Copilot cloud sessions follow you across surfaces

GitHub's changelog for 28 October 2026 says the connected Copilot cloud experience, and its cloud sandboxes, are generally available on paid Copilot plans. The rollout starts that day. You can start a session on github.com, GitHub Mobile, the Copilot CLI, the Copilot app, Visual Studio Code, or from Slack or Microsoft Teams, then continue the same session on another surface. GitHub says each surface shows the same session list.

By default, a session runs in a cloud sandbox on GitHub-managed infrastructure, separate from your computer. GitHub says sandboxes have no one-hour cap on total running time. When a sandbox shuts down, it saves a snapshot so you can resume later. Billing for cloud sandbox usage begins in November 2026. That usage draws from the included Actions entitlement, which GitHub now describes as one shared dollar-based pool for standard hosted runners, these sandboxes, and, on Team and Enterprise Cloud, larger hosted runners. Copilot Free keeps Copilot Chat on github.com and GitHub Mobile. The updated cloud experience requires a paid plan.

Access follows the Copilot setting named "Copilot in the cloud." If you lack write access to a repository, Copilot there is read-only. Chat sessions are scoped to one organization, or to your personal repositories, by default.

Who it's for: someone on a paid Copilot plan who wants a coding session that is not tied to the laptop that started it.

Fits: Best for Vibe Coding. GitHub Copilot stays fourth. OpenAI Codex stays third for a cloud agent and a GitHub loop you choose on purpose. A sandbox on the Copilot seat does not move that order. The coding guide still starts from the artifact you will review. The verdict is unchanged.