llm-gateway/copilot-bridge

GitHub Copilot Bridge

Exposes GitHub Copilot as an OpenAI-compatible API endpoint for LLM Gateway integration.

Architecture

LLM Gateway
    ↓
copilot-bridge (port 3252)
    ↓
GitHub Copilot API Proxy (copilot-api, port 4141)
    ↓
GitHub Copilot API (requires GitHub subscription)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ installed
• GitHub Account with GitHub Copilot subscription (not free)
• GitHub CLI (for initial authentication)
• PM2 for process management (optional, but recommended)

Installation

1. Install Dependencies

cd copilot-bridge
npm install

This installs copilot-api as a dependency.

2. Authenticate with GitHub Copilot

# Method 1: Using npm script
npm run auth

# Method 2: Direct npx command
npx copilot-api@latest auth

This opens a browser window for GitHub OAuth authentication. Follow the prompts:

1. Click the authorization link
2. Approve access to GitHub Copilot API
3. The CLI will save your GitHub and Copilot tokens locally

Important: Authentication is per-machine and persists in ~/.copilot-api/ or similar directory.

3. Verify Authentication

# Check GitHub Copilot subscription and usage
npm run debug

# Or use the wrapper to verify both are working
node server.js

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Notes
COPILOT_BRIDGE_PORT	3252	Port for this wrapper
COPILOT_API_INTERNAL_PORT	4141	Internal port for copilot-api

Example .env

COPILOT_BRIDGE_PORT=3252
COPILOT_API_INTERNAL_PORT=4141

Running

Local Development

npm start

This will:

1. Start the GitHub Copilot API proxy on port 4141
2. Start the bridge wrapper on port 3252
3. Expose OpenAI-compatible /v1/chat/completions endpoint

With PM2

npm run pm2

# Or manually
pm2 start server.js --name copilot-bridge

Verify Health

curl http://localhost:3252/health

Response:

{
  "status": "ok",
  "provider": "github-copilot",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "copilot_api_port": 4141,
  "healthy": true
}

Usage

Direct API Call

curl -X POST http://localhost:3252/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-4",
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "Write a hello world function in TypeScript"
      }
    ],
    "temperature": 0.3,
    "max_tokens": 2048
  }'

Via LLM Gateway

Once integrated into the gateway:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3103/api/generate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "copilot",
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "Explain quantum computing"
      }
    ]
  }'

Integration with LLM Gateway

1. Add to external-providers.ts

export const EXTERNAL_PROVIDERS: ExternalProviderConfig = {
  // ... other providers
  copilot: {
    name: 'GitHub Copilot',
    baseUrl: 'http://localhost:3252',
    requiresAuth: false, // Auth handled internally by copilot-api
    models: ['gpt-4', 'gpt-3.5-turbo'],
    rateLimit: 60, // requests per minute
    pricing: 'subscription-based'
  }
}

2. Update ecosystem.config.cjs

{
  apps: [
    // ... other apps
    {
      name: 'copilot-bridge',
      script: '/opt/copilot-bridge/server.js',
      env: {
        COPILOT_BRIDGE_PORT: 3252,
        COPILOT_API_INTERNAL_PORT: 4141
      },
      error_file: '/var/log/llm-gateway/copilot-bridge.err.log',
      out_file: '/var/log/llm-gateway/copilot-bridge.out.log',
      log_date_format: 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss Z'
    }
  ]
}

3. Update ensure-bridges.sh

# Add copilot-bridge deployment
if [ ! -d "$COPILOT_BRIDGE_DIR" ]; then
  echo "Deploying copilot-bridge..."
  mkdir -p "$COPILOT_BRIDGE_DIR"
  cp copilot-bridge/server.js "$COPILOT_BRIDGE_DIR/"
  cp copilot-bridge/package.json "$COPILOT_BRIDGE_DIR/"
  cd "$COPILOT_BRIDGE_DIR"
  npm install
  echo "✓ copilot-bridge deployed"
fi

Provider Fallback Chain (After Integration)

Request → LLM Gateway
   ↓
1. Ollama (local)
2. claude-bridge (Claude subscription)
3. openai-bridge (OpenAI subscription)
4. copilot-bridge (GitHub Copilot subscription) ← NEW
5. cerebras (free tier)
6. groq (free tier)
7. mistral (free tier)
8. nvidia (free tier)
9. cloudflare (free tier)

Troubleshooting

Authentication Failed

# Clear cached tokens and re-authenticate
rm -rf ~/.copilot-api
npm run auth

Port Already in Use

# Find process using port 4141
lsof -i :4141

# Kill if needed
kill -9 <PID>

Copilot API Won't Start

# Test copilot-api directly
npx copilot-api@latest start --port 4141 --verbose

# Check for GitHub subscription
npm run debug

Bridge Wrapper Fails

# Check logs
pm2 logs copilot-bridge

# Test direct server start
node server.js

# Verify Node.js version
node --version  # Should be 20+

Subscription Issues

GitHub Copilot API requires an active GitHub Copilot subscription. If you see authentication errors:

1. Verify your GitHub Copilot subscription is active
2. Check payment method is valid
3. Re-authenticate: npm run auth
4. Review usage at: https://github.com/settings/copilot

Security Notes

• Authentication tokens are stored in ~/.copilot-api/ on the local machine
• Do NOT commit authentication credentials to git
• Environment variables should be set via .env or PM2 environment
• Rate limiting is per GitHub account (not per API key)
• Usage tracking is available via GitHub Copilot dashboard

Performance Characteristics

Metric	Value	Notes
Cold start	~5-10s	copilot-api initialization
Warm latency	200-500ms	Per request (varies by model)
Rate limit	60 req/min	GitHub Copilot API limit
Max tokens	2048 default	Configurable per request
Timeout	300s	Global timeout

Cost Considerations

• GitHub Copilot Individual: $10/month (monthly) or $100/year (annual)
• GitHub Copilot Business: $19/month per user
• No per-request cost once subscription is active
• Unlimited requests within rate limits

Differences from OpenAI

Aspect	Copilot	OpenAI
Auth	GitHub subscription	API key
Cost	Flat subscription	Per token
Rate limit	60 req/min	Varies by plan
Models	Limited selection	More options
Availability	GitHub-backed	Anthropic-backed

Switching Providers

If you need to switch away from Copilot:

# Stop copilot-bridge
pm2 stop copilot-bridge
pm2 delete copilot-bridge

# Gateway will fall back to next provider automatically
# Restart gateway to clear connections
pm2 restart llm-gateway

Next Steps

1. Deploy to Erik: Follow integration steps in main DEPLOYMENT-BRIDGES.md
2. Test with LLM Gateway: Verify routing works correctly
3. Monitor usage: Track GitHub Copilot API quota
4. Optimize fallback chain: Adjust provider preferences based on performance

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Last Updated: 2026-04-25 Maintained By: Rene Fichtmüller License: MIT