Skip to content

AllenS0104/Copilot-CLI-Desktop

BranchesTags

Repository files navigation

Copilot CLI Desktop

Copilot Desktop

A modern desktop UI for GitHub Copilot CLI
Making AI-powered coding accessible to everyone — no terminal required.

version platform license electron

⚠️ Upgrade Notice (v0.1.2)

If you have a previous version (v0.1.0 or v0.1.1) installed, please uninstall it first before installing v0.1.2.

This version includes critical fixes and adds auto-update support. Once you install v0.1.2, all future updates will be delivered automatically — no more manual uninstall/reinstall.

✨ What is Copilot CLI Desktop?

Copilot Desktop wraps GitHub Copilot CLI in a modern Electron desktop app with a graphical interface. It's built for users who prefer a visual UI over the command line.

Key Features

  • 🤖 AI Chat — Stream responses with Markdown rendering & syntax highlighting
  • 🔄 Auto Update — App and CLI updates delivered automatically via GitHub Releases
  • 🔐 Auto/Manual Auth — GitHub device code flow with guided steps
  • 📁 File Explorer — Browse files, @ mention in prompts with file picker
  • 🧠 17 AI Models — Claude, GPT, Gemini — switch with one click
  • 🌍 Multi-language — English, 中文, 日本語, 한국어
  • 📂 Project Management — Add/switch projects, full read/write filesystem access
  • 💬 Conversation History — Browse and restore past sessions
  • ⚡ Quick Actions — Explain, Test, Debug, Refactor cards
  • 🔧 Slash Commands — /help, /model, /compact, /diff, /review
  • 🚀 Auto CLI Install — Detects missing CLI and guides installation
  • ⏹️ Stop Generation — Cancel AI responses mid-stream
  • 📋 Copy & Paste — Full clipboard support in chat input

📦 Downloads

Windows

File Type Size Description
Copilot-CLI-Desktop-Setup-0.1.2.exe Installer ~81 MB Standard installer with desktop & start menu shortcuts
Copilot-CLI-Desktop-Portable-0.1.2.exe Portable ~81 MB No installation needed, run directly

Linux

File Type Size Description
Copilot-CLI-Desktop-0.1.2-linux-x64.tar.gz tar.gz ~102 MB Extract and run ./copilot-desktop

Download from the Releases page.

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • A valid GitHub Copilot subscription
  • The app will auto-detect and guide you to install Copilot CLI if not found

Install & Run

Windows (Installer):

  1. Download Copilot-CLI-Desktop-Setup-0.1.2.exe from Releases
  2. Run the installer → choose install directory
  3. Launch from desktop shortcut or start menu

Windows (Portable):

  1. Download Copilot-CLI-Desktop-Portable-0.1.2.exe
  2. Double-click to run — no installation needed

Linux:

tar -xzf Copilot-CLI-Desktop-0.1.2-linux-x64.tar.gz
cd copilot-desktop
./copilot-desktop

First Launch Flow

  1. CLI Check — App detects if Copilot CLI is installed
  2. CLI Install — If missing, guides you through installation (restart required after)
  3. Auth Choice — Select Auto (existing credentials) or Manual (terminal-based login)
  4. Ready — Start chatting with Copilot!

Auto Update

Starting from v0.1.2, the app checks for updates automatically on launch:

  • Desktop App — Notifies you when a new version is available; download & restart from within the app
  • Copilot CLI — Check for CLI updates in Settings → About → "Check for Updates"

🏗️ Architecture

copilot-desktop/
├── src/
│   ├── main/                     # Electron Main Process
│   │   ├── main.ts               # Window, IPC handlers, PTY, system menu
│   │   └── preload.ts            # contextBridge API surface
│   └── renderer/                 # React Renderer Process
│       ├── App.tsx               # Root component & view routing
│       ├── components/
│       │   ├── AuthChoicePage.tsx # Auto/Manual auth selection
│       │   ├── InstallPage.tsx   # CLI install prompt + restart
│       │   ├── LoginPage.tsx     # Terminal-based GitHub login
│       │   ├── ChatPanel.tsx     # Chat UI with streaming
│       │   ├── Sidebar.tsx       # Navigation (Chat/Files/History/Settings)
│       │   ├── Header.tsx        # Context bar
│       │   ├── FileTree.tsx      # File explorer with @ mentions
│       │   ├── SettingsPanel.tsx  # Model/language/preferences
│       │   ├── HistoryPanel.tsx   # Conversation history
│       │   └── ...
│       ├── store/index.ts        # Zustand global state
│       ├── utils/
│       │   ├── i18n.ts           # 4 locales × 80+ keys
│       │   └── ansiParser.ts     # Full ANSI/CSI/OSC parser
│       └── types/index.ts        # TypeScript interfaces
├── assets/
│   ├── icon.ico                  # Windows icon
│   └── icon.png                  # Linux icon
├── release/                      # Built packages (gitignored)
│   ├── windows/
│   └── linux/
└── package.json

Tech Stack

Category Technology Purpose
Framework Electron 28 Desktop container
Frontend React 18 + TypeScript 5 UI rendering
State Zustand 4 Lightweight global state
Styling Tailwind CSS 3 Utility-first CSS
Bundler Webpack 5 Module bundling
Terminal node-pty Interactive CLI communication
Markdown react-markdown + react-syntax-highlighter AI response rendering
Auto Update electron-updater In-app update delivery
Packaging electron-builder Cross-platform distribution

How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Electron Main Process               │
│  ┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────┐  │
│  │ BrowserWindow│ │ node-pty │ │child_process │  │
│  │  (Window)    │ │ (Login)  │ │(copilot -sp) │  │
│  └──────┬──────┘ └────┬─────┘ └──────┬───────┘  │
│         └──────── IPC ─┴──────────────┘          │
├─────────── preload.ts (contextBridge) ───────────┤
│              Renderer Process (React)             │
│  ┌────────┬──────────────────────┬─────────┐     │
│  │Sidebar │ Header + ChatPanel   │CodeView │     │
│  │        │ (Streaming + MD)     │         │     │
│  │        │ Input Bar            │         │     │
│  └────────┴──────────────────────┴─────────┘     │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐     │
│  │  Zustand Store (auth/messages/locale..) │     │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

🎨 Design

  • Theme: Slate/Indigo dark mode (inspired by Linear, Arc, Cursor)
  • Icons: SVG line icons — minimal and clean
  • Animations: Fade-in, slide-up, pulse loading bar
  • Layout: Collapsible sidebar + context header + main workspace

🛠️ Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Development mode (hot-reload)
npm run dev

# Production build
npm run build

# Package for Windows
npx electron-builder --win nsis portable

# Package for Linux
npx electron-builder --linux tar.gz

# One-click release (build + package + push + publish)
.\scripts\release.ps1 -Version "0.2.0"

Supported AI Models (17)

Claude:  sonnet-4.6 · sonnet-4.5 · haiku-4.5 · opus-4.6 · opus-4.6-fast · opus-4.5 · sonnet-4
Gemini:  3-pro-preview
GPT:     5.3-codex · 5.2-codex · 5.2 · 5.1-codex-max · 5.1-codex · 5.1 · 5.1-codex-mini · 5-mini · 4.1

📋 Version History

Version Date Milestone
v0.1.2 2026-03-09 🔄 Auto-update (App + CLI), package size optimized (159MB→81MB), release script
v0.1.1 2026-03-08 🐛 Bug fixes: Stop button, copy/paste, @File picker, @Context menu, full FS access
v0.1.0 2026-03-06 🎉 First public release
— 2026-03-06 CLI auto-detection & installation
— 2026-03-06 Auth choice (Auto/Manual) with terminal flow
— 2026-03-06 Linux tar.gz build
— 2026-03-06 Multi-language i18n (en/zh-CN/ja/ko)
— 2026-03-06 UI V3 redesign + V2 features (Header/Projects/History)
— 2026-03-05 Core functionality: auth, chat, file explorer
— 2026-03-05 Initial project scaffold

📄 License

MIT

Built with ❤️ by Allen Song & the Copilot Desktop Team
Powered by GitHub Copilot CLI

About

A modern desktop GUI for GitHub Copilot CLI

Resources

Readme
Activity

Stars

2 stars

Watchers

0 watching

Forks

0 forks
Report repository

Releases 3

v0.2.0 - Vibe Code Latest
Mar 9, 2026
+ 2 releases

Packages

 
 
 

Contributors

Languages