{"id":94930,"date":"2026-04-01T11:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-03-31-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent"},"modified":"2026-04-01T12:21:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:21:24","slug":"research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent","status":"publish","type":[3521],"link":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent","title":{"rendered":"Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p>Copilot cloud agent (formerly known as Copilot coding agent) is no longer limited to pull-request workflows, unlocking a broader range of ways to put Copilot to work.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"more-control-over-when-you-open-a-pull-request\" id=\"more-control-over-when-you-open-a-pull-request\" ><a class=\"heading-link\" href=\"#more-control-over-when-you-open-a-pull-request\">More control over when you open a pull request<span class=\"heading-hash pl-2 text-italic text-bold\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Up until now, working with Copilot cloud agent meant opening a pull request. Now Copilot can work on a branch without creating one, giving you more flexibility over how and when you move your work forward.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Copilot generates code on a branch without opening a pull request.<\/li>\n<li>Review the full diff before deciding if you are ready for a pull request,by clicking the <strong>Diff<\/strong> button.<\/li>\n<li>Iterate with Copilot until you are ready for a review. When you are, click <strong>Create pull request<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Know you want a pull request from the start? Just say so in your prompt and Copilot will create one when the session completes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><video loop controls autoplay muted width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/github.com\/user-attachments\/assets\/beaf8dec-a7a8-437d-ae6f-707db3bde000\"><br>\n<\/video><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"generate-implementation-plans\" id=\"generate-implementation-plans\" ><a class=\"heading-link\" href=\"#generate-implementation-plans\">Generate implementation plans<span class=\"heading-hash pl-2 text-italic text-bold\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Ask Copilot to produce an implementation plan and review the approach before Copilot writes any code.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ask for a plan in your prompt and Copilot will generate one before taking any action.<\/li>\n<li>Review Copilot&rsquo;s proposed approach and approve or provide feedback before any code is written.<\/li>\n<li>Once the plan is approved, Copilot uses the plan to guide its implementation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><video loop controls autoplay muted width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/github.com\/user-attachments\/assets\/30f49ab8-78f3-414f-9604-c5e0e9ca7fbc\"><br>\n<\/video><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"conduct-deep-research-in-your-codebase\" id=\"conduct-deep-research-in-your-codebase\" ><a class=\"heading-link\" href=\"#conduct-deep-research-in-your-codebase\">Conduct deep research in your codebase<span class=\"heading-hash pl-2 text-italic text-bold\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Kick off a research session to have Copilot answer questions requiring thorough investigation and comprehensive answers.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ask broad questions about your codebase and get answers grounded in your repository context.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><video loop controls autoplay muted width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/github.com\/user-attachments\/assets\/1ab81458-f5ff-48a1-b4e2-682bdd609b3a\"><br>\n<\/video><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You can also kick off a deep research session from a Copilot chat conversation by asking Copilot a question.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><video loop controls autoplay muted width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/github.com\/user-attachments\/assets\/9cd2f5fe-fb21-4330-9a99-5e00b31e61c4\"><br>\n<\/video><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"to-get-started\" id=\"to-get-started\" ><a class=\"heading-link\" href=\"#to-get-started\">To get started<span class=\"heading-hash pl-2 text-italic text-bold\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>This functionality is available exclusively via all agent entry points, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-01-26-introducing-the-agents-tab-in-your-repository\/\"><strong>Agents<\/strong> tab in the repository<\/a> and in Copilot Chat.<\/p>\n<p>Copilot cloud agent is available with all paid Copilot plans. If you&rsquo;re a Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise user, an administrator will have to <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.github.com\/enterprise-cloud@latest\/copilot\/concepts\/agents\/coding-agent\/coding-agent-for-business-and-enterprise\">enable Copilot cloud agent<\/a> before you can use it.<\/p>\n<p>Join the discussion within <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/orgs\/community\/discussions\/190573\">GitHub Community<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Copilot cloud agent (formerly known as Copilot coding agent) is no longer limited to pull-request workflows, unlocking a broader range of ways to put Copilot to work. More control over&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2106,"featured_media":94931,"template":"","meta":{"_gh_post_show_toc":"","_gh_post_is_no_robots":"","_gh_post_is_featured":"","_gh_post_is_excluded":"","_gh_post_is_unlisted":"","_gh_post_related_link_1":"","_gh_post_related_link_2":"","_gh_post_related_link_3":"","_gh_post_sq_img":"","_gh_post_sq_img_id":"","_gh_post_cta_title":"","_gh_post_cta_text":"","_gh_post_cta_link":"","_gh_post_cta_button":"","_gh_post_recirc_hide":"","_gh_post_recirc_col_1":"","_gh_post_recirc_col_2":"","_gh_post_recirc_col_3":"","_gh_post_recirc_col_4":"","_featured_video":"","_gh_post_additional_query_params":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","primary_cta":"","primary_cta_url":"","secondary_cta":"","secondary_cta_url":""},"label":[2765],"group":[3833],"coauthors":[3100],"class_list":["post-94930","changelog","type-changelog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","changelog-type-new-releases","changelog-label-copilot","changelog-group-04-2026"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent - GitHub Changelog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent \u00b7 GitHub Changelog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Copilot cloud agent (formerly known as Copilot coding agent) is no longer limited to pull-request workflows, unlocking a broader range of ways to put Copilot to work. More control over&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The GitHub Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-01T19:21:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/570597591-85e373f2-2dad-4ea8-89a0-91d80e3d7bff.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2064\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1084\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"Allison\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\\\/\",\"name\":\"Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent - The GitHub Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/570596201-b641bf8e-70b1-44a3-a244-56e52ae478c3.png?fit=2064%2C1084\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-01T18:36:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-01T19:21:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/570596201-b641bf8e-70b1-44a3-a244-56e52ae478c3.png?fit=2064%2C1084\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/570596201-b641bf8e-70b1-44a3-a244-56e52ae478c3.png?fit=2064%2C1084\",\"width\":2064,\"height\":1084,\"caption\":\"Copilot cloud session with planning and code changes\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Changelogs\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/changelog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"The GitHub Blog\",\"description\":\"Updates, ideas, and inspiration from GitHub to help developers build and design software.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/github.blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent - GitHub Changelog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent \u00b7 GitHub Changelog","og_description":"Copilot cloud agent (formerly known as Copilot coding agent) is no longer limited to pull-request workflows, unlocking a broader range of ways to put Copilot to work. More control over&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/","og_site_name":"The GitHub Blog","article_modified_time":"2026-04-01T19:21:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2064,"height":1084,"url":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/570597591-85e373f2-2dad-4ea8-89a0-91d80e3d7bff.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes","Written by":"Allison"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/","url":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/","name":"Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent - The GitHub Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/github.blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/570596201-b641bf8e-70b1-44a3-a244-56e52ae478c3.png?fit=2064%2C1084","datePublished":"2026-04-01T18:36:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-01T19:21:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/570596201-b641bf8e-70b1-44a3-a244-56e52ae478c3.png?fit=2064%2C1084","contentUrl":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/570596201-b641bf8e-70b1-44a3-a244-56e52ae478c3.png?fit=2064%2C1084","width":2064,"height":1084,"caption":"Copilot cloud session with planning and code changes"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2026-04-01-research-plan-and-code-with-copilot-cloud-agent\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/github.blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Changelogs","item":"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Research, plan, and code with Copilot cloud agent"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/github.blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/github.blog\/","name":"The GitHub Blog","description":"Updates, ideas, and inspiration from GitHub to help developers build and design software.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/github.blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/changelogs\/94930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/changelogs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/changelog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2106"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/changelogs\/94930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94944,"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/changelogs\/94930\/revisions\/94944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"changelog-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type?post=94930"},{"taxonomy":"changelog-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/label?post=94930"},{"taxonomy":"changelog-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/group?post=94930"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/github.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=94930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}