Integrating Copilot SDK into Existing Projects

Add Copilot SDK AI features to an existing application.

Project Analysis

Detect the project type by scanning for indicator files:

Study Template Patterns

Read the template via MCP for reference implementation:

github-mcp-server-get_file_contents with owner: "azure-samples", repo: "copilot-sdk-service". Read AGENTS.md first.

Use github-mcp-server-get_file_contents with owner: "github", repo: "copilot-sdk" for current SDK API examples. If context7 is available, you can also use it (context7-resolve-library-id then context7-query-docs). If context7 is not available, instruct the user to install it: npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp@latest.

Integration Steps

1. Add SDK dependency

2. Create Copilot endpoint

Add a route (e.g., /api/chat) that creates a CopilotClient, starts a session, and returns the response. Use sendAndWait for one-shot or SSE streaming for chat.

Adapt to the app's existing routing pattern (Express router, FastAPI route, etc.).

3. Configure authentication

Use gh auth token for local dev; for production, use Key Vault.

4. Wire into existing app

Register the new route with the existing server/app instance. Do NOT create a separate server.

⚠️ Warning: Do not duplicate server startup logic.

BYOM Support

If the user wants Azure BYOM, add on top of standard integration:

1. Add @azure/identity dependency
2. Get fresh token per request: credential.getToken("https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default")
3. Pass provider config with bearerToken to createSession
4. Set model to Azure deployment name (required)
5. Set env vars: AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT, MODEL_NAME

See Azure Model Configuration.

Testing

curl -s -X POST http://localhost:<port>/api/chat \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message":"test"}'

Errors