GitHub releases Copilot SDK in technical preview, and... - Azure Daily Minute Podcast - 15-JAN-2026

#CopilotSDK #SDK #VisualStudio #Copilot -- GitHub releases Copilot SDK in technical preview, and Visual Studio adds Copilot Memories for team preferences.

Hello, this is Nick Hauenstein, and welcome to your Azure Daily Minute for Thursday, January 15th, 2026.

Yesterday, GitHub released the Copilot SDK in technical preview. The SDK provides programmatic access to GitHub Copilot CLI capabilities through language-specific libraries for Node.js/TypeScript, Python, Go, and .NET. Key features include multi-turn conversations for context-aware interactions, custom tool definition for model invocation, and full lifecycle control for managing client and session programmatically. Previously, developers had to interact with Copilot CLI manually. The Copilot SDK enables automation and integration of Copilot capabilities into applications and workflows.

Today, Visual Studio announced Copilot Memories, a feature that captures and shares coding preferences and project guidelines automatically. Copilot now detects team preferences during prompts and offers confirmation nudges before saving memories. Preferences can be stored in personal user files or version-controlled repo-level files. Previously, teams relied on manual documentation and code reviews to enforce standards. The feature helps maintain consistency and simplifies onboarding for new team members. Visual Studio is Microsoft's integrated development environment for building applications across platforms.

That wraps up the Azure Daily Minute for Thursday, January 15th, 2026. Until next time, take care and go build great things!

More Information:
https://github.blog/changelog/2026-01...
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/visual...