What Is the License for the GitHub Copilot SDK?

The GitHub Copilot SDK is released under the MIT License, permitting unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and proprietary applications.

The license for the GitHub Copilot SDK is explicitly defined in the github/copilot-sdk repository. According to the source code, this project adopts the permissive MIT License, which you can verify in the root LICENSE file and across language-specific package configurations. This licensing choice impacts how you can legally integrate the SDK into JavaScript, Go, and Python projects.

Understanding the MIT License for the GitHub Copilot SDK

The MIT License is a short, permissive software license that places minimal restrictions on reuse. When applied to the GitHub Copilot SDK, it grants you broad freedoms while requiring only basic attribution.

Official License Documentation

The definitive source for the GitHub Copilot SDK license terms is the LICENSE file located in the repository root. This file contains the complete MIT License text that governs all code within the SDK. As implemented in github/copilot-sdk, the license applies uniformly across all language implementations, from the core JavaScript package to the Go and Python bindings.

Package Metadata Verification

You can confirm the MIT License declaration across the SDK's multilingual structure:

• nodejs/package.json: Contains the explicit "license": "MIT" field
• python/setup.cfg: Includes the license declaration for the Python distribution
• Go module: The go/definetool.go file and related Go sources fall under the root MIT License

Permissions and Requirements Under the MIT License

When using the GitHub Copilot SDK under its MIT License, you maintain the right to:

• Use the SDK in commercial or private projects
• Modify the source code for your specific needs
• Distribute copies of the original or modified SDK
• Sublicense the software to third parties

The sole requirement is preserving the copyright notice and permission text in any substantial portions of the SDK that you distribute.

Practical Implementation Examples

The following code examples demonstrate basic SDK usage across supported languages. Because the GitHub Copilot SDK uses the MIT License, you can freely incorporate these patterns into proprietary applications without additional licensing constraints.

JavaScript (Node.js) Implementation

// Install: npm install @github/copilot-sdk

import { defineTool } from '@github/copilot-sdk';

defineTool({
  name: 'example-tool',
  description: 'Demonstrates usage of the Copilot SDK',
  handler: async (input) => {
    // Your tool logic here
    return `You said: ${input}`;
  },
});

Go Implementation

package main

import (
	"context"
	"log"

	"github.com/github/copilot-sdk/go"
)

func main() {
	tool := copilot.DefineTool(copilot.ToolConfig{
		Name:        "example-tool",
		Description: "Shows how to call the SDK from Go",
		Handler: func(ctx context.Context, input string) (string, error) {
			return "Echo: " + input, nil
		},
	})

	if err := copilot.Start(tool); err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("failed to start tool: %v", err)
	}
}

Python Implementation

# Install: pip install copilot-sdk

from copilot_sdk import define_tool

@define_tool(name="example-tool", description="Python example for Copilot SDK")
def handler(input_text: str) -> str:
    return f"Echo from Python: {input_text}"

Summary

• The GitHub Copilot SDK is licensed under the permissive MIT License
• Full license text resides in the LICENSE file at the repository root of github/copilot-sdk
• Language-specific confirmations appear in nodejs/package.json, python/setup.cfg, and the Go module configuration
• The license imposes no runtime restrictions, allowing integration into both open-source and proprietary software
• You must include the original copyright notice and license text when distributing the SDK

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the GitHub Copilot SDK open source?

Yes, the GitHub Copilot SDK is open source and explicitly released under the MIT License. You can view the complete license terms in the LICENSE file at the root of the repository, and the README.md provides additional project context and quick-start documentation.

Can I use the GitHub Copilot SDK in commercial applications?

Yes, the MIT License explicitly permits commercial use. You may integrate the SDK into proprietary software products, modify the source code, and distribute your changes without paying royalties or disclosing your own source code. The only requirement is maintaining the copyright notice and license text.

Where is the license file located in the repository?

The complete MIT License text is located in the LICENSE file in the root directory of the github/copilot-sdk repository. Additionally, the nodejs/package.json and python/setup.cfg files contain metadata fields confirming the MIT License designation for their respective language packages.

Do I need to credit GitHub when using the Copilot SDK?

Yes, the MIT License requires you to include the copyright notice and permission text in any substantial portions of the SDK that you distribute. This typically means preserving the header comments in source files or including a copy of the LICENSE file alongside the SDK code in your application distributions.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}