GitHub Copilot launches Agent Mode, previews autonomous agent for coders

GitHub has announced a new tool called Agent Mode that will help developers generate code, look for bugs and fix them automatically. The service also suggests terminal commands, analyses run-time errors while storing and sharing tailored instructions for Copilot directly in the editor.

CEO Thomas Dohmke announced the news on X saying, “Today, we are infusing the power of agentic AI into the GitHub Copilot experience, elevating Copilot from pair to peer programme.”

The Microsoft-backed platform also teased its new autonomous agent codenamed Project Padawan. “This represents a future where developers can assign issues to Copilot, let the AI complete the task autonomously, and come back to review its work,” a statement released by GitHub stated. 

Besides, they also announced general availability of Copilot Edits which can be used for suggestions and making inline changes directly in the developer’s workspace across multiple files quickly. 

Additionally, Gemini 2.0 Flash and OpenAI’s o3-mini are now available for Copilot Chat and Edits, with enterprise support for Copilot Workspace. There’s also Vision for Copilot which enables users to generate an imitation by giving an input of an image or screenshot to Copilot

All these new features along with Vision for Copilot can be previewed in Visual Studio Code from today.

“India’s surging developer community will soon be joined by intelligent, increasingly advanced AI agents acting as peer programmers for everyday tasks, freeing developers to drive more innovation,” said GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. “If Indian businesses move quickly to empower their developers with these AI agents, they won’t just gain a major competitive advantage in the global market—they’ll also accelerate digital and economic progress, cementing India’s position as a leader on the world stage.”