Assign Issue to Copilot via REST API

[dblyth-msft]

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I was successfully able to assign an issue to Copilot through graphql (although the syntax here is not accurate according to the GH GraphQL explorer).

So, I know it works for my repo (verified through the UX, and through GraphQL), but I am struggling to get it work with the REST APIs. I have tried permutations along the lines of:

assignees: ["Copilot"]
assignees: ["copilot-swe-agent"]
assignees: ["BOT_..."]

But alas, I always get back an HTTP 422 with invalid assignees.

In full transparency, I am also trying to get this to work with the REST API through the Power Platform Connector, but I have been unable to get it to work through gh api as well.

[dblyth-msft]

Some additional findings:

https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_issue_edit seems to suggest that it is achievable through gh issue edit, but it does not appear to be the case:

--add-assignee <login>
Add assigned users by their login. Use "@me" to assign yourself, or "@copilot" to assign Copilot.

c:\code\repo>gh issue edit 1357 --add-assignee "@copilot"
failed to update https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/issues/1357: '@copilot' not found
failed to update 1 issue

I was able to get this working through the Power Automate connector's GitHub Graph QL action though (same as through Github GraphQL explorer), so it doesn't appear to be a case of auth mechanism of the OAuth based connector.

[TechQuery]

gh@^2.80 add a sub command agent-task, which can create Agent Task/PR directly, but it needs OAuth tokens for now: cli/cli#11845

[dosaki]

It seems like you can use GraphQL to do it.

Note that the GraphQL example has a mistake: it is using assigneeIds but it should be using actorIds for the replaceActorsForAssignable mutation.

Seems a little convoluted to have to create the issue, then do 3 separate GraphQL queries, but it is what it is :(

[dblyth-msft]

Yes @dosaki that's how I got it working. Not ideal, but it seems to work well enough, at least.

[aashish2057]

@dblyth-msft or @dosaki have you gotten this to work through graphql? Whenever I assign copilot directly when creating an issue it assigns but it doesn't spin up an agent session. If i try add it to an issue that has already been created I get Something went wrong while executing your query. Do you have an example of the graphql queries you are using that you could share?

[dblyth-msft]

I wasn't able to get it to work with the gh cli, but haven't tried recently. I did get it to work with graphql like this:

Find the issue id

query {
  repository(owner: <gh repo owner>, name: <gh repo name>) {
    issue(number: <gh issue id>) {
      id
      title
    }
  }
}

Find the copilot user id

query {
  repository(owner: <gh repo owner>, name: <gh repo name>) {
    suggestedActors(loginNames:"copilot", capabilities: [CAN_BE_ASSIGNED], first: 100) {
      nodes {
        login
        __typename
        ... on Bot {
          id
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Assign to copilot by mutation

mutation {
  replaceActorsForAssignable(input: {assignableId: <issue id found above>, actorIds: ["<actor id found above>"]}) {
    assignable {
      ... on Issue {
        id
        title
        assignees(first: 10) {
          nodes {
            login
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

[descampsk]

It worked a few weeks ago but now with this exact workflow I have the following error :

Something went wrong while executing your query on ....

[aashish2057]

I get the same error. I am almost 100% sure its a token permission issue. The docs do not specify what permissions you need to provide the PAT in order for this workflow to work. I verified this because if I use gh cli with my github login I am able to create an issue and assign copilot. If I use the PAT I created that has read/write permissions for issues I can create the issue copilot is assigned but nothing happens. If I use a classic token with the following permissions:

repo
read:org
gist

I am able to create the issue, assign copilot and the agent starts work. Would be really nice if github specified in the docs the permission requirements, especially for personal access tokens and github apps.

[descampsk]

You're right, a class tocken with repo works. But a fine-grained token with issues, PR (read&write) does no work...

[denishartl]

Ran into the same issue when assigning CoPilot to an issue via GitHub Action (which is using the graphql api). Finally managed to get it to work with those PAT permissions on the repo:

[zoezhangmattr]

is it supported to use github App with related permission to assign issues to copilot? i cant find the offical docs.

[malikparvez]

@zoezhangmattr I’m also trying to do the same using a GitHub App. Since you were looking into it as well, did you find anything?

[TechQuery]

Thanks answers of @dblyth-msft @denishartl , but my Copilot assignment code always failed silently with Classic repo PAT or Fine-grained Token: https://github.com/idea2app/MobX-GitHub/blob/fce1ca72398c121d7e91c5c3367a93b5e0776df7/source/Issue.ts#L72-L126

[jsjoeio]

The GraphQL approach worked for me! Here's a simplified version of the function in my codebase:

import { Octokit } from '@octokit/rest';

const GITHUB_TOKEN = process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN;
const GITHUB_REPO_OWNER = process.env.GITHUB_REPO_OWNER;
const GITHUB_REPO_NAME = process.env.GITHUB_REPO_NAME;

/**
 * Creates a GitHub issue from the provided description and assigns it to @copilot-swe-agent if available.
 * Uses GraphQL for efficient repo/actor queries and issue creation with assignment.
 * Returns the issue URL on success, null on failure.
 */
export async function createIssueWithCopilot(description: string): Promise<string | null> {
  if (!GITHUB_TOKEN || !GITHUB_REPO_OWNER || !GITHUB_REPO_NAME) {
    return null;
  }

  if (!description.trim()) {
    return null;
  }

  const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: GITHUB_TOKEN });

  try {
    // Fetch repo ID and check for @copilot-swe-agent
    const repoInfoQuery = `
      query($owner: String!, $name: String!) {
        repository(owner: $owner, name: $name) {
          id
          suggestedActors(capabilities: [CAN_BE_ASSIGNED], first: 100) {
            nodes {
              login
              id
            }
          }
        }
      }
    `;

    const repoInfo: any = await octokit.graphql(repoInfoQuery, {
      owner: GITHUB_REPO_OWNER,
      name: GITHUB_REPO_NAME,
    });

    const repoId = repoInfo?.repository?.id;
    if (!repoId) {
      return null;
    }

    const copilotBot = repoInfo.repository.suggestedActors.nodes.find(
      (node: any) => node.login === 'copilot-swe-agent'
    );

    const title = description.split('\n')[0].slice(0, 100);

    if (!copilotBot) {
      // Fallback: Create issue without assignment via REST
      const issue = await octokit.issues.create({
        owner: GITHUB_REPO_OWNER,
        repo: GITHUB_REPO_NAME,
        title,
        body: description,
      });

      return issue.data.html_url;
    }

    // Create issue with assignment via GraphQL
    const createIssueMutation = `
      mutation($repoId: ID!, $title: String!, $body: String!, $assigneeIds: [ID!]) {
        createIssue(input: { repositoryId: $repoId, title: $title, body: $body, assigneeIds: $assigneeIds }) {
          issue {
            number
            title
            url
            assignees(first: 10) { nodes { login } }
          }
        }
      }
    `;

    const response: any = await octokit.graphql(createIssueMutation, {
      repoId,
      title,
      body: description,
      assigneeIds: [copilotBot.id],
    });

    const issue = response?.createIssue?.issue;
    if (!issue) {
      return null;
    }

    return issue.url;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error creating issue:', error);
    return null;
  }
}

and proof:

[brunoborges]

did you run this as part of a github action workflow with the default GITHUB_TOKEN ?

[jsjoeio]

no, not done in a github action workflow. this runs in a serverless function on Netlify where i manually added env vars

[brunoborges]

Ah, that explains. OK. Thanks!

[hmronline]

I'm facing the same issue, not being able to assign an Issue to Copilot through the REST API.
It is not even listed as an available assignee.
First tried authenticated with a github app and then with a PAT, both were unsuccessful.
Haven't tried GraphQL yet... is there any other solution ?

Thanks!

[hmronline]

GraphQL examples found above doesn't work. I'm unable to run those queries related to finding copilot assigneeId.
Are there any other options ?

[made2591]

I wasn't able as well to programmatically assign copilot to a given issue using rest api despite token with right permission!

[brendanchamberlain]

According to the Asking GitHub Copilot to create a pull request Github doc, the following permissions are required when using a Fine-grained PAT:

Read and write access to actions, contents, issues and pull requests

[hmronline]

That's what I've configured, but it doesn't work.

I'm attaching a python script I'm using to test it.

test_issues.py

[hmronline]

So far I've been trying to assign to users "copilot" and "copilot-swe-agent".

After reading another reported issue, I've realized that copilot user used there was "copilot-swe-agent[bot]".

Using the username "copilot-swe-agent[bot]" with the python script I've provided before, works fine!

Mistery solved, thanks!

[eric-burel]

Found some docs here by searching the name you provided directly in Google : https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/cloud-agent/create-a-pr#adding-assignees-to-an-existing-issue
So it's documented in a how to rather than the API doc
Made my day thank you

[viblo-majority]

In case it helps someone else, this is my experience:

1. I got it to work with the example provided by @jsjoeio and using a PAT with these permissions "Read and write access to actions, contents, issues and pull requests"
2. Using a Github App I created I could not get it to work, even when I give the app the same permissions
3. Using a Github App it also doesnt work if I use the custom Claude Partner Agent. The agent will be assigned and start, but print out "The agent encountered an error and was unable to start working on this issue: The token used to assign the agent doesn't have the necessary permissions. Please make sure your token has read and write access to actions, contents, issues, and pull requests, and has permission to assign issues to the target repository. Learn more: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/coding-agent/create-a-pr"

Since I dont want to use my own PAT I had to give up, and is now experimenting with a GH Workflow using the Claude Github Action (https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code-action)

[descampsk]

I think it is not possible to use a Github App, as Github Copilot is billed at the user level. So it need a PAT to identify the user where it will be billed.

[descampsk]

With a PAT with the following rights and this command it works :

gh issue edit "$number" --add-assignee copilot-swe-agent

Maybe it is not the minimal permissions

[ESousa97]

1. The Exact Assignee Handle
The REST API requires the exact system handle for the bot. [cite_start]Using copilot or copilot-swe-agent will throw a validation error. You must use the exact string: copilot-swe-agent[bot].

2. Authentication Type (Use a PAT)
You generally cannot use a GitHub App for this. Because GitHub Copilot is billed at the user level, the API requires a Personal Access Token (PAT) to correctly identify the user account for billing purposes.

3. Required Token Permissions
If you are using a Fine-grained PAT, it requires broad access to allow the agent to operate. Ensure your token has Read and write access to the following:

• Actions
• Contents
• Issues
• Pull requests

Example REST API Payload:

{
  "assignees": ["copilot-swe-agent[bot]"]
}

Applying these three steps should instantly resolve the HTTP 422 errors and successfully trigger the Copilot agent via REST! Huge thanks to everyone in the thread who pieced these details together.

[sonnhfit]

that work for me

[ZeroxLim]

It seems that this is currently no longer working. When triggering the agent via the Rest API, i getting following error:

The agent encountered an error and was unable to start working on this issue: Please try again later, or contact support if the problem persists

Agent is assigned, but failed to startup, anyone having the same issue?