Find answers to common questions about GitHub Copilot Extensions.
This section answers common questions about GitHub Copilot Extension.
GitHub Copilot Extensions and Visual Studio Code chat participants use the same backend platform to route requests to extensions. Both provide similar end-user experiences, integrate with Copilot Chat, and can leverage the Copilot API or other LLMs.
While they share similarities, below are several key differences:
For more information, see About building Copilot Extensions.
No, Copilot Extensions are not covered by GitHub Copilot’s indemnity policy. However, this exclusion applies only to issues that arise within extension chat threads.
Installing and using extensions does not affect indemnity coverage for any issues that occur while using other Copilot features such as code completions and chat.
This section explains what data is collected and shared when using Copilot Extensions.
The following data is shared when interacting with Copilot Extensions:
Permissions vary by extension, depending on the level of authorization that the extension requires in order to respond to your query. You can view the required permissions on the extension’s installation page, located after the billing information step and before the install and authorize step.
For developers: At a minimum, the Copilot Chat permissions must be set to "Read-only". Additional permissions may include executing write actions on other surfaces and authorizing read access to repository and organization level data in GitHub.
For builders: In addition to the above, you may also request local context from a user’s editor to further tailor responses. To do so, the Copilot Editor Context permissions must be set to "Read-only". Users will be notified to provide the required authorization.
For more information on GitHub App permissions, see Choosing permissions for a GitHub App
Only organization admins can grant permissions for Copilot Extensions to access organization resources. Organization members may encounter cases where an extension cannot access a repository or query context. This typically happens because the organization admin has not yet provided permissions or authorized the extension. See Granting permissions to access organization resources.
Yes, any user can install and use a Copilot Extensions. However, to query organization resources and repositories, the extension must be installed and authorized by an organization admin. See Granting permissions to access organization resources
Users should contact their organization admin to request installation and authorization. Company context cannot be accessed without admin permissions.
This section covers administrative policies for Copilot Extensions
Enterprise admins can disable Copilot Extensions across their enterprise by setting the Copilot Extensions policy to "Disabled" or "No Policy".
No, there is no allowlist or blocklist at the enterprise level.
To access Copilot Extensions as a member of an organization, the organization that assigned you a GitHub seat must enable the Copilot Extensions policy. Additionally, the same organization must install and authorize the extension to access any organization owned repositories.
For example, if you are a member of multiple organizations and Organization A has assigned you a GitHub seat, you will only have access to extensions if Organization A has enabled the policy. If Organization B has enabled extensions but you do not have access, it is because Organization A has disabled the Copilot Extensions policy.