Compose prompts in VS Code. Send them to your Copilot CLI session with one click.
Why?
Writing prompts directly in the terminal is awkward. One accidental Enter and your half-finished prompt is sent. You can't easily select, rearrange, or paste code snippets. And if you're building a multi-line prompt with context from multiple files, the terminal input line just isn't built for that.
This extension lets you write your prompts in a VS Code editor — a virtual/scratch document, an untitled file, or any file you have open — and send the content (or a selection) straight into your active Copilot CLI session. You get all the editing power of VS Code (multi-cursor, find & replace, snippets) for crafting the perfect prompt, and the CLI gets the final result.
How it works
The extension pairs with a small CLI bridge extension that runs inside your Copilot CLI session. When the CLI starts, the bridge opens a local connection and registers itself. When you send text from VS Code, the extension discovers the bridge and injects your prompt into the active session using session.send() from the Copilot CLI SDK.
VS Code editor ──▶ VS Code extension ──HTTP──▶ CLI bridge extension ──session.send()──▶ Copilot CLI
The bridge is a lightweight Copilot CLI extension, which is a single .mjs file that the CLI loads automatically. No npm install required; the CLI runtime resolves @github/copilot-sdk on its own.
Getting started
1. Install the VS Code extension
Install Send to Copilot CLI from the VS Code Marketplace (or build from source).
2. Install the CLI bridge extension
Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and run:
Send to Copilot CLI: Install Bridge Extension
You'll be asked where to install:
| Location | Path | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Global | ~/.copilot/extensions/vscode-prompt-bridge/ |
Available in all projects |
| Workspace | .github/extensions/vscode-prompt-bridge/ |
Available only in this repo (can be committed) |
3. Start a CLI session
Open a terminal and start the Copilot CLI (copilot). The bridge extension loads automatically and you'll see:
🔗 VS Code prompt bridge ready
4. Send your prompt
- Open (or create) a file in VS Code (an untitled scratch file works great)
- Write your prompt
- Right-click → Send to Copilot CLI → Send Selection, or use the Command Palette
- Your prompt appears in the CLI session
Tip: If nothing is selected, the Send Selection command sends the entire file content.
Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Send Selection to Terminal | Send the current selection (or entire file) to the CLI session |
| Send File Content to Terminal | Send the full file content to the CLI session |
| Install Bridge Extension | Install the CLI bridge (global or workspace) |
| Update Bridge Extension | Update installed bridges to the latest version |
| Uninstall Bridge Extension | Remove the CLI bridge from a chosen location |
| Refresh Connection | Re-scan and reconnect to an active Copilot CLI bridge session |
All commands are available in the Command Palette under the Send to Copilot CLI: prefix and in the editor right-click context menu.
Requirements
- GitHub Copilot CLI with extension support
- The CLI bridge extension (installed via the Install Bridge Extension command)
Resources
License
MIT License. See LICENSE for details.