The GitHub Copilot app can now sandbox local sessions, but the setting is off by default

GitHub added local sandboxing to the Copilot app on September 23, 2026. It applies to sessions that work on a local repository or working tree, and it restricts the files, network resources, and credentials an agent's commands can reach. The point is to limit the damage from a command nobody intended to run.

What a project sandbox controls

Each project gets its own policy in three parts. For the filesystem, you set extra read-write folders, extra read-only folders, and denied folders. For the network, you allow or block outbound internet and local network access. For credentials, you decide whether Git credentials for HTTPS operations and GitHub CLI credentials are available inside the session.

If the operating system cannot enforce the requested policy, the sandboxed shell stops with an error instead of running without a sandbox. Enterprise-managed settings can make the effective policy stricter than the project's own.

Why the default matters

Sandboxing is off by default. You turn it on under the project's settings with Sandbox new sessions, and it applies only to sessions started after that. For a session already running, /sandbox on enables it without changing the project default.

The scope has limits worth knowing before you rely on it. Cloud sandbox sessions and sessions on a remote host are not covered. The Copilot app and Copilot CLI keep separate sandbox settings, so enabling one does not protect the other. GitHub labels the feature a public preview that may change.

Agent traces for administrators

Since September 22, 2026, the app can export agent activity through OpenTelemetry, an open-source observability framework. Administrators enable it with the telemetry property in the enterprise's managed-settings.json and point it at an endpoint. The traces follow a session step by step, including requests to models and the tools the agent used. Prompt and response content is excluded unless an administrator turns content capture on.

Code review settings on every plan

Personal settings for Copilot code review used to exist only on Copilot Pro, Pro+, and Max. As of September 23, 2026, a dedicated code review settings page is available on every plan, including Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise, and the change is generally available.

• Automatic review can run when you open a pull request, coauthor one, or move one out of draft.
• Separate switches cover new pushes and draft pull requests.
• The default review effort is Lite or Balanced, and you can still pick another level when requesting a review by hand.
• Enterprise administrators can set one default effort for organization-owned repositories, which organizations and repositories can override.