GPT-6 Astra is generally available in GitHub Copilot

THE NEWS

What happened

GitHub has officially released OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra as a generally available model within its Copilot ecosystem. Designed specifically for long-horizon autonomous coding and agentic tasks, this new model distinguishes itself through internal planning, validation, and result confirmation before task completion. It is now accessible to Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise users across a wide array of development environments including Visual Studio Code, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, and GitHub's mobile apps.

CONTEXT

Why it matters

GitHub Copilot has integrated OpenAI's latest general-purpose model, GPT-6 Astra, which is now generally available. This advanced AI is engineered for long-horizon autonomous coding and complex agentic tasks. Unlike previous iterations, GPT-6 Astra excels by planning and validating its own workflow in real-time, batching diagnoses with verification, and independently confirming results before marking a task complete. Internal testing indicates this approach yields stronger performance on extended coding projects with fewer steps. The model is accessible to Copilot Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise subscribers. You can select GPT-6 Astra directly from the model picker in your favorite development environments, including Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, Eclipse, and via the GitHub Copilot CLI or mobile apps on iOS and Android. For administrators managing Copilot Enterprise or Business plans, access to GPT-6 Astra can be controlled through the model policy settings in Copilot. By default, new models like this are enabled automatically unless an administrator has explicitly turned off global defaults or disabled the specific model. Due to the scale of the update, the rollout is gradual; if you do not see the option immediately, please check back soon as availability expands.

AT A GLANCE

Key facts

• GPT-6 Astra from OpenAI is now generally available in GitHub Copilot.
• The model specializes in long-horizon, autonomous coding and agentic tasks.
• Internal testing showed GPT-6 Astra plans and validates work as it goes, batching diagnosis with verification.
• It independently confirms results before declaring a task done, leading to stronger performance on complex tasks.
• Availability includes Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, Copilot CLI, GitHub Copilot coding agent, GitHub Copilot app, github.com, GitHub Mobile, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, and Eclipse.
• The rollout is gradual; users not seeing it yet should check back soon.
• Copilot Enterprise and Business administrators can manage access via model policy settings.
• New models are enabled automatically unless an administrator explicitly disables them.