Dynamic Copilot Model Fetching Guide | Generated by AI

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Question: What is the GET https://api.githubcopilot.com/models endpoint, how does it work, and how can I use it to dynamically fetch the model list for a /model command instead of hardcoding models?

Answer:

Overview of GET https://api.githubcopilot.com/models

This is an unofficial but widely-used GitHub Copilot internal API endpoint that returns the list of AI models available to your specific Copilot subscription. It is not part of the official docs.github.com REST API documentation, but is reverse-engineered from how VS Code and JetBrains Copilot clients communicate with GitHub’s backend.

Endpoint Details

Property Value
Method GET
URL https://api.githubcopilot.com/models
Auth Bearer token (Copilot OAuth token, not a GitHub PAT)
Returns A list of models your subscription supports

Required Headers

For all Copilot API requests, you need two essential headers: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_COPILOT_TOKEN for authentication, and Copilot-Integration-Id: vscode-chat to identify the integration type.

Additionally, GitHub Copilot may also expect headers like Editor-Version, Editor-Plugin-Version, and User-Agent to identify your application.

Full Header Example

curl -X GET 'https://api.githubcopilot.com/models' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_COPILOT_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Copilot-Integration-Id: vscode-chat' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Editor-Version: vscode/1.104.1' \
  -H 'Editor-Plugin-Version: copilot-chat/0.26.7' \
  -H 'User-Agent: GitHubCopilotChat/0.26.7'

Response Format

The response returns a JSON object with a data array, where each item includes fields like id, object, created, and owned_by. A simplified example:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "gpt-4o",
      "object": "model",
      "created": 1234567890,
      "owned_by": "github-copilot"
    },
    {
      "id": "claude-3.5-sonnet",
      "object": "model",
      "created": 1234567890,
      "owned_by": "github-copilot"
    }
  ]
}

Each id in the list is a model identifier you can pass to /chat/completions.

Why It’s Subscription-Aware

Copilot hosts many models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others. You can list the models your subscription allows by calling this endpoint, and each returned ID can then be used directly in your API calls. This means:

How to Get the Copilot OAuth Token

The token needed here is not your normal GitHub PAT. It’s a short-lived Copilot session token. The easiest path is to sign in to Copilot from any JetBrains IDE (PyCharm, GoLand, etc.) — after you authenticate, a file appears containing the oauth_token value, which is your token for API calls.

You can also obtain it programmatically via the token endpoint used by Copilot clients (e.g., https://api.github.com/copilot_internal/v2/token).

Updating /model Command to Use This Endpoint

Here’s how you would implement a dynamic /model command in JavaScript/TypeScript:

async function fetchAvailableModels(copilotToken: string): Promise<string[]> {
  const response = await fetch("https://api.githubcopilot.com/models", {
    method: "GET",
    headers: {
      "Authorization": `Bearer ${copilotToken}`,
      "Copilot-Integration-Id": "vscode-chat",
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "Editor-Version": "vscode/1.104.1",
      "Editor-Plugin-Version": "copilot-chat/0.26.7",
      "User-Agent": "GitHubCopilotChat/0.26.7"
    }
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`Failed to fetch models: ${response.statusText}`);
  }

  const data = await response.json();
  // Extract just the model IDs
  return data.data.map((model: { id: string }) => model.id);
}

// Example usage in your /model command handler:
async function handleModelCommand(copilotToken: string) {
  const models = await fetchAvailableModels(copilotToken);
  console.log("Available models for your subscription:");
  models.forEach(id => console.log(` - ${id}`));
}

Key Benefits of Dynamic Fetching vs. Hardcoding

Hardcoded Dynamic (/models endpoint)
Breaks when GitHub adds/removes models Always up-to-date
May show models the user can’t access Only shows subscription-supported models
Requires code change to update Zero maintenance
Fast (no network call needed) Small latency cost (one extra request at startup)

Important Caveats

References:

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