github / github/copilot-cli

Branch picker should show local branches, not only remote branches

Open
#3,905 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
area:sessions
Dominant language
Shell
Stars
11.2k
Forks
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Avg merge
14h 16m
Merged PRs (30d)
6

Description

## Description

When creating a new session in the Copilot CLI app, the branch picker only lists branches from GitHub (remote). Local-only branches that haven't been pushed are not visible.

## Use case

A common developer workflow is to work on a local branch first and push to remote only when the work is done. Currently this workflow is not supported because:

1. You create a local branch and start working
2. You want to open a Copilot CLI session based on that branch
3. The branch doesn't appear in the picker because it hasn't been pushed yet

## Expected behavior

The branch picker should list both local and remote branches, allowing users to base their session on a local branch without having to push it first.

## Current behavior

Only remote (GitHub) branches are shown in the branch picker.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

No file or test is named. Start by locating the Copilot CLI session-creation branch picker and trace how its branch data is loaded. Update the picker so local-only and remote branches are both available, then run the relevant CLI tests or manually verify a session can be based on an unpushed local branch.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
git, github, shell
Domain
cli
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
65/100

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