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@nikogio nikogio commented Jan 21, 2026

What:
Clarify that Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs and not after merging or closing.

Why:

I found no mention in Troubleshooting that Copilot only responds to open PRs.

I verified this behaviour by trying to mention copilot myself in a merged PR.
After witnessing no response, verified mentioning copilot works in another open pr.
Then, asked copilot why when mentioning why when mentioning copilot in a merged and closed PR it did not respond and received this as a clarifying response:

"Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs. Once a PR is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work."
Screen Shot 2026-01-21 at 16 57 55 PM

What's being changed :

addition in docs, specifying the above.

Check off the following:

  • A subject matter expert (SME) has reviewed the technical accuracy of the content in this PR. In most cases, the author can be the SME. Open source contributions may require an SME review from GitHub staff.
  • The changes in this PR meet the docs fundamentals that are required for all content.
  • All CI checks are passing and the changes look good in the review environment.

Clarify that Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs and not after merging or closing.
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings January 21, 2026 16:11
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Thanks for opening this pull request! A GitHub docs team member should be by to give feedback soon. In the meantime, please check out the contributing guidelines.

@github-actions github-actions bot added the triage Do not begin working on this issue until triaged by the team label Jan 21, 2026
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copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/coding-agent/troubleshoot-coding-agent.md fpt
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Pull request overview

This PR adds clarification to the troubleshooting documentation about GitHub Copilot coding agent's behavior, specifically that it only responds to mentions in open pull requests and will not respond after a PR is merged or closed.

Changes:

  • Adds a new sentence to the "Copilot won't respond to my pull request comments" troubleshooting section explaining that Copilot only responds in open PRs

💡 Add Copilot custom instructions for smarter, more guided reviews. Learn how to get started.

{% data reusables.copilot.coding-agent.write-access-required %}

If you do have write access, and you mention `@copilot` on a pull request that is assigned to {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %}, the comment is passed to {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %}. An eyes emoji (👀) is added to your comment to indicate that {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %} has seen your comment. Shortly after, a "{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} started work" event is added to the pull request timeline.
Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs. Once a PR is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work.
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The word "Copilot" at the beginning of this sentence should use the proper variable instead of hardcoded text. Replace "Copilot" with the appropriate variable such as {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} to ensure consistency with the rest of the documentation and make it easier to maintain when product names change.

Copilot generated this review using guidance from repository custom instructions.
{% data reusables.copilot.coding-agent.write-access-required %}

If you do have write access, and you mention `@copilot` on a pull request that is assigned to {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %}, the comment is passed to {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %}. An eyes emoji (👀) is added to your comment to indicate that {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %} has seen your comment. Shortly after, a "{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} started work" event is added to the pull request timeline.
Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs. Once a PR is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work.
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The abbreviation "PRs" should be written out as "pull requests" for consistency with the rest of the documentation. Throughout this file and the surrounding context, the full term "pull request" is consistently used rather than the abbreviated form "PRs".

Suggested change
Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs. Once a PR is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work.
Copilot only responds to mentions in open pull requests. Once a pull request is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work.

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.
{% data reusables.copilot.coding-agent.write-access-required %}

If you do have write access, and you mention `@copilot` on a pull request that is assigned to {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %}, the comment is passed to {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %}. An eyes emoji (👀) is added to your comment to indicate that {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %} has seen your comment. Shortly after, a "{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} started work" event is added to the pull request timeline.
Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs. Once a PR is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work.
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Copilot AI Jan 21, 2026

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The phrase "the copilot agent" should use the proper variable instead of hardcoded text. Replace "the copilot agent" with {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %} to maintain consistency with the rest of the documentation and ensure proper capitalization and terminology.

Copilot generated this review using guidance from repository custom instructions.
{% data reusables.copilot.coding-agent.write-access-required %}

If you do have write access, and you mention `@copilot` on a pull request that is assigned to {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %}, the comment is passed to {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %}. An eyes emoji (👀) is added to your comment to indicate that {% data variables.copilot.copilot_coding_agent %} has seen your comment. Shortly after, a "{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} started work" event is added to the pull request timeline.
Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs. Once a PR is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work.
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Copilot AI Jan 21, 2026

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The abbreviation "PR" should be written out as "pull request" for consistency with the rest of the documentation. The full term "pull request" is used consistently throughout this file rather than abbreviated forms.

Suggested change
Copilot only responds to mentions in open PRs. Once a PR is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work.
Copilot only responds to mentions in open pull requests. Once a pull request is merged or closed, the copilot agent will not respond to new mentions or comments. This is by design to focus on active development work.

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.
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