GitHub Copilot: what it remembers, who owns it, and what it costs
thecontinuitylayer.com/coding-agents/github-copilotGitHub's assistant and coding agent: it can research a repository, plan changes and implement them in the background; Copilot Memory stores repository facts and your preferences.
- 1Yes
Does GitHub Copilot remember across sessions?
Yes, by GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page.
Repository instructions (.github/copilot-instructions.md, AGENTS.md) apply to every request; Copilot Memory carries facts into later interactions (public preview, paid plans).
Yes means: Persistent instructions or stored memory carry into a new session without you pasting them again.
- 2Yes
Can you see what GitHub Copilot remembered?
Yes, by GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page.
You can view your memories under your profile's Copilot settings; repository owners see repository facts in repository settings; instruction files are visible in the repository and in the chat's References list.
Yes means: A file or panel lists the stored memory.
- 3Partly
Can you edit GitHub Copilot's memory?
Partly, by GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page.
Instruction files are editable Markdown; the memory pages describe viewing and deleting memories but not editing them.
Yes means: The memory is editable by you.
- 4Yes
Can you delete or turn off GitHub Copilot's memory?
Yes, by GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page.
Memories can be deleted one at a time or in bulk; the feature can be turned off in Copilot settings or with /memory off; unused entries expire after 28 days.
Yes means: A documented way to delete it or switch it off.
- 5Partly
Does GitHub Copilot keep memory in a file you own?
Partly, by GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page.
Instructions are plain files in your repository; Copilot Memory is held by GitHub, and export is described only for Business and Enterprise administrators, not individuals.
Yes means: The memory lives in a plain file on your machine or in your repository.
- 6Yes
Does GitHub Copilot read a format other tools read?
Yes, by GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page.
Reads AGENTS.md anywhere in the repository (nearest wins), or a single root CLAUDE.md or GEMINI.md instead.
Yes means: It reads a shared convention such as AGENTS.md, so the same file works elsewhere.
- 7Yes
Does GitHub Copilot use your code for training by default?
Yes, by GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page.
The setting "Allow GitHub to use my data for AI model training" on Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max covers inputs, outputs, code snippets and context; opt out by setting it to Disabled in Copilot settings. Business and Enterprise are excluded.
Yes means: Here no is the good answer: the maker's page says your data is not used for training. Yes means it is unless you opt out; partly means it depends on the plan or the page does not give the default.
- 8Yes
What does GitHub Copilot cost?
Yes, by GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page.
Copilot Free exists with limited chat and agent use; Pro at $10 a month is the entry paid tier, then Pro+ $39 and Max $100. Copilot Memory needs a paid plan.
Yes means: A free tier exists and the entry paid price is published.
What these grades say about continuity, and what they do not.
Every grade on this site is read from the maker's own pages. The Continuity Framework asks five things of any system that carries state: that it carry, govern, evolve, prove and forget. These tests reach carry, govern, prove and forget; they do not reach evolve, which no maker's page documents in a gradeable way. A high letter is a good coding agent, not a continuity layer.
- C1 RemembersCarry
- Remembering across sessions is question C1: state outlives the session that created it.
- C2 See itProve
- Being able to see the stored memory is the smallest form of question P1: the owner can inspect what is carried.
- C3 Edit itGovern
- An editable memory means the owner, not only the agent, has write authority (question G1, in part).
- C4 Delete itForget
- Deleting or switching off memory is rung 5 of the erasure ladder for the store the agent keeps; summaries and indexes it built are not covered unless documented. Rung 5 of the erasure ladder: delete the record.
- C5 Your fileCarry
- Memory in a file you own is portability by construction: question C3 answered without an export.
- C6 PortableCarry
- Reading a shared convention such as AGENTS.md is question C2: the same file works when the agent changes.
- C7 TrainingGovern
- Not training on your code by default is a scope boundary on the maker's side: what leaves the record and where it may go.
License as stated: Proprietary; no license stated in the docs.. Every grade above is read from GitHub (Microsoft)'s own page on the day shown. If a page has changed, tell us.