GitHub Copilot Managed Auth

March 21, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

VT Code uses the official copilot CLI for GitHub Copilot login and logout. VT Code does not run a separate native GitHub OAuth flow for this provider.

What You Need

  • copilot in PATH for vtcode login copilot, vtcode logout copilot, /login copilot, and /logout copilot
  • An active GitHub Copilot subscription
  • Optional: gh in PATH if you want VT Code to detect an existing GitHub CLI auth session as a fallback

gh is not required for Copilot login/logout. VT Code only uses gh auth status as an optional fallback when probing existing GitHub authentication.

If copilot Is Missing

VT Code will show a help note in the TUI transcript and in CLI auth output when the configured Copilot command is not runnable.

Use one of these fixes:

  • Install the official copilot CLI and make sure copilot is on PATH
  • Point VT Code at a custom binary with VTCODE_COPILOT_COMMAND
  • Or configure a custom command in vtcode.toml
[auth.copilot]
command = "/absolute/path/to/copilot"

After that, rerun one of:

vtcode login copilot
vtcode logout copilot

Or use the TUI slash commands:

/login copilot
/logout copilot

If gh Is Missing

Nothing special is required for Copilot login/logout. VT Code can still authenticate through the official copilot CLI.

You only need gh if you want VT Code to reuse an existing GitHub CLI auth session as a fallback during auth detection.

Troubleshooting

  • If copilot is installed but VT Code still cannot find it, check your shell PATH
  • If VT Code uses the wrong binary, set VTCODE_COPILOT_COMMAND or [auth.copilot].command
  • If login succeeds in the standalone copilot CLI but VT Code still reports no auth, run vtcode auth status copilot to inspect the detected auth source