Using local sandboxing

About local sandboxing

Sandboxing is currently an experimental feature. To use it, start Copilot CLI with the ‑‑experimental command line option, or enter /experimental on during a session.

When you enable local sandboxing, Copilot CLI runs most of the commands and tools it invokes on your behalf inside an operating-system sandbox. After you enable local sandboxing, it is used for all your Copilot CLI sessions until you disable it, or turn it off for a specific session. If enterprise managed settings require sandboxing, you cannot disable it.

By default, sandboxed commands and tools can write within your current working directory and temporary folders. Your user profile (home) directory, along with system and tool locations are read-only. Other disk locations are blocked. In a Git repository, the rest of the repository above your current working directory is readable but not writable. Access to your local and private network is permitted, as is outbound internet access.

By default, authenticated Git and GitHub CLI (gh) operations continue to work inside the sandbox, because Copilot CLI makes your GitHub credentials available to sandboxed commands. This allows actions such as git push and gh pr create to succeed. You can turn this off in your sandbox settings.

For a conceptual overview of sandboxing in Copilot CLI, see About cloud and local sandboxes for GitHub Copilot.

Sandbox commands

You manage local sandboxing from within a Copilot CLI session using the /sandbox slash command. It has the following subcommands.

Enabling local sandboxing

To enable local sandboxing, enter the following command in an interactive Copilot CLI session:

/sandbox enable

/sandbox enable

Sandboxing starts being used immediately for the current session.

After you enable local sandboxing, it continues to be used for the current and future interactive sessions, and for programmatic sessions.

Disabling local sandboxing

If enterprise managed settings require sandboxing, you cannot disable it, and /sandbox disable is refused.

To stop using local sandboxing, enter the following command in an interactive Copilot CLI session:

/sandbox disable

/sandbox disable

Sandboxing is no longer used in the current session, or in new and restarted sessions.

Your choice of whether to use local sandboxing is saved as the sandbox.enabled setting in your personal settings file for the CLI (~/.copilot/settings.json by default).

Using sandboxing for a single session

You can use the --sandbox command line option to use sandboxing for a single session, without enabling sandboxing for your other sessions. If sandboxing is already enabled, you can disable it for a single session by using the --no-sandbox option. The --no-sandbox option cannot override enterprise managed settings that require sandboxing.

You can combine these options with the -p command line option to control sandboxing for programmatic use of the CLI. For example:

copilot --sandbox -p "PROMPT"

copilot --sandbox -p "PROMPT"

Running a single command outside the sandbox

When a command needs broader access than the sandbox allows, Copilot can request to run that single command outside the sandbox. You are shown a confirmation prompt describing the command, and it runs outside the sandbox only if you approve it; otherwise it stays sandboxed. The rest of your session remains sandboxed either way.

This behavior is enabled by default and can be turned off in your sandbox settings.

Checking whether sandboxing is being used

To check whether local sandboxing is being used for the current session, enter:

/sandbox status

/sandbox status

Copilot CLI reports whether sandboxing is enabled for the session. If your organization's managed settings require sandboxing, the status notes this too. Because the status reflects what the session actually enforces, it is the reliable way to confirm whether the commands Copilot runs are being sandboxed.

To see not only whether sandboxing is on, but exactly which paths are readable, writable, or blocked, enter /sandbox policy. For more information, see Understanding filesystem policies for local sandboxing in GitHub Copilot CLI.

You can also see sandbox status at a glance in the status line, which contains sandbox enabled when sandboxing is being used. Display of sandbox information in the status line is turned on by default. If it has been turned off, you can turn it back on:

1. Enter /statusline.
2. Move the selection down the list of options to sandbox.
3. Press Enter to toggle the setting so that it shows a check mark.

Further reading

• About cloud and local sandboxes for GitHub Copilot
• Configuring local sandbox settings