@george.talusan/node-red-contrib-copilot

Embed GitHub Copilot into your Node-RED flows. Send prompts and file attachments to any Copilot model and wire the response into the rest of your automation.

Built on the @github/copilot-sdk — the same engine that powers Copilot CLI.

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Requirements

GitHub Copilot subscription

A GitHub Copilot subscription is required. A free tier with limited usage is available — see GitHub Copilot pricing.

Authentication

Two methods are supported:

Method	When to use
OAuth (default)	You are logged in via gh auth login or the Copilot CLI on the host machine
Fine-grained PAT	Headless / containerised deployments; token must have the Copilot Requests permission

⚠️ Classic PATs with the copilot scope do not work. You must use a fine-grained PAT with Copilot Requests permission.

Node.js

Node.js v20 or later is required (matches the @github/copilot-sdk minimum). The @github/copilot CLI binary bundled with the SDK is a native binary that requires a glibc-based (non-musl) environment.

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Docker

The recommended container is:

nodered/node-red:latest-debian

This image provides:

• Node-RED (latest stable)
• Node.js v20 — meets the @github/copilot-sdk minimum requirement
• Debian (glibc) — the CLI binary is dynamically linked against glibc; Alpine/musl images are not supported

⚠️ Do not use Alpine-based images (nodered/node-red:latest). The bundled Copilot CLI binary requires glibc and will not run on musl libc.

Quick start

docker run -d \
  --name nodered \
  -p 1880:1880 \
  -v /your/data:/data \
  nodered/node-red:latest-debian

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Installation

Via the Node-RED Palette Manager

Search for @george.talusan/node-red-contrib-copilot in the Palette Manager and click Install.

If you are publishing your own fork or a renamed package, note that the Node-RED Flow Library does not auto-index npm packages. After publishing, submit it manually at https://flows.nodered.org/add/node.

Via npm (inside your Node-RED data directory)

cd /your/node-red/data
npm install @george.talusan/node-red-contrib-copilot

In Docker

docker exec nodered npm install @george.talusan/node-red-contrib-copilot --prefix /data
docker restart nodered

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Nodes

copilot-config (configuration node)

Holds credentials and connection settings. Referenced by one or more copilot nodes.

Field	Description
Name	Label for this configuration
Auth method	oauth — use locally stored gh credentials; token — use a fine-grained PAT
Token	Fine-grained PAT with Copilot Requests permission (only when auth method is token)
CLI Path	Override the path to the copilot binary (leave blank to use the bundled binary)
CLI URL	Connect to an external CLI server instead of spawning a local process

copilot (prompt node)

Sends a prompt to GitHub Copilot and emits the response.

Inputs

Property	Type	Description
msg.payload	string	Plain string used as the prompt
msg.payload	object	{ prompt: string, attachments: Attachment[] }
msg.attachments	Attachment[]	Merged with any attachments in msg.payload
msg.model	string	Override the model for this message only

Attachment formats

// File path (passed directly to the SDK)
{ type: "file", path: "/absolute/path/to/file.png" }

// Base64-encoded data
{ type: "base64", data: "<base64 string>", name: "image.jpg" }

// Node.js Buffer
{ type: "buffer", data: Buffer.from(...), name: "file.bin" }

// Shorthand — type is inferred as "file"
{ path: "/absolute/path/to/file.txt" }

Outputs

Output	Property	Type	Description
1 — Response	msg.payload	string	The assistant's response text
	msg.sessionId	string	Copilot session ID
	msg.events	array	All events emitted during the session
2 — Error	msg.payload	string	Error message
	msg.error	Error	The error object

Node configuration

Field	Description
Config	Select a copilot-config node
Model	Dynamically populated from the API — shows token cost multiplier, e.g. claude-haiku-4.5 (0x)
Reasoning	Reasoning effort hint: low, medium, high, xhigh (model-dependent)
Timeout	Request timeout in milliseconds (default: 60,000)

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Architecture

Node-RED flow
      ↓
 copilot node
      ↓
@github/copilot-sdk (Node.js)
      ↓  JSON-RPC
Copilot CLI (bundled, spawned as subprocess)
      ↓  HTTPS
GitHub Copilot API

The SDK manages the CLI process lifecycle automatically. The CLI binary is bundled with the @github/copilot package (a dependency of @github/copilot-sdk) and is resolved automatically at startup — no manual PATH configuration needed.

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Example flow

The example flow used in this README is included in the repository under examples/copilot-test-flow.json.

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Development

git clone https://github.com/gtalusan/node-red-contrib-copilot
cd node-red-contrib-copilot
npm install

# Unit tests (mocked, no API key required)
npm test

# Integration tests (real API — requires a fine-grained PAT)
GITHUB_TOKEN=<your-fine-grained-pat> npm run test:integration

Deploying to Docker during development

npm pack
cp george.talusan-node-red-contrib-copilot-*.tgz ~/your/node-red/data/
docker exec nodered npm install /data/george.talusan-node-red-contrib-copilot-*.tgz --prefix /data
docker restart nodered

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Dependencies

Package	Role
@github/copilot-sdk 0.1.30	Copilot client — session management, model listing, prompt dispatch
@github/copilot	Copilot CLI binary (bundled, installed transitively via the SDK)

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Billing

Each prompt counts against your Copilot premium request quota. The model dropdown shows each model's cost multiplier (e.g. (0x) = free/included, (1x) = one premium request). See Requests in GitHub Copilot for details.

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License

ISC

Icon derived from primer/octicons — MIT License © GitHub, Inc.