Copilot Agent Review does not show file changes for UNC network paths

[fslandi]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Copilot Agent Mode

Body

Our company uses GitHub Copilot Enterprise, and most of our development files are stored on corporate Windows network shares using UNC paths.

VS Code itself can open and edit these files normally. However, when Copilot Agent tries to access a file using the Read tool, it fails with:

UNC path blocked

The main problem for us is the impact this has on Agent Review.

When working with files on UNC paths, changes made or proposed by Copilot Agent are not properly shown/highlighted in the editor. This means I cannot clearly see what the Agent changed or use the normal review workflow with the Keep / Undo controls.

So the problem is not only that the Read tool cannot access the UNC path. It effectively prevents us from using the normal Agent editing and review workflow for files stored on our corporate network shares.

Environment

• Copilot Chat Extension Version: 0.73.0 (prod)
• VS Code Version: 1.145.2 (x64)
• OS: Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Standard, 64-bit (Build 20348)
• Feature: Copilot Agent Mode / file editing and Agent Review

Steps to reproduce

1. Open a file located on a Windows UNC network share, for example:
   \\server\share\project\file.sas
2. The file opens and can be edited normally in VS Code.
3. Ask Copilot Agent to inspect or modify the file.
4. Copilot attempts to use the Read tool.
5. The tool fails with UNC path blocked.
6. Agent Review does not properly show/highlight the changes in the editor, preventing the normal Keep / Undo review workflow.

Expected behavior

Copilot Agent should be able to work with files on trusted corporate network shares that are already accessible from VS Code.

Ideally, there should be a supported mechanism to explicitly allow or whitelist trusted UNC hosts/shares. Agent Review should then show and highlight proposed changes normally, including the Keep / Undo workflow.

Questions

• Is blocking UNC paths an intentional limitation of Copilot Agent?
• Is there a supported way to allow or whitelist trusted corporate UNC/network locations?
• Does security.allowedUNCHosts apply to Copilot Agent file tools?
• Is there another configuration that would allow Agent Review and Keep / Undo to work with UNC files?
• If UNC paths are currently unsupported, is support planned?

Since our organization uses GitHub Copilot Enterprise, we would particularly appreciate a supported solution for explicitly trusted corporate network shares.

The most important issue for us is that the UNC restriction prevents the normal Agent workflow where file changes are visually highlighted and can be reviewed before keeping or undoing them.

Screenshot of the Read tool failure:

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