Developer Credits Request: Production-Grade Copilot Agent SDK

[diegofornalha]

The GitHub Copilot CLI has powerful permission features (--allow-all-tools, --allow-all-paths) but lacks a production-grade programmatic SDK. This limits enterprise CI/CD, agent orchestration, and production deployments.

Goal: Build a production-grade SDK that surpasses Claude Agent SDK in technical capabilities.

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Key Technical Differentiators

1. Enterprise-Grade Permission System

# Advanced permission management with deny precedence
config = PermissionConfig(
    allow_all_tools=True,
    denied_tools=['shell(rm)', 'shell(sudo)'],  # Security-first
    auto_allow_system_paths=True
)

# Temporary permissions with automatic reversion
async with agent.temporary_permissions(allow_all_tools=True):
    await agent.execute("risky operation")

vs Claude SDK: Basic allowlist only, no deny rules.

2. Robust Workflow Engine

workflow = CopilotWorkflow("Deploy")
workflow.add_step("test", "run tests")
workflow.add_step("deploy", "deploy", on_failure="rollback")

results = await workflow.run(autonomous=True, on_error='rollback', max_retries=3)

vs Claude SDK: No workflow engine.

3. Production Observability

agent = CopilotAgent(
    metrics=PrometheusMetrics(port=9090),
    tracer=OpenTelemetryTracer()
)
# Automatic metrics: requests_total, duration_seconds, errors_total

vs Claude SDK: No monitoring features.

4. Testing Framework

class TestDeployment(AgentTestCase):
    async def test_workflow(self):
        with mock_tool('shell', return_value='success'):
            result = await agent.execute("deploy")
        self.assert_no_errors(result)

vs Claude SDK: No testing utilities.

5. Performance & Security

• Connection pooling, caching, parallel execution
• Audit logging, sandbox isolation, policy enforcement
• Secret management (Vault), compliance features

vs Claude SDK: Basic security only.

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Feature Comparison

Feature	Claude SDK	Copilot Agent SDK
Permission System	Basic	⭐ Deny rules + temp perms
Workflow Engine	❌ None	⭐ Rollback + retry
Agent Templates	❌ None	⭐ 5+ specialized
Testing Framework	❌ None	⭐ Mock + replay
Monitoring	❌ None	⭐ Prometheus + OpenTelemetry
Performance	Basic	⭐ Pooling + caching
Security	Basic	⭐ Audit + sandbox

---

Current Investment & Request

Already Invested (80 hours, personal Copilot Pro+ quota - $39/month):

• ✅ Discovered 5 undocumented permission flags
• ✅ 10 comprehensive flag tests
• ✅ 700+ line tutorial
• ✅ 772+ line permissions proposal
• ✅ SDK foundation (permissions, types, structure)
• ✅ Filed Issue Comprehensive Permissions System Improvements Proposal #307 (now in Epic Epic: Permissions Improvements #316)

Request: Additional Developer Credits

I currently have GitHub Copilot Pro+ ($39/month) but need additional credits for intensive SDK development:

Usage Breakdown (~1500 premium requests/month × 4 months):

• Core Development (40%): Permission testing, process management, error handling
• Testing & Validation (30%): MCP integration, memory system, performance benchmarks
• Documentation (20%): Production examples, tutorials, API reference
• Community Support (10%): Bug fixes, code review, optimization

Why Additional Credits:

• Personal Pro+ quota is insufficient for intensive development
• Testing requires hundreds of iterations per feature
• Documentation needs validated code examples
• Enterprise features require extensive validation

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Timeline & Deliverables

Month 1: v0.1.0 alpha (core agent, tests)
Month 2: v0.3.0 beta (workflows, MCP)
Month 3: v0.8.0 RC (monitoring, templates)
Month 4: v1.0.0 stable (PyPI, docs)

---

Success Metrics

• Code Quality: >80% test coverage
• Performance: <100ms SDK overhead
• Adoption: 1000+ PyPI downloads Month 1
• Better than Claude SDK: 6 unique technical advantages

---

Validation

William Martin (GitHub Staff, Epic #316 creator) confirmed in Issue #307:

"Right now I think you can achieve the overall goal here by passing --allow-all-tools and --allow-all-paths"

This validates: ✅ Features exist ✅ Need SDK wrapper ✅ Part of official roadmap

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Open Source Commitment

License: MIT
Repository: https://github.com/diegofornalha/copilot-agent-sdk-python
Transparency: Public roadmap, issues, PRs
Documentation: English + Portuguese

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Alternative Support

If additional credits aren't available:

1. Technical partnership (architecture reviews, early access)
2. Recognition (featured project, blog post)
3. Community support (developer advocate, infrastructure)

---

I'm building this regardless - additional credits would accelerate from 12+ months to 4 months and enable production-grade features.

Goal: Make Copilot CLI the platform of choice for production AI agents.

Contact: @diegofornalha
Repository: https://github.com/diegofornalha/copilot-agent-sdk-python
Related: Issue #307, Epic #316

[diegofornalha]

@williammartin Can you tell me who can help me with this?

[diegofornalha]

Update: Community-Driven Development

I'd like to clarify and strengthen this proposal:

Organization: Agentes Integrados

GitHub: https://github.com/AgentesIntegrados/

Rather than individual credits, I propose sponsoring the @AgentesIntegrados organization with GitHub Copilot Pro+ access. This enables:

Community Collaboration:

• Multiple contributors from our Brazilian tech community
• Distributed development and code review
• Faster iteration with multiple developers
• Knowledge sharing and mentorship
• Sustainable long-term maintenance

Current Team:

• Diego Fornalha (@diegofornalha) - Lead Developer, discovered undocumented flags
• Community Contributors - Additional developers from Agentes Integrados
• Growing Team - Open to community contributions globally

Updated Request

Instead of individual credits, provide:
GitHub Copilot Pro+ for the @AgentesIntegrados organization for 1 year

Benefits:
✅ Multiple developers can contribute simultaneously
✅ Faster development through parallel work
✅ Better code review with team collaboration
✅ Sustainable maintenance beyond initial release
✅ Community building around the SDK
✅ Knowledge transfer to more developers

Deliverables (Organization-backed):

• Production-ready SDK v1.0 (4 months)
• Comprehensive documentation (EN + PT-BR)
• Active maintenance and updates (1+ year)
• Community support and issue resolution
• Tutorial content and example projects
• Regular releases and improvements

Why This Is Better

For GitHub:

• Community-driven project with multiple maintainers
• More sustainable long-term
• Built-in succession planning
• Broader reach (Brazilian community + global)
• Multiple points of contact

For Users:

• Faster bug fixes (more developers)
• More examples and use cases
• Better documentation (community effort)
• Longer project lifespan
• Active community support

ROI Comparison

Organization sponsorship ($39/month × 12 = $468/year):

• 3-5 active developers
• 200+ combined hours of development
• Community-driven maintenance
• Sustainable long-term project

vs Alternative:

• Single contractor: $10,000+ for 4 months
• Internal team: $50,000+ annually
• No community building
• Higher maintenance costs

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This community-driven approach ensures the SDK becomes a sustainable, well-maintained project rather than a solo effort.

Repository will be under: https://github.com/AgentesIntegrados/copilot-agent-sdk-python

Current foundation: https://github.com/diegofornalha/copilot-agent-sdk-python (will be transferred)