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Runtime overview

Asymptote supports GitHub Copilot CLI through MDM-managed OpenTelemetry export to the local OTLP HTTP receiver, plus offline polling of Copilot’s local session records.

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Prerequisites

Before enabling GitHub Copilot CLI telemetry, make sure:
  • GitHub Copilot CLI is installed and available as the copilot executable for the user or managed endpoint.
  • beacon endpoint install has run so the local collector, endpoint config, and runtime log path exist.
  • The Copilot CLI launch environment sets COPILOT_OTEL_ENABLED=true.
  • The Copilot CLI launch environment sets OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://127.0.0.1:4318 or COPILOT_OTEL_ENDPOINT=http://127.0.0.1:4318.
  • Copilot CLI is restarted after launch-environment changes so new sessions use the updated settings.
  • For local session backfill, Copilot CLI has written sessions under ~/.copilot/session-state.

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Collection path

GitHub Copilot CLI exports OTLP HTTP telemetry to Asymptote’s local collector. Asymptote normalizes Copilot spans into endpoint events for prompt submission, session activity, tool invocation, and approval-like permission activity. Asymptote can also read committed session records from ~/.copilot/session-state through beacon endpoint copilot sync. Polling backfills assistant text, complete tool results, command and file activity, and Copilot’s persisted token usage. Every event from that path is marked harness.collection_method=poll, so readers can tell it was observed after Copilot committed the record rather than during the live tool call. Copilot CLI metrics are filtered from the local runtime JSONL log by default so endpoint timelines stay focused on user and agent activity. Use --include-runtime-metrics during install or repair only when you need low-level Copilot metrics for troubleshooting.

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Discovery and status

Asymptote detects GitHub Copilot CLI through the copilot executable or ~/.copilot/config.json. Use beacon endpoint discover or beacon endpoint status to confirm that Copilot CLI is present and exporting to Asymptote’s local OTLP HTTP receiver. Use beacon endpoint copilot status to inspect local session files and see how far the poll cursor has collected them. Asymptote reports Copilot CLI telemetry as configured only when COPILOT_OTEL_ENABLED is truthy and the effective OTLP endpoint points to localhost or 127.0.0.1. If COPILOT_OTEL_FILE_EXPORTER_PATH is configured, Asymptote reports Copilot as misconfigured because the file exporter bypasses the local OTLP collector.

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Install or configuration support

beacon endpoint install prepares the collector, endpoint config, and runtime log paths. Copilot CLI telemetry is configured outside Asymptote through MDM, shell profile management, or another customer-owned launch policy. Do not add Copilot CLI to the --harness list. If copilot, copilot_cli, or github_copilot is passed to beacon endpoint install --harness or beacon endpoint repair --harness, Asymptote reports that Copilot CLI telemetry is MDM-managed instead of writing Copilot configuration directly. Configure Copilot CLI’s launch environment to export to the local OTLP HTTP receiver:
Configure Copilot CLI's launch environment to export to the local OTLP HTTP receiver
If your deployment intentionally captures GenAI message content from Copilot telemetry, also configure:
If your deployment intentionally captures GenAI message content from Copilot telemetry, also configure
For a one-command local validation flow, see Test GitHub Copilot CLI telemetry.

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Telemetry coverage

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Deployment notes

Copilot CLI currently exports OTLP over HTTP, not gRPC. Point it at Asymptote’s HTTP receiver, usually http://127.0.0.1:4318, or the custom --otlp-http-port used by your endpoint install. Asymptote validates the effective Copilot environment but does not write Copilot shell profiles or ~/.copilot/config.json. Keep Copilot CLI outside the default Asymptote harness list, and deploy its environment settings with the same MDM or shell-management mechanism you use to launch Copilot. To backfill local session records, schedule beacon endpoint copilot sync in the logged-in user’s context or leave it running with --watch. Nothing sweeps on its own.

Supported agent harnesses

Return to the runtime support overview.

Endpoint install

Configure the local collector before enabling Copilot CLI export.

beacon endpoint copilot

Backfill local Copilot CLI session records.