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Copilot SDK for Java - Documentation

⚠️ Disclaimer: This is an unofficial, community-driven SDK and is not supported or endorsed by GitHub. Use at your own risk.

This guide covers common use cases for the Copilot SDK for Java. For complete API details, see the Javadoc.

Table of Contents


Basic Usage

Create a client, start a session, and send a message:

import com.github.copilot.sdk.*;
import com.github.copilot.sdk.json.*;

try (var client = new CopilotClient()) {
    client.start().get();

    var session = client.createSession(
        new SessionConfig().setModel("gpt-4.1")
    ).get();

    var response = session.sendAndWait("Explain Java records in one sentence").get();
    System.out.println(response.getData().getContent());

    session.close();
}

The client manages the connection to the Copilot CLI. Sessions are independent conversations that can run concurrently.


Handling Responses

Simple Request-Response

For straightforward interactions, use sendAndWait():

var response = session.sendAndWait("What is the capital of France?").get();
System.out.println(response.getData().getContent());

Event-Based Processing

For more control, subscribe to events and use send():

var done = new CompletableFuture<Void>();

// Type-safe event handlers (recommended)
session.on(AssistantMessageEvent.class, msg -> {
    System.out.println("Response: " + msg.getData().getContent());
});

session.on(SessionErrorEvent.class, err -> {
    System.err.println("Error: " + err.getData().getMessage());
});

session.on(SessionIdleEvent.class, idle -> {
    done.complete(null);
});

session.send("Tell me a joke").get();
done.get(); // Wait for completion

You can also use a single handler for all events:

session.on(event -> {
    switch (event) {
        case AssistantMessageEvent msg -> 
            System.out.println("Response: " + msg.getData().getContent());
        case SessionErrorEvent err -> 
            System.err.println("Error: " + err.getData().getMessage());
        case SessionIdleEvent idle -> 
            done.complete(null);
        default -> { }
    }
});

Key Event Types

Event Description
AssistantMessageEvent Complete assistant response
AssistantMessageDeltaEvent Streaming chunk (when streaming enabled)
SessionIdleEvent Session finished processing
SessionErrorEvent An error occurred

For the complete list of all 33 event types, see Event Types Reference below.


Event Types Reference

The SDK supports 33 event types organized by category. All events extend AbstractSessionEvent.

Session Events

Event Type String Description
SessionStartEvent session.start Session has started
SessionResumeEvent session.resume Session was resumed
SessionIdleEvent session.idle Session finished processing, ready for input
SessionErrorEvent session.error An error occurred in the session
SessionInfoEvent session.info Informational message from the session
SessionShutdownEvent session.shutdown Session is shutting down (includes reason and exit code)
SessionModelChangeEvent session.model_change The model was changed mid-session
SessionHandoffEvent session.handoff Session handed off to another agent
SessionTruncationEvent session.truncation Context was truncated due to limits
SessionSnapshotRewindEvent session.snapshot_rewind Session rewound to a previous snapshot
SessionUsageInfoEvent session.usage_info Token usage information
SessionCompactionStartEvent session.compaction_start Context compaction started (infinite sessions)
SessionCompactionCompleteEvent session.compaction_complete Context compaction completed

Assistant Events

Event Type String Description
AssistantTurnStartEvent assistant.turn_start Assistant began processing
AssistantIntentEvent assistant.intent Assistant's detected intent
AssistantReasoningEvent assistant.reasoning Full reasoning content (reasoning models)
AssistantReasoningDeltaEvent assistant.reasoning_delta Streaming reasoning chunk
AssistantMessageEvent assistant.message Complete assistant message
AssistantMessageDeltaEvent assistant.message_delta Streaming message chunk
AssistantTurnEndEvent assistant.turn_end Assistant finished processing
AssistantUsageEvent assistant.usage Token usage for this turn

Tool Events

Event Type String Description
ToolUserRequestedEvent tool.user_requested User requested a tool invocation
ToolExecutionStartEvent tool.execution_start Tool execution started
ToolExecutionProgressEvent tool.execution_progress Tool execution progress update
ToolExecutionPartialResultEvent tool.execution_partial_result Partial result from tool
ToolExecutionCompleteEvent tool.execution_complete Tool execution completed

User Events

Event Type String Description
UserMessageEvent user.message User sent a message
PendingMessagesModifiedEvent pending_messages.modified Pending message queue changed

Subagent Events

Event Type String Description
SubagentStartedEvent subagent.started Subagent was spawned
SubagentSelectedEvent subagent.selected Subagent was selected for task
SubagentCompletedEvent subagent.completed Subagent completed its task
SubagentFailedEvent subagent.failed Subagent failed

Other Events

Event Type String Description
AbortEvent abort Operation was aborted
HookStartEvent hook.start Hook execution started
HookEndEvent hook.end Hook execution completed
SystemMessageEvent system.message System-level message
SkillInvokedEvent skill.invoked A skill was invoked

See the events package Javadoc for detailed event data structures.


Streaming Responses

Enable streaming to receive response chunks as they're generated:

var session = client.createSession(
    new SessionConfig()
        .setModel("gpt-4.1")
        .setStreaming(true)
).get();

var done = new CompletableFuture<Void>();

session.on(event -> {
    if (event instanceof AssistantMessageDeltaEvent delta) {
        // Print each chunk as it arrives
        System.out.print(delta.getData().getDeltaContent());
    } else if (event instanceof SessionIdleEvent) {
        System.out.println(); // Newline at end
        done.complete(null);
    }
});

session.send("Write a haiku about Java").get();
done.get();

Session Operations

Get Conversation History

Retrieve all messages and events from a session using getMessages():

List<AbstractSessionEvent> history = session.getMessages().get();

for (AbstractSessionEvent event : history) {
    switch (event) {
        case UserMessageEvent user -> 
            System.out.println("User: " + user.getData().getContent());
        case AssistantMessageEvent assistant -> 
            System.out.println("Assistant: " + assistant.getData().getContent());
        case ToolExecutionCompleteEvent tool -> 
            System.out.println("Tool: " + tool.getData().getToolName());
        default -> { }
    }
}

This is useful for:

  • Displaying conversation history in a UI
  • Persisting conversations for later review
  • Debugging and logging session state

Abort Current Operation

Cancel a long-running operation using abort():

// Start a potentially long operation
var messageFuture = session.send("Analyze this large codebase...");

// User clicks cancel button
session.abort().get();

// The session will emit an AbortEvent
session.on(AbortEvent.class, evt -> {
    System.out.println("Operation was cancelled");
});

Use cases:

  • User-initiated cancellation in interactive applications
  • Timeout handling in automated pipelines
  • Graceful shutdown when application is closing

Custom Timeout

Use sendAndWait with a custom timeout for CI/CD pipelines:

try {
    // 30-second timeout
    var response = session.sendAndWait(
        new MessageOptions().setPrompt("Quick question"),
        30000  // timeout in milliseconds
    ).get();
} catch (ExecutionException e) {
    if (e.getCause() instanceof TimeoutException) {
        System.err.println("Request timed out");
        session.abort().get();
    }
}

Choosing a Model

List Available Models

Query available models before creating a session:

List<ModelInfo> models = client.listModels().get();

for (ModelInfo model : models) {
    System.out.printf("%s (%s)%n", model.getId(), model.getName());
}

Use a Specific Model

var session = client.createSession(
    new SessionConfig().setModel("claude-sonnet-4")
).get();

Session Management

Multiple Concurrent Sessions

var session1 = client.createSession(
    new SessionConfig().setModel("gpt-4.1")
).get();

var session2 = client.createSession(
    new SessionConfig().setModel("claude-sonnet-4")
).get();

// Send messages concurrently
var future1 = session1.sendAndWait("Summarize REST APIs");
var future2 = session2.sendAndWait("Summarize GraphQL");

System.out.println("GPT: " + future1.get().getData().getContent());
System.out.println("Claude: " + future2.get().getData().getContent());

Resume a Previous Session

// Get the last session ID
String lastSessionId = client.getLastSessionId().get();

// Or list all sessions
List<SessionMetadata> sessions = client.listSessions().get();

// Resume a session
var session = client.resumeSession(lastSessionId).get();

Clean Up Sessions

// Delete a specific session
client.deleteSession(sessionId).get();

Next Steps

  • 📖 Advanced Usage - Tools, BYOK, MCP Servers, System Messages, Infinite Sessions, Skills
  • 📖 Session Hooks - Intercept tool execution and session lifecycle events
  • 📖 MCP Servers - Integrate external tools via Model Context Protocol
  • 📖 API Javadoc - Complete API reference