GitHub Copilot: Control Agents on Your Machine from Your Phone with Agent Host
GitHub CopilotGitHub introduced the Agent Host in VS Code, which isolates Copilot sessions from individual VS Code windows, so agents keep working after a project window is closed. Developers can check progress, give direction or start a new task from GitHub Mobile on an agent running on their development machine. Agents can also run on a separate machine over Remote SSH or dev tunnels.
Key Takeaways
- The Agent Host keeps Copilot sessions running after a VS Code window or project folder is closed.
- GitHub Mobile can check progress, give direction or start new tasks on an agent running on the developer's own machine.
- Setup uses
code agent host --github-environmentfrom the project folder. - Agents can run on a separate machine over Remote SSH or dev tunnels and keep running after local VS Code quits.
- The remote machine and its Agent Host must stay running for any of this to work.
- A remote agent works with the same code, tools and dependencies as the local project.
Agent Sessions That Outlive the Window
GitHub's Universe 2026 release for GitHub Copilot in VS Code introduced the Agent Host. It isolates Copilot sessions from individual VS Code windows, so work continues in the background after the project folder or window is closed. Developers can move to another task or project without losing a running session.
Control the Agent from GitHub Mobile
The Agent Host also lets a phone act as a remote control. From GitHub Mobile, a developer can check progress, give direction or start a new task on their development machine. The phone provides the controls and the agent does the work on the development machine.
To set it up, a developer opens a terminal on that machine and runs the VS Code CLI command code agent host --github-environment from the project folder. The machine and its Agent Host must stay running while it is used from the phone.
Running Agents on a Separate Machine
The Agent Host extends the existing Remote SSH and dev tunnels features of VS Code to the Agents window. A remote agent works with the same code, tools and dependencies, and can keep running when the developer disconnects or quits VS Code locally. This lets a primary development machine stay free for other work. The remote machine and its Agent Host must remain running.