github · github-actions · Jul 9, 2026
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: 'Building Custom Agents'
 description: 'Learn how to create specialized GitHub Copilot agents with custom personas, tool integrations, and domain expertise.'
 authors:
   - GitHub Copilot Learning Hub Team
-lastUpdated: 2026-07-06
+lastUpdated: 2026-07-09
 estimatedReadingTime: '10 minutes'
 tags:
   - agents
@@ -256,6 +256,7 @@ The agent can then query your database, analyze query plans, and suggest optimiz
 |----------|-------------------|
 | Most demanding reasoning, security review | Claude Sonnet 5 *(v1.0.67+)* |
 | Complex reasoning, analysis | Claude Sonnet 4 |
+| Code generation, tool-driven agentic work | GPT-5.6 *(v1.0.70+)* |
 | Code generation, refactoring | GPT-4.1 |
 | Code-specialized tasks, large context | kimi-k2.7-code *(v1.0.68+)* |
 | Quick analysis, simple tasks | Claude Haiku or GPT-4.1-mini |

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: 'Copilot Configuration Basics'
 description: 'Learn how to configure GitHub Copilot at user, workspace, and repository levels to optimize your AI-assisted development experience.'
 authors:
   - GitHub Copilot Learning Hub Team
-lastUpdated: 2026-07-07
+lastUpdated: 2026-07-09
 estimatedReadingTime: '10 minutes'
 tags:
   - configuration
@@ -207,6 +207,32 @@ In addition to repository-level skills, GitHub Copilot CLI supports **personal s
 
 The `~/.agents/skills/` path aligns with the VS Code GitHub Copilot for Azure extension's default skill discovery path, while `~/.copilot/skills/` matches the Copilot CLI configuration directory. Both are supported for personal skills.
 
+### Pinning Model and Effort via `.github/copilot/settings.json`
+
+*(v1.0.70+)* A **trusted repository** can pin the model, reasoning effort level, and context tier for all sessions working in that repository by adding a `.github/copilot/settings.json` file. This is a team governance feature that ensures everyone uses a consistent model configuration without relying on individual user settings:
+
+```json
+{
+  "model": "claude-sonnet-4",
+  "effortLevel": "high",
+  "contextTier": "full"
+}
+```
+
+**Supported fields**:
+
+| Field | Description | Example values |
+|-------|-------------|----------------|
+| `model` | The AI model to use for this repository | `"claude-sonnet-4"`, `"gpt-4.1"`, `"claude-sonnet-5"` |
+| `effortLevel` | Reasoning effort level | `"low"`, `"medium"`, `"high"` |
+| `contextTier` | How much context to include | `"default"`, `"full"` |
+
+In addition to model and effort settings, this file can also extend the URL, MCP server, and skill deny lists, allowing organizations to enforce access restrictions at the repository level.
+
+**Why use this**: Pin a model when your team has agreed on the right cost/quality tradeoff for a project. Pin a high effort level for codebases where mistakes are expensive. Deny lists let you block specific MCP servers or URLs that aren't appropriate for a given project's security posture.
+
+> **Trust requirement**: The repository must be explicitly trusted by the user for these settings to take effect. This prevents untrusted repositories from changing your model or access restrictions without your knowledge.
+
 ### Custom Agents
 
 Agents are specialized assistants for specific workflows. Place agent definition files in `.github/agents/`.
@@ -592,6 +618,14 @@ The `/ask` command lets you ask a quick question without affecting your conversa
 /ask What does the `retry` utility in src/utils do?
 ```
 
+The `/refine` command *(v1.0.70+)* rewrites a rough, stream-of-consciousness prompt into a clear, structured one before sending it to the agent:
+
+```
+/refine
+```
+
+Type your rough idea, and `/refine` transforms it into a precise, well-structured prompt. This is especially helpful for complex multi-step tasks where prompt clarity significantly affects output quality — for example, turning "um make the login thing work better with the existing setup" into a focused task description with clear scope and acceptance criteria.
+
 The `/env` command shows all loaded environment details — instructions, MCP servers, skills, agents, and plugins — in a single view. Use it to verify that the right resources are active for the current session:
 
 ```
@@ -697,6 +731,15 @@ copilot --autopilot --max-autopilot-continues 10 "Refactor the authentication mo
 
 Set it higher for long-running tasks, or lower for tasks where you want more frequent checkpoints. Setting it to `0` disables automatic continuation entirely.
 
+The `--sandbox` and `--no-sandbox` flags *(v1.0.70+)* turn the OS-level shell sandbox on or off for the current session only, without permanently changing your saved sandbox setting. This is useful with `-p` (prompt mode) when you need to temporarily adjust sandbox behavior for a specific automated task:
+
+```bash
+copilot --sandbox -p "Run the full test suite and fix any failures"
+copilot --no-sandbox -p "Set up development environment with system tools"
+```
+
+These flags apply only to the current invocation — your persisted sandbox preference remains unchanged.
+
 The `--attachment` flag (available in prompt mode, `-p`) lets you attach files — images or native documents — to the initial prompt in non-interactive mode:
 
 ```bash

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: 'Installing and Using Plugins'
 description: 'Learn how to find, install, and manage plugins that extend GitHub Copilot CLI with reusable agents, skills, hooks, and integrations.'
 authors:
   - GitHub Copilot Learning Hub Team
-lastUpdated: 2026-06-24
+lastUpdated: 2026-07-09
 estimatedReadingTime: '8 minutes'
 tags:
   - plugins
@@ -160,6 +160,28 @@ To automatically register an additional marketplace for everyone working in a re
 
 With this in place, team members automatically get the `my-org-plugins` marketplace available without running a separate `marketplace add` command. This replaces the older `marketplaces` setting, which was removed in v1.0.16.
 
+### Pinning a Marketplace to a Specific Commit
+
+*(v1.0.70+)* To ensure reproducibility and prevent unintended updates, you can pin a marketplace to an exact commit SHA using the `sha` field in the source configuration:
+
+```json
+{
+  "extraKnownMarketplaces": [
+    {
+      "name": "my-org-plugins",
+      "source": "my-org/internal-plugins",
+      "sha": "a1b2c3d4e5f6..."
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+Pinning to a SHA guarantees that everyone on the team installs plugins from exactly that snapshot of the marketplace, regardless of subsequent changes to the repository. This is useful for:
+
+- **Reproducible CI environments** — ensure builds always use the same plugin versions
+- **Change control** — review and approve plugin updates before rolling them out team-wide
+- **Stability** — prevent breaking changes in upstream marketplaces from impacting your team without notice
+
 ## Installing Plugins
 
 ### From Copilot CLI
@@ -200,6 +222,16 @@ copilot plugin marketplace update
 copilot plugin uninstall my-plugin
 ```
 
+### Interactive Plugin Dashboard
+
+*(v1.0.69+)* The `/plugins` slash command opens an interactive **plugins dashboard** that lets you browse, enable, disable, and manage all installed plugins in one place — without using separate CLI subcommands:
+
+```
+/plugins
+```
+
+Use the dashboard for a visual overview of what's installed, check which agents and skills each plugin contributes, and quickly toggle plugins on or off. It's especially useful when you have many plugins installed and want to see what's active at a glance.
+
 ### Loading Plugins from a Local Directory
 
 You can load plugins directly from a local directory without installing them from a marketplace, using the `--plugin-dir` flag when starting Copilot: