Copilot API

⚠️ EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY ⚠️ This project is a reverse-engineered implementation of the GitHub Copilot API created for educational purposes only. It is not officially supported by GitHub and should not be used in production environments.

Project Overview

A wrapper around GitHub Copilot API to make it OpenAI compatible, making it usable for other tools like AI assistants, local interfaces, and development utilities.

✨ Latest Features (v1.0.1-beta.1)

• 🔍 Smart Format Detection: Automatically detects Anthropic vs OpenAI request formats
• 🚀 Enhanced Streaming: Improved streaming response handling with better error management
• 🤖 Universal Model Support: Support for all GitHub Copilot models including Claude (Anthropic) models
• 🐳 Multi-Architecture Docker: Docker images support both AMD64 and ARM64 architectures
• ⚡ Optimized Performance: Simplified request processing with better compatibility
• 🛠️ Improved Error Handling: Better error messages and debugging capabilities

Demo

copilot-api-demo.mp4

Prerequisites

• Bun (>= 1.2.x)
• GitHub account with Copilot subscription (Individual or Business)

Installation

To install dependencies, run:

bun install

Using with Docker

Pre-built Images (Recommended)

Pull and run the latest image from Docker Hub:

# Pull the latest image
docker pull nghyane/copilot-api:latest

# Run with GitHub token
docker run -p 4141:4141 -e GH_TOKEN=your_github_token nghyane/copilot-api:latest

Multi-Architecture Support

The Docker images support both AMD64 and ARM64 architectures:

# For ARM64 (Apple Silicon, ARM servers)
docker pull nghyane/copilot-api:latest-multiarch

# Run multi-arch image
docker run -p 4141:4141 -e GH_TOKEN=your_github_token nghyane/copilot-api:latest-multiarch

Build from Source

Build your own image:

docker build -t copilot-api .

Run the container:

docker run -p 4141:4141 -e GH_TOKEN=your_github_token copilot-api

Using with npx

You can run the project directly using npx:

npx copilot-api@latest start

With options:

npx copilot-api@latest start --port 8080

For authentication only:

npx copilot-api@latest auth

Command Structure

Copilot API now uses a subcommand structure with two main commands:

• start: Start the Copilot API server (default command). This command will also handle authentication if needed.
• auth: Run GitHub authentication flow without starting the server. This is typically used if you need to generate a token for use with the --github-token option, especially in non-interactive environments.

Command Line Options

Start Command Options

The following command line options are available for the start command:

Option	Description	Default	Alias
--port	Port to listen on	4141	-p
--verbose	Enable verbose logging	false	-v
--business	Use a business plan GitHub account	false	none
--enterprise	Use an enterprise plan GitHub account	false	none
--manual	Enable manual request approval	false	none
--rate-limit	Rate limit in seconds between requests	none	-r
--wait	Wait instead of error when rate limit is hit	false	-w
--github-token	Provide GitHub token directly (must be generated using the auth subcommand)	none	-g

Auth Command Options

Option	Description	Default	Alias
--verbose	Enable verbose logging	false	-v

Example Usage

Using with npx:

# Basic usage with start command
npx copilot-api@latest start

# Run on custom port with verbose logging
npx copilot-api@latest start --port 8080 --verbose

# Use with a business plan GitHub account
npx copilot-api@latest start --business

# Use with an enterprise plan GitHub account
npx copilot-api@latest start --enterprise

# Enable manual approval for each request
npx copilot-api@latest start --manual

# Set rate limit to 30 seconds between requests
npx copilot-api@latest start --rate-limit 30

# Wait instead of error when rate limit is hit
npx copilot-api@latest start --rate-limit 30 --wait

# Provide GitHub token directly
npx copilot-api@latest start --github-token ghp_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE

# Run only the auth flow
npx copilot-api@latest auth

# Run auth flow with verbose logging
npx copilot-api@latest auth --verbose

Running from Source

The project can be run from source in several ways:

Development Mode

bun run dev

Production Mode

bun run start

🔧 Model Support

Supported Models

The API supports all GitHub Copilot models including:

• OpenAI Models: GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-3.5 Turbo
• Anthropic Models: Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, Claude 3 Haiku
• Other Models: As available through GitHub Copilot

Format Compatibility

• Automatic Detection: The API automatically detects whether incoming requests are in OpenAI or Anthropic format
• Universal Support: Works with tools that send either format (Cursor, Continue, etc.)
• No Conversion Needed: Requests are processed in their original format for maximum compatibility

💡 Usage Tips

• Consider using free models (e.g., Gemini, Mistral, Openrouter) as the weak-model
• Use architect mode sparingly
• Disable yes-always in your aider configuration
• Be mindful that Claude 3.7 thinking mode consumes more tokens
• Enable the --manual flag to review and approve each request before processing
• If you have a GitHub business or enterprise plan account with Copilot, use the --business or --enterprise flag respectively
• For Claude models, the API maintains full compatibility with both OpenAI and Anthropic request formats

Manual Request Approval

When using the --manual flag, the server will prompt you to approve each incoming request:

? Accept incoming request? > (y/N)

This helps you control usage and monitor requests in real-time.

🚀 Technical Improvements

Enhanced Streaming

• Better Error Handling: Improved stream interruption handling and connection management
• Optimized Performance: Reduced latency and better resource utilization
• Connection Resilience: Automatic cleanup of broken connections

Format Detection

• Smart Detection: Automatically identifies Anthropic vs OpenAI request formats
• No Conversion Overhead: Processes requests in their native format
• Universal Compatibility: Works with any client that sends either format

Docker Enhancements

• Multi-Architecture: Native support for AMD64 and ARM64
• Optimized Images: Smaller image sizes with better caching
• Production Ready: Multi-stage builds for optimal performance

🔍 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Tool Calling Issues with Claude Models

   • Some Claude models may have limited tool calling support
   • Try using different model variants if tool calls fail

2. Format Detection Problems

   • The API automatically detects request formats
   • If you encounter issues, check the request structure matches OpenAI or Anthropic specs

3. Docker Issues

   • Use the appropriate architecture image for your platform
   • Ensure GitHub token is properly set via environment variable

Debug Mode

Enable verbose logging for troubleshooting:

npx copilot-api@latest start --verbose

📦 Available Images

Image	Architecture	Size	Use Case
nghyane/copilot-api:latest	AMD64	~215MB	Standard x86_64 systems
nghyane/copilot-api:latest-multiarch	AMD64 + ARM64	~274MB	Universal compatibility
nghyane/copilot-api:v1.0.0	AMD64	~215MB	Specific version

📝 Changelog

v1.0.1-beta.1 (Latest)

• ✨ Added smart format detection for Anthropic vs OpenAI requests
• 🚀 Enhanced streaming response handling with better error management
• 🤖 Improved support for all GitHub Copilot models including Claude
• 🐳 Added multi-architecture Docker support (AMD64 + ARM64)
• ⚡ Optimized request processing and removed unnecessary format conversion
• 🛠️ Better error handling and debugging capabilities
• 🔧 Simplified codebase with improved maintainability

v1.0.0

• 🎉 Initial stable release
• 📦 NPM package publication
• 🐳 Docker support
• 🔐 GitHub authentication flow
• 📊 Rate limiting and manual approval features

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Development Setup

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies: bun install
3. Run in development mode: bun run dev
4. Build for production: bun run build

📄 License

This project is for educational purposes only. Please respect GitHub's terms of service and use responsibly.

⭐ Support

If you find this project helpful, please consider:

• ⭐ Starring the repository
• 🐛 Reporting issues
• 💡 Suggesting improvements
• ☕ Supporting the developer