Steering agents in GitHub Copilot CLI

Guide Copilot during task execution to keep work on track with your intent.

Who can use this feature?

GitHub Copilot CLI is available with all Copilot plans. If you receive Copilot from an organization, the Copilot CLI policy must be enabled in the organization's settings.

In this article

Steer the conversation while Copilot is thinking

You can interact with Copilot while it's thinking. Send follow-up messages to steer the conversation in a different direction, or queue additional instructions for Copilot to process after it finishes its current response.

Steering lets you:

  • Interrupt an agent that is heading in the wrong direction.
  • Provide inline feedback when rejecting a tool permission request.
  • Refine or clarify the task scope partway through execution.

Next steps

To learn how to use Copilot CLI to get an AI-powered review of your code changes, see Requesting a code review with GitHub Copilot CLI.