GitHub separates VS Code agent work from editor windows with Agent Host
GitHub announced Agent Host and expanded Copilot session continuity in VS Code on October 28. The update separates sessions from individual editor windows and supports following work across Copilot clients, but cloud and local execution have different requirements.
Cloud agent sessions run on GitHub infrastructure and can continue after the user closes a laptop. The same session can be followed in VS Code, the Copilot app, GitHub Mobile, github.com or Copilot CLI. Sessions begun in Slack or Microsoft Teams direct messages can also be continued across those clients.
Agent Host keeps work on the user's own machines separate from a particular VS Code window or project folder. Remote SSH and dev tunnels can connect to a separate machine. That remote machine and its Agent Host must stay running; closing a local editor is not equivalent to powering off the computer executing the task.
GitHub Mobile can steer work running on a development machine after its Agent Host is enabled for that connection. The phone supplies controls rather than doing the agent's computing. The open Agent Host Protocol also supports custom clients that stay synchronized with live sessions.
The Copilot harness built on the Microsoft Copilot SDK is now the default for new editor and Agents-window sessions. Comparing models in parallel with Judge and Synthesize is a preview, while desktop computer use in VS Code is experimental and requires per-application approval. Organizations can disable computer use.
The update also previews a Customization Marketplace and connectors for services including Slack, Notion and Microsoft Learn. Business and Enterprise administrators must allow Editor preview features for these capabilities. Repository plugin defaults are not policy enforcement: contributors can change them unless enterprise policy requires otherwise.