GitHub has updated the Copilot plugin for JetBrains IDEs to embed the Copilot CLI agent as a public preview and add a unified sessions view for tracking agent activity, delivering in‑IDE access to long‑running agents and clearer visibility into queued and running workflows. The change matters because it lets developers delegate multi‑step tasks to agents from within the editor and monitor progress without switching contexts.
The Copilot CLI agent mirrors the long‑running terminal agent inside the IDE and can receive delegated tasks with the editor context already attached. It supports two isolation modes: worktree isolation, which runs the agent in a separate Git worktree so proposed changes do not affect the current branch until reviewed, and workspace isolation, which applies edits directly for faster iteration. Sessions show live progress, tool calls and a summary of changed files. To begin using the agent, pick Copilot CLI from the agent picker, choose a model, select an isolation mode and send the prompt.
Some features have administrative prerequisites: Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise subscribers require an administrator to enable the Editor preview features policy before use. The plugin’s unified sessions view appears inside the chat window and lists each session’s title, agent type, elapsed time and status, with filters by agent type or status. Agent mode now supports an Ask question tool so agents can pose focused clarifying questions when more information is needed; that tool is available in agent mode, custom agents, sub agents and the Copilot CLI agent but not in Ask mode.
Users can also define global agents using a.agent.md file under ~/, with in‑product global agent management planned for a future release. The update adds GitHub Enterprise Server (GHES) sign‑in support, letting users authenticate with enterprise instances via hostname or URL to simplify adoption in enterprise environments. For teams and builders the release aims to reduce friction when delegating complex tasks to agents and increase visibility into long‑running workflows: worktree isolation provides a safer review path for proposed changes while workspace isolation speeds iterative edits, and the Ask question capability is intended to lower ambiguity and improve result accuracy.
The release also targets everyday developer workflows with several UI and reliability improvements: confirmations when starting a new command to allow cancelling the active one; improved sub‑agent rendering and current‑file styling; an improved auto‑approval panel and better hover/pressed states for code block actions; and improved code‑review apply behavior for full‑line replacements. Stability fixes address an issue that broke completions on a second screen, restore Shift+Home/Shift+End inline selection, improve drag‑and‑drop when adding files to Copilot Chat, and reduce UI freezes.
Sources
Replies (0)
No replies in this topic yet.
