Copilot CLI Launcher

A VS Code extension that opens Copilot CLI in a new side terminal directly from the editor toolbar. One click, fresh terminal, ready to go.

Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Disclaimer This extension is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by GitHub or Microsoft. "GitHub Copilot" is a trademark of GitHub, Inc.

Features

• Toolbar launcher — one-click button in the editor title area to start Copilot CLI
• Side-by-side terminal — opens beside the active editor, never reusing existing terminals
• Smart working directory — uses the active editor's workspace folder, with fallback to the first workspace
• Install detection — shows a guided warning when Copilot CLI is not installed, with a one-click install option
• Configurable — customize the CLI command and terminal label via VS Code settings
• Windows-ready — supports quoted executable paths with spaces
• Privacy-first — no telemetry, analytics, or personal data collection

Requirements

• VS Code ^1.86.0
• Copilot CLI installed (npm install -g @github/copilot)

Installation

1. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace.

2. Install Copilot CLI:

   npm install -g @github/copilot
   

3. Open any file in VS Code and click the launcher button in the editor title.

How It Works

Each launch creates a new terminal beside the current editor and sends the configured command immediately. Existing terminals are never reused.

The launcher prefers the workspace folder of the active editor for the terminal's working directory. If the active editor is outside the workspace, it falls back to the first workspace folder.

If Copilot CLI is not installed, the extension shows a guided warning with a one-click option to open a terminal and run the install command.

Configuration

Open settings via the Command Palette: Copilot CLI Launcher: Open Settings

Examples:

Default command:

"copilotCliLauncher.cliCommand": "copilot"

Windows executable path with spaces:

"copilotCliLauncher.cliCommand": "\"C:\\Program Files\\GitHub CLI\\gh.exe\" copilot"

Troubleshooting

Copilot CLI is not found

Install Copilot CLI globally with npm:

npm install -g @github/copilot

If your setup relies on shell initialization, restart VS Code after installation so new terminals inherit the updated environment.

Nothing happens after clicking the button

Check the value of copilotCliLauncher.cliCommand in settings and verify that the same command works in a regular terminal.

Custom executable path on Windows

Quote executable paths that contain spaces, for example: "C:\Program Files\GitHub CLI\gh.exe" copilot.

Multi-root workspaces

The launcher uses the workspace folder of the active editor. To control where Copilot CLI starts in a multi-root window, open a file from the target workspace before clicking the toolbar button.

Privacy

Copilot CLI Launcher does not collect telemetry, analytics, or personal data.

Development

npm install
npm run check
npm run test:integration
npm run package

npm run package creates the .vsix file in the workspace root.

The repository includes unit tests, metadata checks, VS Code integration smoke tests, and CI coverage for Windows and Linux.

Support

Open a GitHub issue for bugs and feature requests. For support details, see SUPPORT.md.

License

Released under the MIT License.