Setting up Copilot Extensions - GitHub Docs (original) (raw)

Follow these steps to start building Copilot Extensions.

• Agents
• Skillsets

This article is designed to help you build an entirely new GitHub Copilot Extension. To instead learn how to quickly build and test a demo Copilot Extension created by GitHub, see Quickstart for GitHub Copilot Extensions using agents.

Skillsets and agents are the two ways to extend Copilot's capabilities and context through the Copilot Extensibility Platform. They let you integrate external services and APIs into Copilot Chat, but each one serves different use cases and offers different levels of control and complexity:

• Skillsets are lightweight and streamlined, designed for developers who need Copilot to perform specific tasks (e.g., data retrieval or simple operations) with minimal setup. They handle routing, prompt crafting, function evaluation, and response generation automatically, making them ideal for quick and straightforward integrations. For more information about skillsets, see About Copilot skillsets.
• Agents are for complex integrations that need full control over how requests are processed and responses are generated. They let you implement custom logic, integrate with other LLMs and/or the Copilot API, manage conversation context, and handle all aspects of the user interaction. While Agents require more engineering and maintenance, they offer maximum flexibility for sophisticated workflows. For more information about agents, see About Copilot agents.