GitHub Copilot CLI

Tested with

Last verified: 2026-10-06 · GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.91

GitHub's official terminal coding assistant. With BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) you can point its model requests at any compatible gateway.

This page uses KunCode as an example. Replace the addresses, keys and model names with your own service's values. See placeholder conventions. No screenshots are needed here; everything is configured from the terminal.

1. Install

npm

npm install -g @github/copilot

WinGet

winget install GitHub.Copilot

Homebrew

brew install --cask copilot-cli

Check the install:

copilot --version

Any version string works, e.g. GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.91..

Windows requires PowerShell 6+

On Windows, Copilot CLI requires PowerShell 6 or later. Run $PSVersionTable.PSVersion to check.

2. Prepare an API key

See Prepare an API key. Note two things:

• API key - usually looks like sk-...; use whatever format your provider issues
• API endpoint - your service address, e.g. https://kuncode.120403.xyz

3. Configure BYOK

Copilot CLI has no separate config.toml; it reads the custom provider from environment variables. Set these before starting copilot:

macOS / Linux

export COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL="https://kuncode.120403.xyz/v1"
export COPILOT_PROVIDER_TYPE="openai"
export COPILOT_PROVIDER_API_KEY="sk-xxxxxxxx"
export COPILOT_MODEL="deepseek-flash"

Windows PowerShell

$env:COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL = "https://kuncode.120403.xyz/v1"
$env:COPILOT_PROVIDER_TYPE = "openai"
$env:COPILOT_PROVIDER_API_KEY = "sk-xxxxxxxx"
$env:COPILOT_MODEL = "deepseek-flash"

Field reference:

Variable	Meaning
COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL	Your API endpoint plus /v1; also the switch that enables BYOK
COPILOT_PROVIDER_TYPE	openai for any OpenAI-compatible endpoint; see below for Azure and Anthropic
COPILOT_PROVIDER_API_KEY	Replace with your own API key
COPILOT_MODEL	The model ID to use; must match what /v1/models returns
COPILOT_PROVIDER_WIRE_API	Optional: completions (default) or responses

base URL must include /v1

Write COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL as https://kuncode.120403.xyz/v1.

Copilot CLI appends /chat/completions or /responses itself, so do not point it at a concrete endpoint.

The wire API decides the endpoint

• completions → /v1/chat/completions (default)
• responses → /v1/responses

If your gateway or model works better over the Responses API (for example the GPT-5 series), set:

export COPILOT_PROVIDER_WIRE_API="responses"

$env:COPILOT_PROVIDER_WIRE_API = "responses"

Authentication

With COPILOT_PROVIDER_TYPE=openai, Copilot CLI sends COPILOT_PROVIDER_API_KEY in the Authorization: Bearer header, matching most compatible gateways.

BYOK does not require a GitHub login, but GitHub integrations such as the GitHub MCP server, issues and pull requests still do.

The key lives in plain-text environment variables

The key is stored in plain text in your environment or shell profile:

• Never commit a file containing the key to Git
• Mask it before sharing a screenshot

4. Verify

From any directory:

copilot -p "print hello"

A normal reply means the setup works.

You can also start the interactive UI:

copilot

Then send any message. If it keeps asking you to log in, the BYOK variables were not set in the terminal that launched copilot; check the names and make sure it is the same shell.

When tool calls are needed

In non-interactive -p mode, tasks that read files or run commands need explicit tool permission:

copilot -p "list the current directory" --allow-all-tools

Plain chat does not need that flag.

5. Common settings

Switch models

Change COPILOT_MODEL:

export COPILOT_MODEL="gpt-5"

$env:COPILOT_MODEL = "gpt-5"

List the available models with:

curl https://kuncode.120403.xyz/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-xxxxxxxx"

When the model ID differs from the upstream model name

Some gateways expose an internal model ID that differs from the name forwarded upstream. Set both:

export COPILOT_MODEL="gpt-5"
export COPILOT_PROVIDER_MODEL_ID="gpt-5"
export COPILOT_PROVIDER_WIRE_MODEL="gpt-5-2025-08-07"

COPILOT_PROVIDER_MODEL_ID is used to match Copilot CLI's built-in capabilities and token limits, while COPILOT_PROVIDER_WIRE_MODEL is the name actually sent upstream. For most gateways the two are identical, so you can skip this.

Persist the environment variables

Variables set this way only last for the current terminal. To keep them:

• macOS / Linux: add the exports to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
• Windows: add them to your PowerShell $PROFILE

Print the profile path with:

$PROFILE

Multiple providers

To manage several providers, Copilot CLI supports the user-level registry ~/.copilot/providers.json, or point COPILOT_PROVIDERS_CONFIG at another location.

When that file declares any provider or model, it takes precedence over the COPILOT_PROVIDER_* environment variables. See the official examples with:

copilot help providers

6. Troubleshooting

For a systematic walkthrough by status code, see Errors and troubleshooting.

Symptom	Cause	Fix
401 Unauthorized	Wrong key, or the variables did not take effect	Check COPILOT_PROVIDER_API_KEY is complete and launch copilot in the same terminal
404 Not Found	Wrong BASE_URL, or the wire API does not match the gateway	It must end with /v1; responses uses /v1/responses, completions uses /v1/chat/completions
Unknown model	COPILOT_MODEL is not served by the gateway	Use a model ID from /v1/models
Keeps asking to log in	BYOK variables are missing in the current terminal	Set them again and launch copilot in the same terminal
Tool calls fail	The model lacks tool-call support	Switch to a model that supports tool calling
Request timeout	Network, proxy or upstream issue	Check DNS, proxy and firewall, or retry with another model

Advanced: Anthropic and Azure

If your gateway exposes the Anthropic Messages endpoint, set the provider type to anthropic. Note that Anthropic provider mode uses a different Base URL convention: enter the domain only here, while OpenAI mode still uses the /v1 value shown above.

export COPILOT_PROVIDER_TYPE="anthropic"
export COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL="https://kuncode.120403.xyz"
export COPILOT_PROVIDER_API_KEY="sk-xxxxxxxx"
export COPILOT_MODEL="claude-sonnet-4-5"

For Azure OpenAI use COPILOT_PROVIDER_TYPE=azure and follow the official requirements for COPILOT_PROVIDER_AZURE_API_VERSION, COPILOT_PROVIDER_MODEL_ID and COPILOT_PROVIDER_WIRE_MODEL. Run copilot help providers for the full variable list.

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