Getting started - GitHub Copilot SDK for Laravel

Build your first Copilot-powered Laravel command and learn the core Laravel Copilot SDK workflow.

Build your first Copilot-powered Laravel app

In this guide, you build a command-line assistant with the Laravel Copilot SDK. You start with a single prompt, then move to sessions, events, and tools.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• GitHub Copilot CLI installed and authenticated
• PHP 8.4+
• Laravel 13.x

Verify the CLI is available:

copilot --version

Install the SDK

Install the package with Composer:

composer require revolution/laravel-copilot-sdk

Optional configuration:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=copilot-config

If needed, set the CLI path in your .env:

COPILOT_CLI_PATH=copilot

Send your first message

Create a command and call Copilot::run():

<?php

namespace App\Console\Commands;

use Illuminate\Console\Command;
use Revolution\Copilot\Facades\Copilot;

class CopilotDemo extends Command
{
    protected $signature = 'copilot:demo';
    protected $description = 'Demo Copilot SDK';

    public function handle()
    {
        $response = Copilot::run(prompt: 'What is 2 + 2?');

        $this->info($response->content());
    }
}

Run the command:

php artisan copilot:demo

Keep context with sessions

Use Copilot::start() when you need multiple prompts in one conversation:

use Revolution\Copilot\Contracts\CopilotSession;
use Revolution\Copilot\Facades\Copilot;

Copilot::start(function (CopilotSession $session) {
    $response = $session->sendAndWait(prompt: 'What is 2 + 2?');
    $this->info('Answer: '.$response->content());

    $response = $session->sendAndWait(prompt: 'Now multiply that by 3');
    $this->info('Answer: '.$response->content());
});

Handle session events

Register an event handler with on() to inspect assistant messages and failures:

use Revolution\Copilot\Contracts\CopilotSession;
use Revolution\Copilot\Facades\Copilot;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\SessionEvent;

Copilot::start(function (CopilotSession $session) {
    $session->on(function (SessionEvent $event): void {
        if ($event->isAssistantMessage()) {
            $this->info($event->content());
        } elseif ($event->failed()) {
            $this->error($event->errorMessage() ?? 'Unknown error');
        }
    });

    $session->sendAndWait(prompt: 'Tell me a short Laravel joke');
});

Add a custom tool

Define a tool with a JSON schema and a handler:

use Illuminate\JsonSchema\JsonSchema;
use Revolution\Copilot\Contracts\CopilotSession;
use Revolution\Copilot\Facades\Copilot;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\SessionConfig;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\Tool;

$parameters = JsonSchema::object([
    'topic' => JsonSchema::string()
        ->description('Topic to look up')
        ->required(),
])->toArray();

$config = new SessionConfig(
    tools: [
        Tool::define(
            name: 'lookup_fact',
            description: 'Returns a fact for a topic.',
            parameters: $parameters,
            handler: function (array $params): array {
                $topic = $params['topic'] ?? '';

                return [
                    'textResultForLlm' => "Fact for {$topic}",
                    'resultType' => 'success',
                    'sessionLog' => "lookup_fact: {$topic}",
                    'toolTelemetry' => [],
                ];
            },
        ),
    ],
);

Copilot::start(function (CopilotSession $session) {
    $response = $session->sendAndWait(
        prompt: 'Use lookup_fact to tell me something about Laravel.'
    );

    $this->info($response->content());
}, config: $config);

Build an interactive assistant

Combine sessions, events, and tools into an interactive Artisan command:

<?php

namespace App\Console\Commands;

use Illuminate\Console\Command;
use Illuminate\JsonSchema\JsonSchema;
use Revolution\Copilot\Contracts\CopilotSession;
use Revolution\Copilot\Facades\Copilot;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\SessionConfig;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\SessionEvent;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\Tool;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\ToolResultObject;

use function Laravel\Prompts\error;
use function Laravel\Prompts\info;
use function Laravel\Prompts\note;
use function Laravel\Prompts\spin;
use function Laravel\Prompts\text;

class CopilotAssistant extends Command
{
    protected $signature = 'copilot:assistant';
    protected $description = 'Interactive Copilot assistant';

    public function handle()
    {
        $facts = [
            'PHP' => 'A popular general-purpose scripting language for web development.',
            'Laravel' => 'A web application framework with expressive, elegant syntax.',
            'Composer' => 'Dependency manager for PHP.',
        ];

        $parameters = JsonSchema::object([
            'topic' => JsonSchema::string()
                ->description('Topic to look up')
                ->required(),
        ])->toArray();

        $config = new SessionConfig(
            tools: [
                Tool::define(
                    name: 'lookup_fact',
                    description: 'Returns a fun fact about a given topic.',
                    parameters: $parameters,
                    handler: function (array $params) use ($facts) {
                        $topic = $params['topic'] ?? '';
                        $fact = $facts[$topic] ?? "No fact available for {$topic}.";

                        return new ToolResultObject(
                            textResultForLlm: $fact,
                            resultType: 'success',
                            sessionLog: "lookup_fact: {$topic}",
                            toolTelemetry: [],
                        );
                    },
                ),
            ],
        );

        Copilot::start(function (CopilotSession $session) {
            info('Copilot assistant');
            info("Session: {$session->id()}");
            info("Try: Use lookup_fact to tell me about Laravel");

            $session->on(function (SessionEvent $event): void {
                if ($event->isAssistantMessage()) {
                    note($event->content());
                } elseif ($event->failed()) {
                    error($event->errorMessage() ?? 'Unknown error');
                }
            });

            while (true) {
                $prompt = text(
                    label: 'You',
                    placeholder: 'Ask me anything...',
                    required: true,
                    hint: 'Ctrl+C to exit',
                );

                spin(
                    callback: fn () => $session->sendAndWait($prompt),
                    message: 'Thinking...',
                );

                echo "\n";
            }
        }, config: $config);
    }
}

Run the command:

php artisan copilot:assistant

How tools work

When you define a tool, you provide:

1. What the tool does.
2. Which parameters it accepts.
3. Which handler code should run.

Copilot decides when to call the tool based on user input. The SDK executes your handler and returns the result back to Copilot.

Explore more features

Connect to MCP servers

use Revolution\Copilot\Types\SessionConfig;

$config = new SessionConfig(
    mcpServers: [
        'github' => [
            'type' => 'http',
            'url' => 'https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/',
        ],
    ],
);

Create custom agents

use Revolution\Copilot\Types\SessionConfig;

$config = new SessionConfig(
    customAgents: [
        [
            'name' => 'pr-reviewer',
            'displayName' => 'PR Reviewer',
            'description' => 'Reviews pull requests for best practices',
            'prompt' => 'You are an expert code reviewer. Focus on security, performance, and maintainability.',
        ],
    ],
);

Customize the system message

use Revolution\Copilot\Types\SessionConfig;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\SystemMessageConfig;

$config = new SessionConfig(
    systemMessage: new SystemMessageConfig(
        content: 'You are a helpful assistant for our engineering team. Always be concise.',
    ),
);

Connect to an external CLI server

Run the Copilot CLI in server mode:

copilot --headless --port 4321

Then set the URL in .env:

COPILOT_URL=tcp://127.0.0.1:4321

When COPILOT_URL is set, the SDK connects to that server instead of starting a new CLI process.

Telemetry and observability

Configure telemetry in config/copilot.php:

'telemetry' => [
    'otlpEndpoint' => 'http://localhost:4318',
],

Or configure it directly:

use Revolution\Copilot\Facades\Copilot;
use Revolution\Copilot\Types\TelemetryConfig;

Copilot::useStdio([
    'telemetry' => new TelemetryConfig(
        otlpEndpoint: 'http://localhost:4318',
    ),
]);

Learn more

• Authentication
• MCP
• Custom providers
• Telemetry
• Session config
• SessionEvent
• Laravel Copilot SDK overview
• Official SDK repository

Next steps

Authentication

Choose the right auth method for local and CI environments.

Tools

Let Copilot call your application code.

Session config

Configure models, hooks, MCP servers, and runtime behavior.

MCP

Connect pre-built tools from MCP servers.

Custom providers

Integrate additional provider and model strategies.

Telemetry

Export traces for debugging and observability.

You now covered the core Laravel Copilot SDK flow from single prompts to tool-enabled sessions.

Source references: Laravel Copilot SDK README, Laravel Copilot SDK Getting Started, and GitHub Copilot SDK.