GitHub Copilot app sessions can now be opened in VS Code, branch and all

GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft, has published a guide to continuing a Copilot app session in VS Code. An Open in VS Code action loads the session’s worktree and conversation into the editor, so a developer can review and finish what an agent started.

One click moves the session, worktree and chat

The post, written by Kayla Cinnamon and dated October 19, 2026, treats a Copilot app session as a record of an agent task: the code changes, the plan and the conversation behind them. The goal is to avoid re-explaining that history in a new chat. Copilot handles bulk or repetitive work, and the developer takes over for review, manual edits and local testing.

The workflow has seven steps. The developer starts in the Copilot app, selects the open-in-editor action from the session and picks an editor if several are offered. VS Code then opens the session’s worktree and shows the session in the Copilot sidebar. From there the post suggests:

• checking the agent’s diff in the Source Control view against repository conventions, edge cases, tests and unrelated changes;
• editing files by hand for small refinements such as labels, names or styling;
• running the project’s own checks in the integrated terminal, with examples such as npm test, npm run lint and npm run dev, and opening a dev server’s localhost URL, optionally in VS Code’s integrated browser;
• going back to Copilot for repository-wide analysis or repetitive edits, and alternating as needed;
• committing and pushing, which updates the pull request already tracking the work.

The post also lists prerequisites: the Copilot app installed and signed in, VS Code connected to the same GitHub account, a session that contains code changes, and permission to push to the repository. It offers sample prompts, such as asking Copilot to explain why it changed a function instead of adding a helper, or to add a test for an updated label without touching unrelated components.

Who can use it, and what the post leaves out

The guide points readers to gh.io/app to download the Copilot app. It says nothing about pricing, plans or regional availability, and it does not say which editors beyond VS Code can appear in the picker. It is a how-to, not a product announcement, so the company’s description of the benefits is not independently measured: there are no figures on time saved or on how often handed-off sessions end in merged code.

Other coverage fills part of the gap. Help Net Security reported in June that the Copilot app is a desktop home for coding agents, in technical preview, where each session gets its own isolated git worktree and branch. That explains why the handoff works: VS Code simply opens the same worktree. Sources disagree on eligibility. Help Net Security describes the preview as open to Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business and Enterprise subscribers, while GitHub’s documentation, as summarized in search results, adds a waitlist for Free users and says Business and Enterprise organizations must enable preview features and Copilot CLI. Readers should check GitHub’s current docs before planning around it.

GitHub is wiring its agent tools to the editor

The guide fits a pattern of GitHub connecting its agent surfaces rather than adding one more chat box. The Copilot app runs parallel agents, the editor handles human review, and the pull request stays as the shared record. Pushing from VS Code updates the same pull request, so the human edit does not create a second thread of work.

The surrounding releases point the same way. GitHub’s Copilot CLI 1.0.100 notes make a unified sessions browser the default for /sessions, /session and /resume, and add a /share menu for the current session. A GitHub changelog entry from October 15 says the Slack and Teams integrations can now work across several repositories in one conversation. Sessions are becoming portable objects that move between terminal, desktop app, chat tools and editor.

For Microsoft, this keeps developers inside a stack it owns at every step: the app, the editor and the repository host. The risk for rivals is less about any single feature than about the default path an agent’s output takes before it reaches review. Microsoft is also working on the safety side of agent use; our coverage of its Project Perception agent security work describes a model that assumes agents may misbehave, which is a reminder of why the post stresses careful diff review before pushing.

What would confirm the approach: GitHub publishing adoption figures for the app, a clearer plan matrix, and support for editors beyond VS Code. Until then, the guide is a practical walkthrough for current preview users rather than evidence that agent handoffs improve code quality.