GitHub retired MAI-Code-1-Flash across Copilot the same day it announced the change

Deprecation notices usually come with a countdown. This one does not. The changelog entry for MAI-Code-1-Flash is dated September 10, 2026, and says the model was deprecated across all GitHub Copilot experiences that same day. The header above the entry reads as retired, with the same date beside it.

What the entry actually removes

The table in the entry holds one model, one date, and one alternative: MAI-Code-1-Flash goes, MAI-Code-1.1-Flash takes its place. The removal covers every place where Copilot answers, which GitHub lists as Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask and agent modes, and code completions. There is no surface left where the old name still resolves.

GitHub also says that removing the deprecated model requires no action, so nothing has to be uninstalled or cleaned up. What does need attention is anything that names the model explicitly: a script that passes a model id, a stored Copilot configuration, or an integration written against the old name.

On Enterprise the replacement is a policy decision

For Copilot Enterprise the substitution is not automatic. GitHub writes that administrators may need to enable access to the alternative through their model policies in Copilot settings, and spells out the check: open your individual Copilot settings and confirm that the policy is enabled for that specific model.

Only after that does MAI-Code-1.1-Flash appear in the Copilot Chat model selector, in VS Code and on the GitHub website. Until an administrator does it, a developer inside that organization sees a model that vanished and no replacement in the picker.

• The retirement covers Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask mode, agent mode, and code completions.
• MAI-Code-1.1-Flash is the alternative GitHub names in the entry itself.
• Enterprise access runs through the model policies in Copilot settings.
• GitHub points Enterprise customers with questions to their account manager.

What the entry leaves out

The entry does not describe what happens to a request that still asks for the retired model, so whether it errors, falls back, or gets rerouted is unstated. There is no grace period either, because the deprecation date is the publication date. The entry also skips what changed between the two versions, which is the comparison anyone would want before moving other automation over.