# GitHub Copilot Managed Settings GitHub Copilot Managed Settings let enterprise owners centrally control [[GitHub Copilot]] client behavior across an organization through a single `managed-settings.json` file. The server-managed variant is the interesting one: you designate an organization as your enterprise's AI standards source, create a `.github-private` repository in it, and commit the file at `copilot/managed-settings.json`. Every Copilot client fetches the config at authentication, holds it in memory, and refreshes hourly. Config-as-code governance for AI agents, generally available since July 2026. ## Delivery mechanisms Four, from highest to lowest precedence: 1. **MDM-managed**: individual settings as OS-managed string values (Windows Registry, macOS preferences); no file deployed, hourly policy checks 2. **Server-managed**: the `.github-private` repo approach above 3. **File-based**: a root-owned `managed-settings.json` at an OS-specific path (`/etc/github-copilot/` on Linux, `/Library/Application Support/GitHubCopilot/` on macOS, `%ProgramFiles%\GitHubCopilot` on Windows); must not be group/world-writable or a symlink 4. **User-level settings** For each supported key, the managed value beats whatever the user configured locally. ## What you can enforce - **`model`**: default model selection - **`permissions.disableBypassPermissionsMode`**: block YOLO/bypass mode (blanket approval) - **`enabledPlugins` / `extraKnownMarketplaces` / `strictKnownMarketplaces`**: force-install, block, or lock down plugins and their marketplaces - **`allowedMcpServers` / `deniedMcpServers`**: allowlist/denylist [[Model Context Protocol (MCP)|MCP]] servers by name, URL pattern, or exact command; deny always wins. The discovery-oriented alternative is a [[GitHub Copilot MCP Registry]]; the two compose - **`telemetry`**: route usage data to your own OpenTelemetry collector - **`remoteControl`**: gate remote session access on SSO authorization - **`sandbox`**: enforce minimum [[GitHub Copilot Sandboxing|local sandboxing]] restrictions ([[GitHub Copilot CLI]] only) ## The sandbox key This is where managed settings and [[GitHub Copilot Sandboxing]] meet. An enterprise can force `sandbox.enabled` (users can't turn it off), require local MCP and LSP servers to run sandboxed, forbid sandbox bypass requests from the model, block [[Git]]/`gh` credential injection, and pin a `userPolicy` baseline (filesystem read/write/denied paths, outbound and local network access, macOS keychain). Crucially, the `sandbox` key is the exception to normal precedence: instead of one source overriding another, sandbox restrictions **compose additively across all sources in the most restrictive direction**. The enterprise sets a floor users can tighten but never loosen. That's the right model for a security control: governance defines the minimum, individuals keep local agency above it. ## Team-level overrides Enterprise keys marked `{ "overridable": <VALUE> }` can be specialized per team: a `copilot/team-mappings.json` maps settings files in `copilot/teams/` to team slugs. Overridable keys: `model`, `disableBypassPermissionsMode`, `allowedMcpServers`, `deniedMcpServers`. Plugin lists compose additively on top of the enterprise baseline; multi-team membership resolves to the least restrictive combination. ## Client support [[GitHub Copilot CLI]] supports every key. [[Visual Studio Code (VSCode)]], the [[GitHub Copilot App]], the cloud agent, and JetBrains IDEs each support subsets; the `sandbox` key is CLI-only, matching where local sandboxing lives. ## References - Reference: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/enterprise-managed-settings-reference - How-to: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/administer-copilot/manage-for-enterprise/manage-agents/configure-enterprise-managed-settings - Managing agents in your enterprise: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/administer-copilot/manage-for-enterprise/manage-agents - GA announcement: https://github.blog/changelog/2026-07-01-enterprise-managed-settings-json-is-generally-available/ - App + cloud agent support: https://github.blog/changelog/2026-07-27-enterprise-managed-settings-now-apply-to-the-github-copilot-app/ - Enterprise-managed plugins: https://github.blog/changelog/2026-05-06-enterprise-managed-plugins-in-github-copilot-cli-are-now-in-public-preview/ - Copilot CLI configuration directory reference: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-cli-reference/cli-config-dir-reference ## Related - [[GitHub Copilot]] - [[GitHub Copilot CLI]] - [[GitHub Copilot App]] - [[GitHub Copilot Sandboxing]] - [[Microsoft eXecution Container (MXC)]] - [[Model Context Protocol (MCP)]] - [[AI Agent Permissions]] - [[AI Governance]] - [[GitHub]] - [[GitHub Copilot MCP Registry]]