GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — March update
March 2026 brought a major step forward for GitHub Copilot extensibility in Visual Studio, with custom agents, agent skills, and new tools that make the agent smarter and more capable. The post GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — March update appeared first on The GitHub Blog .
March 2026 brought a major step forward for GitHub Copilot extensibility in Visual Studio, with custom agents, agent skills, and new tools that make the agent smarter and more capable.
Highlights
Here’s what’s new with GitHub Copilot in the March update of Visual Studio 2026:
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Build your own custom agents: Define specialized Copilot agents as .agent.md files in your repository. Custom agents get full access to workspace awareness, code understanding, tools, your preferred model, and MCP connections to external knowledge sources. They appear in the agent picker, ready for your team to use.
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Enterprise MCP governance: MCP server usage now respects allowlist policies set through GitHub. Admins can specify which MCP servers are allowed within their organizations, keeping sensitive data controlled and compliant with security policies.
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Use agent skills: Agent skills are reusable instruction sets that teach agents how to perform specific tasks. Define them in your repository or user profile, and Copilot automatically discovers and applies them. See awesome-copilot for community-shared skills.
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find_symbol tool for agent mode: The new find_symbol tool gives agents language-aware symbol navigation, including finding all references, accessing type metadata, and understanding declarations and scope. Supported for C++, C#, Razor, TypeScript, and any language with an LSP extension.
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Profile tests with Copilot: A new Profile with Copilot command in Test Explorer lets you profile a specific test with the Profiling Agent, which automatically runs the test and analyzes CPU and instrumentation data to deliver actionable performance insights.
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PerfTips powered by live profiling: Debug-time PerfTips now integrate with the Profiler Agent. Click an inline performance signal while debugging and Copilot analyzes elapsed time, CPU usage, and memory behavior to suggest targeted optimizations.
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Smart Watch suggestions: Copilot now offers context-aware expression suggestions directly in Watch windows during debugging, helping you monitor the most meaningful runtime values faster.
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Fix vulnerabilities with Copilot: Copilot can now fix NuGet package vulnerabilities directly from Solution Explorer. Click the Fix with GitHub Copilot link when a vulnerability is detected, and Copilot recommends targeted dependency updates.
To learn more about what’s new, check out the Visual Studio blog and release notes.
What’s next for Copilot in Visual Studio
Stay up to date on the latest Copilot features by following the Visual Studio blog, where you’ll find roadmap updates and opportunities to share feedback.
GitHub Copilot Changelog
https://github.blog/changelog/2026-04-02-github-copilot-in-visual-studio-march-updateSign in to highlight and annotate this article
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