Copilot Monthly Digest - October Edition

[Akash1134]

🚀 This Month in Copilot

October was all about agents - LOTS of them. and why not? GitHub Universe 2025 kicked off with Agent HQ, a unified ecosystem that brings coding agents from multiple partners (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Cognition, and xAI) directly into your GitHub workflow. But the innovation didn't stop there. Here's what we shipped 🚢 just this month:

Note

We shipped 50+ updates this month! 😲 Click into sections to explore what’s new. You can also read the event's recap

🎯 Agent HQ & Mission Control

• 🎯 Mission control: A command center to assign, steer, and track Copilot coding agent tasks — Your unified hub for managing multiple AI agents across GitHub, VS Code, mobile, and the CLI. Assign tasks, monitor progress, and coordinate agent work all in one place—no more juggling tools or losing track of what's running where.
• 🤖 Custom agents for GitHub Copilot — Build your own specialized agents with tailored system prompts and tools. Define exactly how you want Copilot to work for your team's unique workflows, coding standards, and project requirements.
• 🏃 Copilot coding agent now supports self-hosted runners — Run agent tasks on your own infrastructure for better control over compute resources, security boundaries, and compliance requirements.
• 🌐 Copilot coding agent can now search the web — When Copilot needs up-to-date information or external context, it can now search the web for you. Perfect for finding the latest API docs, tutorials, or troubleshooting tips.
• 🏷️ Copilot coding agent uses better branch names and pull request titles — No more cryptic names like "fix-bug-123." Copilot now generates descriptive, meaningful branch names and PR titles based on the actual work.

🛠️ IDE & Editor Enhancements

• �📋 Plan mode in VS Code — Before any code gets written, Copilot now asks clarifying questions and helps you build a step-by-step plan. This upfront context gathering means better results, fewer surprises, and clearer project direction from the start.
• 📝 AGENTS.md for custom instructions — Set rules and guardrails for Copilot with source-controlled AGENTS.md files. Specify coding standards like "prefer this logger" or "use table-driven tests" and Copilot will follow them automatically—no need to repeat yourself every time.
• � Delegate tasks to Copilot coding agent from JetBrains IDEs — JetBrains users can now assign coding tasks to agents without leaving their favorite IDE, keeping workflows smooth and uninterrupted.
• 🏗️ GitHub Copilot app modernization: Now available in IntelliJ IDEA — Modernize legacy applications with AI-powered assistance directly in IntelliJ IDEA, helping you tackle tech debt and upgrade codebases faster.
• 🎨 GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — October update — Visual Studio users got a fresh round of improvements with enhanced suggestions, better integration, and smoother performance.
• � GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code gets upgraded — VS Code users received an upgraded Copilot experience with faster suggestions, better accuracy, and improved context awareness.
• 🤖 Auto model selection is now in VS Code for Copilot Business and Enterprise — Let Copilot automatically choose the best model for your task based on context, speed, and quality needs. No more manual switching.

🖥️ CLI & Terminal

• �️ GitHub Copilot CLI: Use custom agents and delegate to Copilot coding agent — The CLI now supports custom agents and task delegation, bringing agentic workflows to your terminal for maximum flexibility.
• 🖥️ Copilot CLI: Multiline input, new MCP enhancements, and Haiku 4.5 — The CLI keeps getting better with multiline prompts, enhanced MCP integration, and support for Claude Haiku 4.5.
• 🖥️ GitHub Copilot CLI: Faster, more concise, and prettier — Speed improvements, cleaner output, and better formatting make the CLI experience even more delightful.
• 🖥️ GitHub Copilot CLI: Enhanced model selection, image support, and streamlined UI — Pick your preferred model, attach images for context, and enjoy a redesigned interface—all in the CLI.

🔍 Code Review & Quality

• � New public preview features in Copilot code review: AI reviews that see the full picture — Copilot code review now provides more comprehensive, context-aware feedback by understanding the full scope of your changes. It's like having an experienced reviewer who actually reads the whole diff.
• � Ask Copilot coding agent to make changes in any pull request with @copilot — Mention @copilot in any PR comment to request changes, and the agent will implement them for you. It's like having a teammate who can instantly pick up tasks from code review feedback.
• 🔄 Grouping changes in a pull request with Copilot in public preview — Copilot can now automatically organize related changes in your PRs into logical groups, making reviews clearer and easier to navigate.
• 🏗️ GitHub Code Quality in public preview — A new tool to systematically improve code maintainability, reliability, and test coverage across your organization. Copilot coding agent now includes quality checks before you even see the code.
• 🛡️ Copilot coding agent now automatically validates code security and quality — Before you even review agent-generated code, Copilot runs security and quality checks automatically. Think of it as a built-in safety net for AI-generated contributions.
• 🔍 Assign code scanning alerts to Copilot for automated fixes in public preview — Delegate security vulnerabilities directly to Copilot for automated remediation. Turn alerts into pull requests without manual intervention.
• ✍️ Copilot-generated commit messages on github.com are generally available — Let Copilot write your commit messages for you, right on GitHub.com. Save time and get more context-aware messages automatically.

🔗 Integrations & Collaboration

• � Work with Copilot coding agent in Slack — Delegate tasks and track agent progress right from Slack. Keep your team in the loop without leaving your conversation threads.
• 📊 GitHub Copilot for Linear available in public preview — Connect your Linear issues directly to Copilot, enabling seamless task handoffs and progress tracking between your project management tool and your development workflow.
• 📚 Copilot knowledge bases can now be converted to Copilot Spaces — Migrate your existing knowledge bases to the new Copilot Spaces for better collaboration and shared context across your team.
• 🏠 Updated Copilot input on the home dashboard — The GitHub home dashboard now features a refreshed Copilot input experience, making it easier to start new tasks or ask questions right from your landing page.
• 🏠 Home dashboard update in public preview — Your GitHub home dashboard got a makeover with improved navigation, better task visibility, and tighter Copilot integration.
• ✨ Spark: Expanded access, enhanced reliability, and faster iteration history — GitHub Spark got a major upgrade with better performance, more stable builds, and faster access to your iteration history.

🔐 Enterprise & Governance

• �️ Enterprise AI controls & the agent control plane in public preview — Enterprise admins get granular control over AI agent access, model usage, security policies, and audit logging. It's your governance layer for managing AI at scale.
• � Copilot usage metrics dashboard and API in public preview — See exactly how Copilot is being used across your organization with detailed analytics. Understand adoption, measure impact, and optimize your AI investments with real data.
• 🏢 Managing Copilot Business in enterprise is now generally available — Enterprise admins can now manage Copilot Business subscriptions, policies, and access controls at scale across their entire organization.

🧩 MCP & Extensions

• 🔐 MCP registry and allowlist controls for Copilot in JetBrains, Eclipse, and Xcode now in public preview — Discover, install, and manage Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers directly from your IDE, with enterprise controls to manage which integrations your team can use.
• 🔧 GitHub MCP Server now supports GitHub Projects and more — The GitHub MCP Server expanded its capabilities with support for GitHub Projects, making it easier to integrate project management with your AI workflows.
• 🔧 GitHub MCP Server now comes with server instructions, better tools, and more — The GitHub MCP Server received major updates including clearer documentation, enhanced tooling, and better integration support.

🤖 Model Updates

• 🤖 Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.5 is now generally available in GitHub Copilot — Claude Sonnet 4.5 is here, bringing improved reasoning and code understanding to Copilot users across all supported platforms.
• 🤖 Claude Sonnet 4.5 is now available in Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, and Eclipse — Claude Sonnet 4.5 expanded beyond VS Code to all major IDEs, ensuring everyone gets access to Anthropic's latest model.
• 🤖 Claude Haiku 4.5 is generally available in all supported IDEs — Anthropic's fast, efficient Claude Haiku 4.5 model is now available across VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Xcode, and Eclipse for quicker responses and lower latency.
• � Anthropic's Claude Haiku 4.5 is in public preview for GitHub Copilot — Early access to Claude Haiku 4.5 gave developers a taste of Anthropic's latest speed improvements before the GA release.
• 🚀 Grok Code Fast 1 is now generally available in GitHub Copilot — xAI's Grok Code Fast 1 model is now available for all Copilot users, offering another high-speed option for code generation.
• 🌐 Grok Code Fast 1 is now available in Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, and Eclipse — Grok Code Fast 1 rolled out to all major IDEs, giving developers fast code generation no matter where they work.
• ⚡ GPT-4.1 Copilot code completion model — October update — OpenAI's GPT-4.1 model for code completions got another performance boost, delivering smarter, faster suggestions.
• �️ Selected Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini Copilot models are now deprecated — Older models have been retired to make room for newer, better-performing options. If you're still using deprecated models, now's the time to upgrade.
• ⚠️ Upcoming deprecation of Claude Sonnet 3.5 — Claude Sonnet 3.5 is being phased out in favor of newer models. Plan your migration to avoid disruptions.

📅 Upcoming Events & Key Moments

• GitHub Universe 2025 — The main event happened on October 28–29 in San Francisco (plus virtual), where Agent HQ, mission control, and a host of new features were unveiled. If you missed it, recordings and recaps are available online.
• GitHub Universe Certification — On October 30, attendees had the option to take on-site Copilot certification exams to validate their skills and earn credentials.
• Upcoming Webinar: Recapping Universe 2025 releases — Join my awesome colleague @queenofcorgis along with the GitHub team for a deep dive into all the major announcements and new features from Universe 2025.

📚 Noteworthy Reads (October picks)

• Introducing Agent HQ: Any agent, any way you work — The comprehensive announcement post from Kyle Daigle explaining GitHub's vision for agentic development and how Agent HQ unifies the AI ecosystem.
• Measuring what matters: How offline evaluation of GitHub MCP Server works — A deep dive into the automated evaluation pipeline that ensures MCP Server quality and reliability.
• How to find, install, and manage MCP servers with the GitHub MCP Registry — Your guide to discovering, installing, and governing MCP servers using the new GitHub MCP Registry.
• The road to better completions: Building a faster, smarter GitHub Copilot with a new custom model — Learn about the custom models powering Copilot's latest performance improvements.
• How to update community health files with AI — A practical guide for using AI to maintain and update your repository's community health files like CONTRIBUTING.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, and more.
• Copilot: Faster, smarter, and built for how you work now — An overview of Copilot's evolution from autocomplete tool to full-fledged agentic assistant.
• How GitHub Copilot and AI agents are saving legacy systems — Real-world examples of how Copilot is making legacy COBOL systems accessible to modern developers.
• GitHub Copilot CLI: How to get started — A step-by-step guide to using Copilot directly in your terminal, from cloning repos to opening PRs.
• How to build reliable AI workflows with agentic primitives and context engineering — A framework for turning AI into a repeatable, reliable engineering practice.
• Octoverse: A new developer joins GitHub every second as AI leads TypeScript to #1 — The annual Octoverse report reveals how AI is reshaping software development and driving TypeScript to the top.

🎊 October was just the beginning! 🎊

With Agent HQ now live and mission control rolling out across GitHub, VS Code, Mobile, and the CLI, the way we build software is fundamentally changing. We're moving from working with AI to orchestrating fleets of agents that handle everything from code generation to security reviews.

As always, your feedback shapes what we build next. Drop your thoughts in Copilot Conversations or share your experiences with the community.

Let's build the next chapter together! 🚀