The GitHub Copilot app is designed to support real-world software development workflows, moving beyond a simple chat interface. It provides a workspace where developers can manage multiple agent sessions, switch between tasks, and work with AI agents across different parts of their workflow.
Project-based sessions
Agent sessions are connected to a project, giving each session the repository context needed for a specific task. From the home screen, you can choose a previously used project or add a new one from GitHub or your local machine. Once a project is selected, you can start a session with the codebase, files, and tools needed to begin working on a task. For example, you might want to add a breadcrumb navigation component to an existing application. Instead of manually searching through files, you can describe the update, and the session can examine the project, identify relevant files, make changes, and run tests to validate the work.
Multiple threads with Quick Chat
After selecting a project and starting an agent session, you can create additional sessions for other questions, ideas, or tasks without interrupting existing work. Quick Chat lets you start a new conversation from the Copilot app home screen. Each conversation can focus on a different area of work, giving you a dedicated space to explore ideas, ask questions, or work through changes. For example, you can open a Quick Chat session to ask Copilot about how worktrees function in the app, while another agent session continues working on a project update. When you return to your original session, you can pick up where you left off.
Interactive canvas for UI previews
The GitHub Copilot app lets you open a browser canvas directly within your workflow, providing a way to preview your application and make changes based on what you see. A canvas is a shared, interactive space built around work artifacts, such as a plan, a kanban board, a checklist, or a running application. You can create a browser canvas using the /create-canvas slash command. For example, after asking Copilot to update a UI component, you can create a canvas with: /create-canvas Open this app in a browser canvas. This opens your application in a canvas where you can preview the result. If something needs adjusting, you can enable Canvas Dev Mode and use Pick & Polish to select elements directly in the canvas and use them as context for your next request.
Agent Merge for pull request workflows
Once your changes are ready, Agent Merge helps extend the workflow beyond the initial code change by monitoring the pull request and assisting with tasks that come up during review. To start an Agent Merge workflow, open the pull request options in the Copilot app and select Agent Merge. From there, you can choose which actions Agent Merge can take, such as addressing review feedback, helping resolve CI failures, or handling merge conflicts. After Agent Merge is enabled, it monitors the pull request as it moves through the review and CI process. If issues come up, it can help address requested changes and prepare the pull request for merge. Once the required checks have passed, you can choose to merge the pull request.
Start exploring the Copilot app
The Copilot app brings together the different parts of your development workflow in one place. Start with a project. From there, you can create separate sessions for different threads of work, create a canvas to visualize and refine your work, and keep changes moving through the pull request process with Agent Merge. There’s more to explore, including additional ways to customize and extend your workflow. The best way to learn the GitHub Copilot app is to try it yourself.
Images
