Copilot CLI Release Notes

2026-02-20

• Fix issue where Copilot API URL wasn't respected
• Display heading content from reasoning for gpt models
• Increase LSP request timeout from 30s to 90s to reduce timeout failures
• Fixed alt-screen timeline entries not updating when tool calls complete (particularly sub-agent calls)
• ctrl+insert can now be used to copy selected text in the alt-screen view
• Fix read_bash, write_bash, and stop_bash in-progress icon showing filled dot instead of empty circle
• Enable alt-screen mode by default when running with --experimental flag
• Improve code search speed in large repos
• Session info renders in the main view footer in alt-screen mode
• Skill files with YAML array syntax for allowed-tools now load correctly
• Support remote plugin sources (GitHub repos and git URLs) in marketplace.json plugin entries
• Automatically migrate users from claude-sonnet-4.5 to the current default model on startup
• Ctrl+A, Ctrl+E, and Ctrl+U navigate to logical line boundaries (newlines) instead of visual wrap boundaries
• Add configurable status line support to display dynamic session information via custom shell scripts

2026-02-19

• Improve quick help accessibility: screen reader-friendly tab labels, reordered layout, and grouped help commands output

• Hide custom agents with user-invocable: false from the /agents picker

• Config file syntax errors now show a warning instead of silently crashing

• Sign Windows native prebuilds with Authenticode to prevent antivirus quarantine of native modules

• Allow /reset-allowed-tools to run during agent execution

• MCP servers with invalid tool schemas no longer lose all tools

• Alt-screen mode no longer consumes increasing memory over long sessions

• Add /mcp reload command to reload MCP configuration

• Skills support disable-model-invocation frontmatter field

• /fleet orchestrator validates subagent work

• Deprecate gpt-5 model

• Windows slash flags (e.g., xcopy /E /I) are no longer treated as file paths

• Show a warning in the timeline when skills fail to load at startup, with a prompt to run /skills for details

• Eliminate banner character flash on startup when banner is disabled

• Edit plan in terminal editor with ctrl+y

• Terminal editor is now supported on Windows

• Configure LSP server request timeouts in lsp.json

• Add /update command to view changelog and update instructions

• Add exit_plan_mode tool with plan approval dialog for reviewing and accepting plans

• Support ~/.copilot/instructions/*.instructions.md files for user-level instructions across all repositories

• Add double-click word and triple-click line selection in alt-screen text selection

• Edit the prompt in your preferred terminal editor with ctrl+x ctrl+e

• Prevents spurious error messages from appearing in terminal on Windows

• Typing ? in an AskUser prompt no longer triggers the quick help overlay

• Improve SQL tool timeline entries

• Reduce memory usage in alt-screen mode during long sessions

• /fleet mode dispatches more subagents in parallel for faster execution

• Instructions picker opens as a full-screen alt-screen view when alt-screen mode is enabled

• Skills picker opens as a full-screen alt-screen view when alt-screen mode is enabled

• Command files no longer require YAML frontmatter — plain markdown files work with name and description derived automatically

• Session picker opens instantly without a loading flash when multiple sessions exist

• Mouse event coordinate fragments no longer appear in input field

• Add cross-session memory: ask about past work, files, and PRs across sessions (experimental)

• Add --bash-env flag to source BASH_ENV in shell sessions

• Restore ctrl+x / as alternate shortcut to run commands while preserving input

• /clear preserves agent mode (autopilot, plan, or interactive)

• MCP error messages include the server name

• Text selection in timeline no longer spills into prompt area when dragging

Added

• Add /update command to view changelog and update instructions
• Add exit_plan_mode tool with plan approval dialog for reviewing and accepting plans
• Support ~/.copilot/instructions/*.instructions.md files for user-level instructions across all repositories
• Add double-click word and triple-click line selection in alt-screen text selection
• Edit the prompt in your preferred terminal editor with ctrl+x ctrl+e

Improved

• Improve SQL tool timeline entries
• Reduce memory usage in alt-screen mode during long sessions
• /fleet mode dispatches more subagents in parallel for faster execution
• Instructions picker opens as a full-screen alt-screen view when alt-screen mode is enabled
• Skills picker opens as a full-screen alt-screen view when alt-screen mode is enabled
• Command files no longer require YAML frontmatter — plain markdown files work with name and description derived automatically
• Session picker opens instantly without a loading flash when multiple sessions exist

Fixed

• Prevents spurious error messages from appearing in terminal on Windows
• Typing ? in an AskUser prompt no longer triggers the quick help overlay

2026-02-17

• Improve error messaging and guidance when access denied by policy
• Custom agents use disable-model-invocation instead of infer (backward compatible)
• Add support for Claude Sonnet 4.6 model
• Memory storage shows subject, fact, and citations in timeline
• Tab completion respects the highlighted slash command selection
• Support MCP servers from Windows On-Device Registry
• Text selection now works in footer area in alt-screen mode
• Support --alt-screen on and --alt-screen off syntax
• Add include_coauthor config option to disable Co-authored-by trailer in git commits
• SDK APIs for plan mode, autopilot, fleet, and workspace files
• Autopilot mode and /fleet command now available to all users
• Alt-screen viewport auto-scrolls when dragging selection to edge
• Interactive shell commands complete on all versions of Windows
• Reduce memory usage in alt-screen mode during long sessions
• Session picker no longer flashes when using --resume in alt-screen mode
• Terminal bell rings once when agent finishes, not on every tool completion
• Custom instruction files are recognized regardless of casing
• PowerShell commands with syntax errors no longer hang
• Improve text selection responsiveness in --alt-screen mode
• Cursor shows when suspending and hides when resuming

Added

• Support MCP servers from Windows On-Device Registry
• Text selection now works in footer area in alt-screen mode
• Support --alt-screen on and --alt-screen off syntax
• Add include_coauthor config option to disable Co-authored-by trailer in git commits
• SDK APIs for plan mode, autopilot, fleet, and workspace files
• Autopilot mode and /fleet command now available to all users
• Alt-screen viewport auto-scrolls when dragging selection to edge

Improved

• When launched from CCA, code review tool now respects custom instructions. Note that code review tool already respects custom instructions when launched directly.

Fixed

• Interactive shell commands complete on all versions of Windows
• Reduce memory usage in alt-screen mode during long sessions
• Session picker no longer flashes when using --resume in alt-screen mode
• Terminal bell rings once when agent finishes, not on every tool completion
• Custom instruction files are recognized regardless of casing
• PowerShell commands with syntax errors no longer hang
• Improve text selection responsiveness in --alt-screen mode
• Cursor shows when suspending and hides when resuming

2026-02-14

• Fixed high memory usage caused by rapid logging
• Shell mode pastes raw text instead of paste tokens
• Reduce memory usage from encoding streaming chunks
• Fix alt-screen and timeline URL rendering to preserve long links without truncation
• Reduced memory growth in long sessions by evicting transient events after compaction
• Fixed high memory usage when loading large sessions
• Fixed high memory usage during shell commands with rapid output
• Add /init suppress to control init suggestions per repository
• Show IDE file selection indicator in the status bar when connected to an IDE
• Add repo-level settings to disable individual validation tools
• ACP server supports loading existing sessions
• Page Up/Page Down keyboard scrolling in alt-screen mode
• Add Ctrl+Z suspend/resume support on Unix platforms
• Support tilde (~) expansion in MCP server cwd configuration
• Support ctrl+n and ctrl+p as arrow key alternatives
• Exit CLI with ctrl+d on empty prompt
• Fix unknown option '--no-warnings' error
• Shift+Enter inserts newlines in terminals with kitty keyboard protocol
• MCP server list selection adjusts correctly after deletion
• Shell mode removed from Shift+Tab cycle, accessed only via !
• Improve /tasks dialog with consistent icons and typography
• Exit from alt-screen no longer replays full session history
• MCP server errors and loading issues surface in timeline
• Reduce input jitter with frame coalescing and smoother alt-screen animations
• Extend skill name validation to support underscores, dots, and spaces; make name and description optional in skill frontmatter with sensible fallbacks
• Add Copilot co-authored by trailer to git commits created