github / github/copilot-cli

Support custom status line and context-window usage in the Copilot desktop app

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Description

Summary

The native GitHub Copilot desktop app does not render the custom status line or context-window footer configured in ~/.copilot/settings.json, even though the same configuration works in the terminal-hosted Copilot CLI.

Environment

  • OS: Windows
  • GitHub Copilot desktop app: 1.1.19
  • Desktop executable: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Programs\GitHub Copilot\github.exe
  • GitHub Copilot CLI: 1.0.84-4

Configuration

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File \"C:\\Users\\<user>\\.copilot\\statusline.ps1\""
  },
  "footer": {
    "showContextWindow": true,
    "showCustom": true
  }
}

The configured PowerShell command reads the status payload from stdin and prints context-token usage.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Configure statusLine.command, footer.showCustom, and footer.showContextWindow in ~/.copilot/settings.json.
  2. Start Copilot CLI from PowerShell by running copilot.
  3. Send a prompt and observe that the custom context usage (for example, 49.5k/? tokens) appears in the terminal footer.
  4. Close the terminal session and launch the native desktop app using github.exe.
  5. Open a session and send a prompt.

Actual behavior

The desktop app does not display the custom status-line output or a context-window usage indicator. The command itself is valid and works in the terminal CLI.

Expected behavior

The desktop app should either:

  1. honor statusLine.command and the relevant footer.* settings, or
  2. provide a native equivalent that continuously shows used/remaining context-window capacity for the active session.

Why this matters

Context-window visibility helps users decide when to summarize, checkpoint, or start a new session before earlier context is compacted or lost. Users moving between the terminal CLI and native desktop app should have equivalent visibility into session context usage.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by comparing the desktop app launched through github.exe with the terminal Copilot CLI behavior for ~/.copilot/settings.json. Trace how statusLine.command, footer.showCustom, and footer.showContextWindow are handled, then verify that the desktop session either renders the configured output or continuously shows context-window usage like the CLI.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
powershell
Domain
cli, desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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