So, GitHub just dropped a massive update for Copilot, and honestly, it’s about time. If you’ve been feeling like your AI pair programmer has the memory of a goldfish, today is your lucky day.
They officially launched Agentic Memory into public preview.
Basically, Copilot can now remember things about your specific repository without you having to re-explain the same context every five minutes. It’s a huge shift from a generic autocomplete tool to something that actually understands the "vibe" of your codebase.
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What’s the deal with GitHub Copilot News Today?
The big headline for January 15, 2026, is that Copilot Memory is now available for all paid plans.
Think about how much time you waste telling an AI, "No, use our custom internal library for that," or "We don't use semi-colons here." It's exhausting. This update allows the model to retain those details.
According to the latest GitHub Changelog, these memories are repository-specific. They’re validated against your current code before being used, so it shouldn't hallucinate a function you deleted three weeks ago. Also, they expire after 28 days. This is actually a smart move because codebases move fast; you don't want the AI clinging to "memory" of a legacy architecture you've already refactored into oblivion.
The Models are Shuffling (Again)
If you’re a power user who loves switching between LLMs, there’s some bittersweet news in the mix.
GitHub is doing some housecleaning on their model garden. On February 17, 2026, they are deprecating several older models to make room for the new guard.
- GPT-5 is being swapped for GPT-5.2.
- Claude Opus 4.1 is moving to Claude Opus 4.5.
- Gemini 2.5 Pro is getting bumped for Gemini 3 Pro.
It’s just the nature of the beast. If your workflow depends on a specific quirk of an older version, you've got about a month to migrate. Honestly, GPT-5.2-Codex is now generally available as of this week, and the performance gains in logical reasoning are pretty hard to ignore.
BYOK: Bring Your Own Key Gets Better
For the enterprise folks who are paranoid about data (and rightfully so), the Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) feature just got a serious facelift.
You can now connect API keys from AWS Bedrock and Google AI Studio.
This is kind of a game-changer for companies that already have deep contracts with Amazon or Google but want the GitHub interface. They even added support for the Responses API, which allows for streaming. No more staring at a loading spinner for ten seconds while the model thinks—it starts typing immediately.
Copilot CLI and the "OpenCode" Move
This part is a bit more "underground" but super cool. GitHub just officially blessed OpenCode.
If you haven't heard of it, OpenCode is a terminal-based coding agent that has been a favorite for people who hate IDE bloat. Before today, using Copilot with it was sort of a gray area that could get your account flagged for "unusual activity."
Now? It’s official.
If you have a Copilot subscription, you can use it inside OpenCode without fear of the ban hammer. It's a clear signal that GitHub wants Copilot to be a platform, not just a VS Code plugin. They’re letting it live wherever you actually work.
The New CLI Agents
The GitHub Copilot CLI also got a massive upgrade on January 14. They introduced specialized agents that you can call directly from your terminal:
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- /explore: For fast codebase analysis when you're jumping into a new repo.
- /task: To run tests and builds automatically.
- /plan: This one is my favorite. It analyzes your dependencies and writes an implementation plan before touching a single line of code.
Is It Worth the Upgrade?
GitHub also quietly introduced a Pro+ tier recently at $39/month.
You get 1,500 premium requests and access to GitHub Spark, which is their "micro-app" creator. If you're just a hobbyist, the $10 Pro plan is still the sweet spot. But if you're a lead dev managing complex migrations, the "Agentic Memory" and higher rate limits on the Pro+ tier might actually pay for themselves in saved sanity.
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to make the most of today's updates, here is what you should actually do:
- Enable Memory: Go into your Copilot settings and toggle the "Agentic Memory" preview. Start by asking it to remember a specific architectural pattern in your main repo.
- Check Your Models: If you are using a specific model in VS Code, check the dropdown. If you're still on GPT-5, start testing GPT-5.2-Codex today so you aren't surprised when the February deprecation hits.
- Try the CLI Agents: Open your terminal and run
copilot /plan. Give it a complex prompt like "Refactor our auth logic to use the new SDK" and watch it map out the file changes. It’s way more reliable than just asking the chat window. - Update VS Code: The January 2026 (v1.109) Insiders build just added better terminal streaming. If your terminal output used to be chunky, the new inline streaming makes it feel much smoother.