Work in Progress: Experimental proof-of-concept for deep OS integration with GitHub Copilot. APIs and features subject to change.

.NET 11 Preview WinUI 3 desktop application providing system tray access to GitHub Copilot CLI with automatic context awareness. Detects active focus, open applications, file system state, and running services to augment prompts with relevant environment information.

• System Tray Integration: Windows notification area icon for quick access
• WinUI 3 Interface: Native Windows UI with Fluent Design and Mica/DesktopAcrylic backdrop
• Automatic Context Detection:
  • Active window focus (Explorer paths, Terminal with WSL distribution detection, IDEs)
  • Open applications and visible windows
  • Background services (Docker, databases, language servers)
  • WSL distributions with smart Linux prompt detection
  • Environment variables (PYTHONPATH, NODE_ENV, DOTNET_ROOT, filtered PATH, etc.)
  • Screenshot capture when context ambiguous (LLM vision only when needed)
• Conversation History: Last 10 messages included for context continuity
• Context Optimization: Tiered detection (10-500ms) prioritizes fast operations
• Fallback Mechanisms: Windows Accessibility API when Win32 insufficient
• Smart Command Execution: Imperative commands executed immediately with partial progress reporting
• "Thinking..." Indicator: Visual feedback while processing requests
• Chat Persistence: SQLite storage for message history
• GitHub Copilot SDK: Direct integration with Copilot CLI (v0.1.24-preview, 5-minute timeout for complex operations)

• Windows 10 1809+ (Windows 11 recommended)
• .NET 11 Preview SDK
• GitHub Copilot subscription

git clone https://github.com/sirredbeard/ghcopilot-taskbar-gui
cd ghcopilot-taskbar-gui\CopilotTaskbarApp
dotnet restore
dotnet build --configuration Release
dotnet run

Run CopilotTaskbarApp.exe. Application icon appears in system tray. Click to open chat interface.

First Run:

1. CLI detection runs automatically (bundled with SDK)
2. Authentication check runs
3. If not authenticated, prompts for gh auth login

Context Gathering:

• Automatic on every query
• Tier 1 (10-50ms): Active window detection via Win32 Z-order, WSL Unix prompt detection
• Tier 2 (100-200ms): File explorer, applications, environment variables, screenshot (only if context ambiguous)
• Tier 3 (500ms+): WSL distributions list, background services (developer scenarios only)
• Screenshot skipped when strong text context exists (faster responses)
• Environment variables collected: PATH (filtered), PYTHONPATH, NODE_ENV, JAVA_HOME, DOTNET_ROOT, etc.
• Conversation history: Last 10 messages included for contextual awareness

Smart Features:

• Context Continuity: Remembers previous actions ("install podman" → "uninstall it" works)
• WSL Distribution Detection: Recognizes "user@hostname:~" patterns, checks running distros
• Actionable Commands: Executes imperative commands immediately (install, start, configure)
• Partial Progress: Reports what succeeded even if later steps fail
• "Thinking..." Indicator: Shows real-time feedback during long operations

Keyboard Shortcuts:

• Enter: Send message
• Up/Down: Command history

• MainWindow: WinUI 3 UI with system tray integration (System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon)
• CopilotService: GitHub Copilot SDK client wrapper with pattern matching for type safety
• ContextService: Multi-tiered context detection (Win32, Shell COM, UI Automation)
• ScreenshotService: Automatic screen capture (Base64 JPEG, 1024px max)
• PersistenceService: SQLite message storage

• .NET 11 Preview (Partial trimming enabled, full AOT incompatible with WinUI 3 data binding)
• WinUI 3 with Windows App SDK
• GitHub Copilot SDK v0.1.24-preview (JSON-RPC over stdio)
• System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon (official Microsoft API)
• Windows Accessibility API (UI Automation fallback)
• SQLite for persistence

CopilotTaskbarApp/
├── App.xaml.cs              # Entry point
├── MainWindow.xaml.cs       # UI and tray integration
├── CopilotService.cs        # SDK client wrapper
├── ContextService.cs        # Tiered context detection
├── ScreenshotService.cs     # Screen capture
├── PersistenceService.cs    # SQLite storage
├── CopilotCliDetector.cs    # CLI installation checks
├── ChatMessage.cs           # Data model
└── Assets/                  # Icons

Data Directory: %LOCALAPPDATA%\CopilotTaskbarApp\chat.db

CLI not found:

winget install --id GitHub.Copilot
copilot --version

Authentication errors:

gh auth login

Subscription errors: Verify GitHub Copilot access on your account.

SDK Notes:

• SDK communicates via JSON-RPC over stdio
• Starts bundled CLI process automatically in server mode
• Request timeout: 300 seconds (5 minutes) for complex multi-step operations

Connection issues:

1. Ensure you are authenticated (gh auth login)
2. Restart application

Timeout issues: For complex multi-step commands, try breaking into separate requests. Check debug logs (see Debugging section).

Detailed diagnostics are available in VS Code Debug Console:

Setup:

1. Open project in VS Code
2. Press F5 to start debugging (or Run → Start Debugging)
3. Debug Console opens automatically showing all output, filter by [CopilotService]

What You'll See:

[CopilotService] ===== Request START at 14:23:45.123 =====
[CopilotService] Stage 1 (CLI Start): 0.05s
[CopilotService] Stage 2 (Session Create): 0.12s
[CopilotService] ===== PROMPT (2345 chars) =====
[CopilotService] You are a desktop assistant...
[CopilotService] ===== END PROMPT =====
[CopilotService] Stage 3 (Sending to model)...
[CopilotService] Stage 3 (Model Response): 18.42s
[CopilotService] Total request time: 18.59s
[CopilotService] ===== RESPONSE (1234 chars) =====
[CopilotService] <complete model response>
[CopilotService] ===== END RESPONSE =====

Diagnosing Timeouts: Logs show exactly where delays occur:

• Stage 1 (CLI Start): Should be <1s after first request
• Stage 2 (Session Create): Usually <1s
• Stage 3 (Model Response): Where most time is spent (varies by complexity)

If timeout occurs:

[CopilotService] TIMEOUT after 300.12s!
[CopilotService] <timeout message>

Solution: Application uses AutoSuggestBox for text input, which avoids the cursor spacing bug that affects TextBox and RichEditBox controls in WinUI 3.

Typography: All text uses Segoe UI 16pt (standard content) with automatic Windows text scaling support.

See AGENTS.md for detailed technical analysis.

Symptom: Authentication errors or session creation failures

Diagnosis: Check debug logs (see Debugging section) for CLI startup or session errors

Resolution: Ensure CLI is properly authenticated:

gh auth login

CLI not found: The Copilot CLI is bundled with the SDK (no separate installation required)

Authentication errors:

gh auth login

Subscription errors: Verify GitHub Copilot access on your account

SDK Notes:

• SDK communicates via JSON-RPC over stdio
• Starts bundled CLI process automatically in server mode
• Request timeout: 300 seconds (5 minutes)

Self-contained deployment (required for unpackaged WinUI 3):

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64    # x64
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-arm64  # ARM64

Output: bin\Release\net11.0-windows10.0.19041.0\{runtime}\publish\

Key Dependencies:

• Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK - WinUI 3 framework
• GitHub.Copilot.SDK v0.1.24-preview.0 - Copilot integration
• Microsoft.Data.Sqlite - Persistence
• CommunityToolkit.WinUI.UI.Controls.Markdown - Message rendering
• Framework references: WindowsForms (NotifyIcon), WPF (UI Automation)

Context Detection Performance:

• Strong context (Explorer/Terminal/IDE + WSL detection): 15-30ms (no screenshot)
• Weak context (generic app): 250-400ms (includes screenshot + OCR)
• Full developer context: 500-700ms

Timeout Handling:

• SDK timeout: 300 seconds (5 minutes)
• UI timeout matches SDK
• Staged diagnostics identify bottlenecks (CLI start, session create, model response)

MIT License