Microsoft has made the Copilot Studio extension for Visual Studio Code generally available. Developers can now treat AI agents as software with version control, pull requests, and automated deployments. The extension integrates with GitHub Copilot for faster development.
Until now, teams building agents in Copilot Studio have found it difficult to apply the same development processes used in software development. As agents grow from simple chatbots to complex systems with dozens of topics and tools, source code management, change history, and controlled deployments become crucial. The VS Code extension now brings that workflow to Copilot Studio.
The extension supports a development cycle that naturally aligns with existing software development lifecycle processes. Developers can clone a complete agent definition from Copilot Studio to their local machine and then edit it in YAML format with syntax highlighting and IntelliSense. Changes to topics, tools, triggers, and knowledge references are made locally, leveraging all the ergonomics VS Code offers.
Git integration and pull requests
The extension offers standard Git integration for version control. Teams can review changes via pull requests before they are implemented, allowing multiple developers to collaborate safely without overwriting each other’s work. The extension treats agents as code and integrates them into the development workflow.
After making local changes, teams can preview what has changed, compare cloud and local versions, and resolve conflicts. Updates are then synchronized to Copilot Studio to test behavior. The extension integrates with automated deployment processes via standard Git workflows, enabling agents to be moved across environments with the same discipline as application code.
The extension enables the creation of agents with AI assistance in the same environment where code is written. Developers can use GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, or other VS Code AI assistants to draft new topics, update tools, and quickly resolve issues in agent definitions. Changes are immediately resynchronized to Copilot Studio. This results in a faster inner loop with fewer context switches.
The extension can be installed via the Visual Studio Marketplace and has now been downloaded more than 13,000 times.