copilot-cli

name	copilot-cli
description	Default programming backend for this agent. Delegate coding/editing/refactor/build/test tasks to the GitHub Copilot CLI (`copilot` command) via bash. Use for: writing new features, fixing bugs, refactoring, running tests, exploring an unfamiliar codebase. Copilot is the preferred backend; fall back to Claude Code only if Copilot fails. Never run inside ~/.openclaw, /Users/clawbot/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw, or any OpenClaw state directory.
allowed-tools	["bash"]
metadata	{"openclaw":{"emoji":"🤖","requires":{"anyBins":["copilot","claude"]}}}

Copilot CLI (primary coding backend)

This agent's default way to do any real coding work is to shell out to copilot (GitHub Copilot CLI). Only fall back to claude if copilot fails or the user explicitly asks for Claude Code.

Binary locations on this machine:

• copilot → /opt/homebrew/bin/copilot (GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.21+)
• claude → /Users/clawbot/.npm-global/bin/claude (Claude Code 2.1.101)

Non-interactive one-shot (default pattern)

# Quick task — runs, does the work, exits
bash workdir:~/Documents/harnesse2e-main command:"copilot -p 'Your task here' --allow-all-tools --allow-all-paths --add-dir /Users/clawbot/Documents/harnesse2e-main"

Key flags:

Flag	Why
-p, --prompt <text>	Non-interactive: executes prompt and exits
--allow-all-tools	Required for non-interactive mode (no approval prompts)
--allow-all-paths	Let Copilot edit anywhere under the workspace
--add-dir <dir>	Explicitly whitelist the workspace directory
--effort <level>	Reasoning effort: low/medium/high/xhigh (default: medium)

Background / long-running tasks

For anything longer than ~30s (builds, big refactors, running a test suite), use background mode so the user can keep chatting while work proceeds:

bash workdir:~/Documents/harnesse2e-main background:true command:"copilot -p 'Build feature X end-to-end, run tests, report results' --allow-all-tools --allow-all-paths --add-dir /Users/clawbot/Documents/harnesse2e-main"
# Returns sessionId — track with the process tool

Monitor with:

process action:poll  sessionId:XXX
process action:log   sessionId:XXX
process action:kill  sessionId:XXX   # if needed

Progress updates (critical)

When you spawn Copilot in the background, keep the user in the loop:

• Send 1 short message when you start ("kicked off copilot -p … in harnesse2e-main, sessionId Y").
• Only update again when something changes: milestone done, question from copilot, error, or finish.
• If you kill a session, say so immediately and why.

Fallback to Claude Code

If copilot is unavailable or fails with auth / environment issues, fall back to Claude Code:

bash workdir:~/Documents/harnesse2e-main command:"claude --permission-mode bypassPermissions --print 'Your task here'"

Tell the user you fell back and why — don't silently switch backends.

⚠️ Safety rules

1. Never run copilot or claude with cwd inside:
   • ~/.openclaw (openclaw state dir — contains auth profiles, sessions)
   • /Users/clawbot/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw (the live openclaw install)
   • Any directory that itself contains an openclaw.json
2. Default workspace for this agent is /Users/clawbot/Documents/harnesse2e-main. Stay inside unless the user explicitly points you elsewhere.
3. Respect the user's backend choice — if they say "use claude / use codex", switch. copilot is only the default, not a mandate.
4. Don't hand-patch files yourself when copilot can do it. You're the orchestrator; copilot is the worker. Hand-editing one line for a typo is fine; refactoring a module is copilot's job.
5. For builds/tests that don't need LLM reasoning (e.g. pnpm test, pytest), just run them directly via bash — don't burn copilot tokens on shell execution.

Quick sanity check

To verify copilot is working at all:

bash command:"copilot --version"
# Should print: GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.21. (or newer)

If this fails, stop and tell the user — don't silently fall back.