VS Code Copilot Setup

Agent Keeper integrates with GitHub Copilot's agent mode in VS Code through the experimental agent hook system. Shell commands, file reads, and file writes are sent to Agent Keeper before or after execution.

Copilot agent hooks are currently in Preview and require VS Code 1.92+ with GitHub Copilot Chat 1.230+.

What gets monitored

Tool	Enforcement
Shell commands (`runTerminalCommand`)	Block or warn before execution
File reads (`readFile`)	Audit after execution
File writes (`writeFile`, `applyEdit`)	Audit after execution (no pre-execution block)
Prompts	Version dependent
MCP tool calls	Not available, Copilot does not expose MCP hook events
Session check-in	Auto (registered on first event)

Installation

Get your API key from Settings > API Keys in the dashboard, then run the installer:

export AGENTKEEPER_API_URL="https://YOUR_AGENTKEEPER_URL"
export AGENTKEEPER_API_KEY="ak_live_..."
bash <(curl -fsSL "$AGENTKEEPER_API_URL/install-hooks.sh") --ide copilot

The installer stores the API key in ~/.agentkeeper/config, installs ~/.copilot/hooks/agentkeeper-hook.sh, and writes .github/hooks/agentkeeper.json in the current workspace. It also leaves a compatibility copy at ~/.copilot/hooks/agentkeeper.json.

What gets generated

{
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "type": "command",
        "command": "bash \"$HOME/.copilot/hooks/agentkeeper-hook.sh\"",
        "timeout": 5
      }
    ]
  }
}

For team rollout, deploy the same hook file and Copilot config through your device management tool after validating it against your VS Code and Copilot extension versions.

Tool name mapping

Copilot uses different tool names from Claude Code and Cursor. Agent Keeper normalizes these on ingestion.

Copilot tool name	Agent Keeper canonical name
`runTerminalCommand`	`Bash`
`readFile`	`Read`
`writeFile`	`Write`
`applyEdit`	`Edit`
`searchFiles`	`Glob`
`searchCode`	`Grep`

Activity in the dashboard displays the canonical names regardless of which IDE generated the event.

Known limitations

Workspace discovery. VS Code discovers .github/hooks/*.json from the open workspace by default. User-level hooks can be added through VS Code's hook file locations setting when you need machine-wide coverage.

Prompt hooks are version dependent. Copilot's hook surface is still Preview. Some builds expose only pre-tool decisions, while newer builds may include prompt and session events.

No MCP hook events. GitHub Copilot does not expose hooks for MCP tool calls. MCP activity from Copilot is not visible in Agent Keeper.

Preview stability. The Copilot agent hook system is in Preview. Hook behavior, tool names, and config schema may change between VS Code releases. Check the GitHub Copilot changelog when upgrading VS Code.

Verifying coverage

Open VS Code from the workspace containing .github/hooks/agentkeeper.json
Ask Copilot to run a terminal command, for example ls -la
Check the Workstations page. The workstation should appear within a few seconds
The shell command should be visible in the Activity tab