR
Provide an alternative editing mechanism that works
Questions for the community:
Has anyone else experienced patch tool failures?
Are there workarounds I'm missing?
Is this a known issue with a fix in progress?

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