How to continue a GitHub Copilot app session in VS Code
GitHub Copilot users can now transfer active agent sessions from the Copilot app directly into VS Code, preserving conversation history, code changes, and context for seamless continuation of work.
GitHub Copilot now allows users to move an ongoing agent session from the Copilot app into Visual Studio Code without losing the conversation, code changes, or working context. This feature is designed for scenarios where Copilot has completed most of a task but requires manual review, debugging, or local testing in VS Code. Users can inspect implementation details, make adjustments, and run the project locally before finalizing changes, all while maintaining the session’s context. The transition eliminates the need to restart work in a new editor or manually recreate the session.
To continue a session in VS Code, users open the session in the Copilot app and select 'Open in VS Code.' If multiple VS Code installations are detected, they choose the preferred one. VS Code then opens the project using the session’s associated worktree and displays the existing session in the Copilot sidebar. This ensures the session is preserved, not recreated, allowing users to review diffs, prompt Copilot for clarifications, or request additional changes directly within VS Code.
Once in VS Code, users can inspect changes in the Source Control view, reviewing modified files line by line. The preserved conversation history helps explain Copilot’s implementation choices, and users can continue prompting the agent in the sidebar for further adjustments. Manual edits are made directly to the session’s worktree, building on Copilot’s work without requiring file copies or branch recreation. The integrated terminal can then be used to run validation workflows, tests, or local servers to verify the changes.
After reviewing and testing the changes, users commit and push updates using VS Code’s Source Control view or terminal. The session’s associated worktree and branch remain connected, so pushing updates automatically reflects in the pull request tracking the work. This maintains consistency with standard Git practices while preserving the session’s context for future iterations or clarifications.