What changed
GitHub says you can now bring your work on GHES into the Copilot app. Adding a GHES account lets you work with remote repositories, issues, and pull requests. The feature was previously an opt-in preview and is now generally available. It requires GitHub Copilot app 1.2.0 or later.
This is GA of GHES account support in a client app. It does not put Copilot itself on your GHES server. GitHub's GHES documentation says Copilot features such as Copilot Chat are integrated into GitHub.com and GHE.com, not into GitHub Enterprise Server.
How to add your GHES account
- Update the Copilot app to 1.2.0 or later.
- Sign in with a GitHub.com or GHE.com account first. GHE.com is GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency. It is not the same thing as GHES.
- Go to Settings > Accounts > Add account and choose GitHub Enterprise Server.
- GitHub's documentation says to follow the prompts to open your browser and authorize the app. GitHub's quickstart adds that to add repositories hosted on GHES, you sign in to your account.
GitHub's changelog and documentation don't say which GHES release you need, which authentication methods are supported, or whether administrators must configure anything. I'm not going to guess at those. Check with your GHES admin or GitHub's documentation before a broad rollout.
Limits to know about
No cloud sessions on GHES
The changelog states plainly that cloud sessions aren't available for GHES. GitHub's separate October announcement describes a connected cloud experience in which sessions run in GitHub-managed cloud sandboxes. That announcement was about GitHub's cloud platform. It doesn't override the GHES exclusion, so don't plan on cloud-based agent work against GHES repositories.
A GHES login does not give you Copilot
Signing in to GHES gives the app access to your repositories, issues, and pull requests. It doesn't supply a Copilot license. The GHES documentation says that a Copilot license is required for all Copilot functionality, except local "bring your own key" setups. The sign-in page says that to start making requests you should also be signed in to a cloud account with a Copilot license, or configure your own model provider.
The overall design is two-sided:
- Your cloud account (GitHub.com or GHE.com) handles Copilot entitlement. Your GitHub Enterprise license also entitles you to a cloud enterprise account, which you can use to assign Copilot licenses and configure policies.
- Your GHES account handles access to the code, issues, and pull requests.
For Business and Enterprise users, there is one more setting to check. The GitHub Copilot app policy must remain enabled. It is on by default and is separate from the Copilot CLI policy.
Why it matters
GHES shops have often had to take extra steps to use Copilot. GitHub's documentation says enterprises primarily hosted on GHES must take extra steps for developers to use Copilot. A Copilot app that can open self-hosted repositories, issues, and pull requests removes one reason to switch contexts between the app and a browser tab. That is my own reading of the change, not something GitHub claims.
The GA release doesn't change the basic arrangement. Licensing and policy still live in the cloud, and your code still lives on your server. GitHub's documentation also describes a separate air-gapped option. There, Copilot CLI works with GHES without GitHub's cloud platforms or a Copilot license. An administrator configures a model provider for the instance, and users connect with their GHES credentials. That option is documented for the CLI, not the app.
Rollout checklist for admins
- Confirm that developers are on app version 1.2.0 or later.
- Confirm that each developer has a GitHub.com or GHE.com account for the first sign-in.
- Check that Copilot licenses are assigned on the cloud side, or decide whether people will bring their own model provider.
- Confirm that the Copilot app policy is enabled for Business and Enterprise organizations.
- Tell developers that cloud sessions won't work against GHES repositories.
The change is modest but useful. Self-hosted teams can now use the app against their own server, as long as they also have a cloud account and a Copilot license or their own model provider.