GitHub Copilot desktop app expands preview with canvases, voice, and sandboxes
The GitHub Copilot desktop app entered an expanded technical preview at Microsoft Build, adding canvases, voice support, sandboxes, and unified session tracking with the Copilot CLI.
Score breakdown
The sandboxed execution environments directly address a concrete risk of agentic coding workflows — agents making unwanted or destructive changes to a developer's local machine — by isolating Copilot's tool execution both locally and in GitHub-hosted environments.
- 01The expanded technical preview is available to all existing Copilot Pro, Pro Plus, Business, and Enterprise customers.
- 02Every session runs in its own isolated Git work tree to prevent agents from interfering with each other.
- 03Canvases are bidirectional workspaces where agents update work and users can edit, reorder, approve, or redirect on the same surface.
At Microsoft Build, GitHub unveiled an expanded technical preview of its Copilot desktop app, opening it to all existing Copilot Pro, Pro Plus, Business, and Enterprise customers. The app is described as an agent-native development experience where every session runs in its own isolated Git work tree, preventing multiple agents from interfering with one another.
Voice conversations are also now supported via on-device speech-to-text, using the same mechanism as the Copilot CLI.
The headline new features include canvases, described as bidirectional workspaces for humans and agents, where an agent updates work and the user can edit, reorder, approve, or redirect it on the same surface — turning intent into inspectable work. Voice conversations are also now supported via on-device speech-to-text, using the same mechanism as the Copilot CLI. A new integration between the CLI and the desktop app means sessions started in the Copilot CLI will now appear in the app's My Work view, unifying both services around a single source of truth.
Also announced at Microsoft Build were cloud and local sandboxes for GitHub Copilot. These provide isolated environments for Copilot's tool execution locally, as well as fully isolated sandboxes hosted by GitHub, addressing concerns about agentic workflows making unwanted or destructive changes to a developer's local environment.
Key facts
- 01The expanded technical preview is available to all existing Copilot Pro, Pro Plus, Business, and Enterprise customers.
- 02Every session runs in its own isolated Git work tree to prevent agents from interfering with each other.
- 03Canvases are bidirectional workspaces where agents update work and users can edit, reorder, approve, or redirect on the same surface.
- 04Voice support uses on-device speech-to-text, the same mechanism used in the Copilot CLI.
- 05Sessions started in the Copilot CLI now appear in the My Work view inside the desktop app.
- 06Cloud and local sandboxes provide isolated environments for Copilot's tool execution, both locally and hosted by GitHub.
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