GitHub SDK and Microsoft Foundry¶
dotnet add package GitHub.Copilot.SDK
GitHub Copilot SDK: a reusable agent harness¶
Every surface in the previous session - CLI, app, cloud agent - is really the same agent runtime wearing a different front end. The Copilot SDK gives you a programmable way to put that same agent loop inside your own app, tool, workflow, or service.
What it is¶
A thin developer surface over the same GitHub Copilot agent runtime used by Copilot CLI. Your app defines the goal, tools, permissions and context. Copilot does the messy agent bits: planning, tool use, file edits, streaming and multi-turn work.
- App - your UX, workflow, or service.
- SDK - session, auth, tools, hooks.
- Runtime - plan, act, observe, iterate.
Shortcut version: you stop building the harness and start building the useful part. The SDK is generally available with 6 language SDKs - TypeScript, Python, Go, .NET, Rust and Java - all backed by the same agent runtime.
Why use it: a harness for real work, not just code¶
The interesting bit isn't "Copilot can write code." It's "Copilot can drive a governed, tool-using workflow."
Non-coding task automation
Summarise documents, populate decks, clean spreadsheets, research pages, draft reports, or run repeatable back-office steps.
Bring-your-own tools
Register APIs, MCP servers, custom tools, skills and plugins so the agent can call the right capability at the right point.
Control the harness
Use permissions, hooks and prompt customisation to shape what the agent can do before, during and after tool calls.
Deploy where users work
Embed the agent loop into apps, services, desktop experiences, internal tools, CI/CD assistants, or customer-facing workflows.
Good fit signal
Reach for the SDK when the task has: context + tools + judgement + iteration. If a task is a single deterministic transform, a plain function is still the right tool - save the agent loop for work that genuinely benefits from planning and tool use.
Why it matters: the same pattern is showing up across Microsoft¶
The Copilot SDK isn't only a developer toy - it's becoming the agent harness pattern across Microsoft's products and platforms:
- GitHub Copilot SDK - build the harness into your own app or service. Programmatic access to planning, tools, files and sessions.
- Copilot Studio - the GitHub Copilot harness powers reasoning-heavy agents and workflows in the new experience.
- Microsoft Scout - a desktop agent experience that acts across files, shell, browser and M365 data (treat as a product proof point, not a public SDK claim).
- Foundry / hosted agents - a useful way to think about the split: the SDK gives you the agent loop; hosted/managed platforms like Microsoft Foundry give you runtime and enterprise management choices - model routing, observability, compliance controls, and scaling - around that loop.
Quote
If you need an agentic harness inside an experience, start here before inventing your own orchestration.
Where this leaves you¶
Put together, today's four sessions form a straight line: understand what an agent actually is (keynote), use the surfaces GitHub already ships (App & CLI), manage the resource that limits all of them well (context), and - when an existing surface doesn't fit - build your own with the SDK and a managed runtime like Microsoft Foundry.
Head to Resources for links to get started with the SDK, Copilot CLI, Spec Kit, and more.