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Microsoft Agent Framework Integrates GitHub Copilot SDK for Agent Teams

Microsoft Agent Framework (MAF) now supports creating agents that use the GitHub Copilot SDK as their backend, enabling access to coding-oriented AI capabilities.

By Illumora Editorial

Source · Jul 30, 2026, 5:18 PM · On Illumora · Jul 30, 2026, 5:22 PM

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Read the source →Microsoft Semantic Kernel Blog — Building agent teams with Agent Framework, GitHub Copilot CLI and Squad | Microsoft Agent Framework
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The Microsoft Agent Framework (MAF) now integrates with the GitHub Copilot SDK, allowing developers to build agents that leverage Copilot's coding-focused AI functionalities. This integration, recently shipped to v1.0 in C# and Python, provides stable and supported access to features such as shell command execution, file operations, URL fetching, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) server integration.

Key Points

  • Microsoft Agent Framework (MAF) agents can use the GitHub Copilot SDK as their backend.
  • GitHub Copilot agents offer coding-oriented AI capabilities, including shell command execution and file operations.
  • The integration also supports URL fetching and Model Context Protocol (MCP) server integration.
  • This functionality is available in v1.0 for C# and Python, with full support.
  • Squad, an open-source multi-agent framework, runs on top of the GitHub Copilot CLI/SDK.
  • Squad.Agents.AI is a NuGet package that wraps a Squad team as a MAF AIAgent.
  • The EnableConfigDiscovery flag in SessionConfig allows the Copilot CLI to auto-load Squad team charters, skills, and MCP servers.

Context

According to the Microsoft Semantic Kernel Blog, the integration of MAF with the GitHub Copilot SDK allows for the creation of agents with advanced coding capabilities. This is demonstrated through an example of a weather tool using AIFunction and CopilotClient to create and run an AIAgent. A notable application of this integration is Squad, an open-source multi-agent framework that operates on the GitHub Copilot CLI/SDK. Squad enables the definition of a team with a coordinator and specialist agents, which can then collaborate to complete tasks.

The blog explains that MAF provides the agent runtime, model abstraction, hosting, and telemetry, while the GitHub Copilot CLI/SDK offers a coding agent capable of reading repositories, editing files, and running shell commands. The Squad.Agents.AI NuGet package facilitates the connection between Squad and MAF, allowing a Squad team to be treated as a regular MAF AIAgent. The SquadAgent class, which composes these two pieces, uses a CopilotClient pointed at a Squad team root and a SessionConfig with EnableConfigDiscovery set to true to automatically load team configurations.

Why It Matters

This integration provides developers with a structured approach to building sophisticated agent teams that combine the orchestration capabilities of MAF with the coding intelligence of GitHub Copilot. The ability to integrate Squad teams as MAF agents streamlines the development of multi-agent systems for coding-related tasks, potentially enhancing automation and collaboration within development workflows.

What To Do

  • Review the MS Learn documentation on Agent Framework and GitHub Copilot Agents to understand the full scope of the integration.
  • Explore the provided .NET and Python samples to see practical implementations of GitHub Copilot agents within MAF.
  • Examine the Squad open-source project to understand how multi-agent teams can be structured and deployed using the GitHub Copilot CLI/SDK.
  • Note the use of AddSquadAgent() and EnableConfigDiscovery for integrating Squad teams into MAF applications.

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