Add cli_args/CLIArgs to Python and Go SDKs for cross-SDK consistency #394

Copilot · 2026-02-06T19:06:14Z

Python and Go SDKs lacked the CLI arguments pass-through option available in Node.js and .NET, preventing users from passing custom flags to the underlying Copilot CLI process.

Changes

Python SDK (cli_args: list[str])

Added field to CopilotClientOptions TypedDict
Arguments prepended before SDK-managed flags in _start_cli_server
Defensive copy via list() to prevent mutations

Go SDK (CLIArgs []string)

Added field to ClientOptions struct
Arguments prepended before SDK-managed flags in startCLIServer
Defensive copy via append([]string{}, ...) pattern

Documentation

Updated READMEs for both SDKs

Usage

# Python
client = CopilotClient({
    "cli_args": ["--custom-flag", "--debug-mode"],
    "log_level": "info"
})

// Go
client := copilot.NewClient(&copilot.ClientOptions{
    CLIArgs: []string{"--custom-flag", "--debug-mode"},
    LogLevel: "info",
})

User-provided arguments are inserted before SDK-managed flags like --headless and --no-auto-update, allowing CLI customization while preserving SDK functionality.

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

https://api.github.com/copilot_internal/user
- Triggering command: /opt/hostedtoolcache/node/22.22.0/x64/bin/node node /home/REDACTED/work/copilot-sdk/copilot-sdk/nodejs/node_modules/@github/copilot/index.js --headless --no-auto-update --log-level info --stdio (http block)
- Triggering command: /opt/hostedtoolcache/node/22.22.0/x64/bin/node node /home/REDACTED/work/copilot-sdk/copilot-sdk/nodejs/node_modules/@github/copilot/index.js --headless --no-auto-update --log-level info --stdio /usr/local/.ghcu--64 (http block)
- Triggering command: /opt/hostedtoolcache/node/22.22.0/x64/bin/node node /home/REDACTED/work/copilot-sdk/copilot-sdk/nodejs/node_modules/@github/copilot/index.js --headless --no-auto-update --log-level info --stdio x64/pkg/tool/lin--64 (http block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Cant pass CLI arguments in python module, despite possible in Node.js module</issue_title>
<issue_description>CopilotClientOptions.cliArgs field in nodejs module is not available in the py module equivalent object. An SDK inconsistency.</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Fixes Cant pass CLI arguments in python module, despite possible in Node.js module #381

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Co-authored-by: friggeri <106686+friggeri@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a cross-SDK “pass extra Copilot CLI flags” option to the Python and Go SDKs, aligning them with existing Node.js and .NET capabilities when spawning the Copilot CLI JSON-RPC server.

Changes:

Python: introduce cli_args: list[str] in CopilotClientOptions, defensively copied and prepended to SDK-managed CLI flags when starting the CLI process.
Go: introduce CLIArgs []string in ClientOptions, defensively copied and prepended to SDK-managed CLI flags when starting the CLI process.
Docs + unit tests added/updated for both SDKs.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
python/copilot/types.py	Adds `cli_args` option to Python client options type.
python/copilot/client.py	Copies `cli_args` into stored options and prepends them when spawning the CLI server.
python/test_client.py	Adds unit tests validating default, acceptance, and defensive copying of `cli_args`.
python/README.md	Documents `cli_args` option.
go/types.go	Adds `CLIArgs` to Go `ClientOptions`.
go/client.go	Defensively copies `CLIArgs` into options and prepends them when spawning the CLI server.
go/client_test.go	Adds unit tests for default behavior, acceptance, empty slice handling, and defensive copying.
go/README.md	Documents `CLIArgs` option.

github-actions · 2026-02-10T17:52:08Z

✅ Cross-SDK Consistency Review

I've reviewed this PR for cross-language SDK consistency. Overall, this is an excellent consistency improvement that successfully brings Python and Go SDKs to feature parity with Node.js and .NET.

✅ What's Great

Perfect API naming: Each SDK follows its language conventions correctly:
- Node.js: cliArgs (camelCase)
- Python: cli_args (snake_case)
- Go: CLIArgs (PascalCase)
- .NET: CliArgs (PascalCase)
Consistent behavior: All SDKs prepend user args before SDK-managed flags in the same way
Defensive copying: Both Python and Go properly create defensive copies to prevent external mutations (matching the repository's defensive copying pattern)
Good documentation: READMEs updated with consistent descriptions
Excellent test coverage: Python (3 tests) and Go (4 tests) both have comprehensive unit tests including edge cases

📊 Minor Observation: Test Coverage Disparity

This PR actually improves the overall consistency of the repository by adding unit tests for the new implementations. However, there's now a slight testing inconsistency:

✅ Python SDK: Has unit tests for cli_args
✅ Go SDK: Has unit tests for CLIArgs
⚠️ Node.js SDK: No unit tests for cliArgs (existed before this PR)
⚠️ .NET SDK: No unit tests for CliArgs (existed before this PR)

This is not a blocker for this PR since you're not responsible for the Node.js/.NET implementations, but it's worth noting for future work that Node.js and .NET could benefit from similar unit test coverage.

✅ Recommendation

Approve and merge. This PR successfully resolves the SDK inconsistency reported in issue #381 and follows all cross-language consistency best practices.

AI generated by SDK Consistency Review Agent

Initial plan

9d8a932

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and friggeri Feb 6, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of friggeri February 6, 2026 19:06 View session

Copilot AI and others added 4 commits February 6, 2026 19:10

Add cli_args field to Python SDK for consistency with Node.js and .NET

9e40ff5

Co-authored-by: friggeri <106686+friggeri@users.noreply.github.com>

Add CLIArgs field to Go SDK for complete cross-SDK consistency

73f43b1

Co-authored-by: friggeri <106686+friggeri@users.noreply.github.com>

Fix Go CLIArgs to create defensive copy and add test for slice isolation

bf71145

Co-authored-by: friggeri <106686+friggeri@users.noreply.github.com>

Fix trailing whitespace issues in Python and Go code

2216ac9

Co-authored-by: friggeri <106686+friggeri@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Fix CLI arguments handling in Python module~~ Add cli_args/CLIArgs to Python and Go SDKs for cross-SDK consistency Feb 6, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from friggeri February 6, 2026 19:17

Copilot finished work on behalf of friggeri February 6, 2026 19:17

friggeri marked this pull request as ready for review February 10, 2026 17:48

friggeri requested a review from a team as a code owner February 10, 2026 17:48

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 10, 2026 17:48

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of friggeri February 10, 2026 17:49 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 10, 2026

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Add cli_args/CLIArgs to Python and Go SDKs for cross-SDK consistency #394

Add cli_args/CLIArgs to Python and Go SDKs for cross-SDK consistency #394

Copilot AI commented Feb 6, 2026 •

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Add cli_args/CLIArgs to Python and Go SDKs for cross-SDK consistency #394

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Changes

Usage

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Pull request overview

Reviewed changes

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github-actions bot commented Feb 10, 2026

✅ Cross-SDK Consistency Review

✅ What's Great

📊 Minor Observation: Test Coverage Disparity

✅ Recommendation

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Copilot AI commented Feb 6, 2026 •

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