Installation

System Requirements

Requirement	Version
Node.js	Latest LTS (v22+)
GitHub Copilot	Business or Enterprise subscription
`gh` CLI	Optional — for GitHub issue input
pnpm	Optional — for monorepo development

Install Methods

npm install -g @copilot-swarm/core

After installation, the swarm binary is available globally:

swarm --version
swarm --help

npx @copilot-swarm/core "Your task description"

This downloads and runs the latest version without a permanent install.

pnpm add -g @copilot-swarm/core

git clone https://github.com/urbanisierung/copilot-swarm.git
cd copilot-swarm
pnpm install
pnpm turbo build

# Run from source
pnpm --filter @copilot-swarm/core start -- "Your task"

Authentication

Copilot Swarm uses the GitHub Copilot SDK, which requires an active Copilot subscription.

Local development

The Copilot SDK authenticates through your existing GitHub Copilot setup. If you can use Copilot in VS Code, you’re good to go.

CI / GitHub Actions

For automation, you need a Copilot CLI token:

Go to Organization Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens (Classic)
Select the copilot scope (specifically copilot:cli if visible)
Add the token as a repository secret named COPILOT_CLI_TOKEN

- uses: urbanisierung/copilot-swarm/action@main
  env:
    COPILOT_CLI_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.COPILOT_CLI_TOKEN }}
  with:
    command: run
    prompt: "Add dark mode toggle"

Verify Installation

# Check version
swarm --version

# Run a simple task
swarm task "Add a hello world endpoint to the API"

The TUI dashboard should appear showing agent progress. If you see errors about authentication, ensure your Copilot subscription is active.