GitHub Releases
GitHub changelog, platform updates, and Copilot coding-assistant releases. New features, breaking changes, security advisories and deprecations - each summarised in plain English and updated continuously.
Tracking 199 GitHub releases · Updated
- GitHub Changelog infraengineer ·
Dependabot gains automatic access to GitHub Packages registries
Dependabot can now access private GitHub Packages registries without requiring personal access tokens (PATs). This enhances security by leveraging the repository's existing Actions access grants, simplifying dependency management for supported ecosystems. To enable this, repository owners must grant Dependabot read access to the relevant packages via the package settings.
feature - GitHub Changelog aigaengineer ·
GitHub Copilot CLI terminal interface now GA
GitHub Copilot CLI's redesigned terminal interface is now generally available, offering a tabbed layout for interacting with issues, pull requests, and gists directly from the command line. The update includes a guided, in-session experience for configuring tools like MCP servers, skills, and plugins, along with a cleaner, more accessible UI with theme-aware colors and screen reader support. Users can update the CLI by running `copilot update` in their terminal.
feature patch - GitHub Changelog deprecationeolengineer ·
Dependabot drops support for Python 3.9
Dependabot has officially ended support for Python 3.9, aligning with Python's own end-of-life for the version. This change means users still on Python 3.9 may encounter issues with Dependabot creating dependency update pull requests. Engineers are advised to upgrade to a supported Python release to ensure continued functionality.
deprecation announcement - GitHub Changelog aipreviewengineer ·
GitHub Copilot for JetBrains IDEs adds Claude, organization agents, CLI queues
GitHub Copilot for JetBrains IDEs now offers Claude as an agent provider in public preview, alongside support for organization and enterprise custom agents. Users can queue and steer messages in Copilot CLI sessions for better control over long-running tasks. These updates aim to enhance agent flexibility, standardization, and user control for developers using these IDEs.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog aiengineer ·
GitHub Copilot usage API now shows AI credits consumed per user
GitHub's Copilot usage metrics API now includes a new field, `ai_credits_used`, which reports the total AI credits consumed by each user daily. This enhancement allows enterprise administrators and organization owners to better connect AI consumption to value, understand adoption across teams, and plan for usage-based billing by monitoring day-over-day patterns. These metrics are available to those with REST API access for user-level reports at enterprise and organization levels.
feature - GitHub Changelog aideprecationengineer ·
GitHub Copilot deprecates Opus 4.6 (fast) model
GitHub Copilot will deprecate the Opus 4.6 (fast) model across all its experiences on June 29th, 2026. Users should migrate to the Opus 4.8 (fast) model to avoid disruption. Administrators may need to enable the new model in Copilot settings.
deprecation - GitHub Changelog aiengineer ·
MAI-Code-1-Flash expands to more GitHub Copilot features
Microsoft's MAI-Code-1-Flash coding model is now integrated into additional GitHub Copilot surfaces, including Copilot CLI, the GitHub Copilot app, and Copilot Chat on GitHub. This small, high-quality model is designed to improve coding assistance across various platforms and plans. Availability will gradually expand, with business and enterprise access planned soon.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog aigaengineer ·
Copilot code review adds AGENTS.md support and UI improvements
GitHub Copilot code review now supports AGENTS.md files at the repository root, allowing users to shape feedback based on project conventions. UI enhancements include an easier way to request reviews on draft pull requests and collapsed timeline events for a cleaner pull request conversation view. These updates are generally available and aimed at improving the code review experience for developers.
feature patch - GitHub Changelog aipreviewengineer ·
GitHub Issues: Duplicate Detection Preview and Issue Fields MCP Support
GitHub Issues is introducing a public preview for duplicate issue detection, which flags potential matches against existing issues as they are created to reduce maintainer triage time. Additionally, issue fields now support MCP server AI tools, enabling agents to automatically set and filter issues by various fields. These features aim to streamline repository maintenance and issue management for maintainers and developers.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog aigaengineer ·
GitHub pull request search includes Copilot-authored PRs
GitHub's pull request search now includes pull requests authored by the Copilot cloud agent when using author searches like `author:@me`. This enhancement allows users to view and manage all pull requests they are responsible for, regardless of whether they were created directly or with Copilot's assistance. The change is available in the GitHub UI and Mobile, with API support rolling out on July 16.
feature - GitHub Changelog infragaengineer ·
GitHub Repository Switcher GA in Global Navigation
The repository switcher in GitHub's global navigation is now generally available, allowing users to seamlessly transition between repositories without leaving their current page. This feature is designed to significantly reduce the time spent navigating across multiple codebases, benefiting engineers who manage numerous projects. Users can access it by clicking the chevron next to the repository name in the navigation breadcrumb.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog infraengineer ·
GitHub Actions custom images gain layered build support
GitHub Actions now allows building custom runner images on top of other custom images, enabling layered image workflows. This feature offers teams greater flexibility in managing image-generation pipelines, reducing duplication, and speeding up builds. It also introduces conditional logic for the snapshot keyword, giving more control over image version generation. These enhancements are available now for teams using GitHub-hosted runners with custom images.
feature - GitHub Changelog securityinfraengineer ·
GitHub Actions checkout v7 enhances security for pull_request_target
GitHub Actions checkout v7 now defaults to refusing common 'pwn request' patterns, preventing vulnerabilities in workflows triggered by pull_request_target events from forks. This change is crucial for supply-chain security, affecting users who rely on checking out unreviewed pull request code. The update is available now for workflows pinned to floating major tags, with enforcement backported to supported major versions by July 2026.
feature security - GitHub Changelog securitypreviewengineer ·
GitHub Actions workflow execution protections now in public preview
GitHub Actions workflow execution protections are now in public preview, allowing administrators to define allow lists for workflow triggers. This feature enhances security by preventing unauthorized users or events from initiating workflows, which could otherwise be exploited to run malicious code. Initially available for GitHub Enterprise, organizations, and repositories, it helps mitigate common attack patterns like poisoned pipeline execution and manual-trigger abuse.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog aiengineer ·
GitHub Copilot PRs now credit users in generated release notes
GitHub's generated release notes will now credit the user who initiated a pull request created by Copilot, not just the Copilot agent itself. This change provides better recognition for developers' contributions when using Copilot for pull requests. The update is available now for all GitHub repositories and plans.
feature - GitHub Changelog securityinfraengineer ·
GitHub Secret Scanning Enhancements in June 2026
GitHub has updated its secret scanning capabilities with expanded detection coverage, including new partners like Cloudsmith and Meraki, and enhanced GitLab token support. Push protection now defaults to blocking more secret types, improving security for all repositories. Additionally, validity checks and richer metadata have been added for certain leaked credentials, aiding faster remediation for affected users.
feature patch - GitHub Changelog governanceinfraengineer ·
GitHub Copilot Enterprise Admins Can Now Disable Permission Bypass
Enterprise administrators can now disable automatic permission bypass (yolo mode) for GitHub Copilot CLI and VS Code using the new `disableBypassPermissionsMode` setting in enterprise-managed settings. This provides enhanced governance for AI features, ensuring users adhere to permission prompts. This capability is available for GitHub Copilot Business and Enterprise licenses and requires VS Code v1.122+.
feature - GitHub Changelog aiengineereducation ·
GitHub Copilot Individual Plan Sign-ups Reopening
GitHub is gradually reopening sign-ups for its Copilot individual plans, including Student, Pro, Pro+, and Max, over the next few weeks. This announcement also details updates to usage limits, offering options to upgrade plans or pay for additional usage as needed. These changes aim to provide users with more flexibility and better manage their Copilot experience.
announcement - GitHub Changelog governanceinfraengineer ·
GitHub: Limit open PRs for users without write access
GitHub now allows repository maintainers to set a maximum number of open pull requests for users without write access, helping to manage contribution volume and reduce noise. This feature enables maintainers to proactively control the influx of contributions, with options to bypass the limit for trusted users. Draft PRs are excluded from the limit, and the change aims to reduce review and CI overhead for busy repositories.
feature - GitHub Changelog aigaengineer ·
GitHub Copilot Chat adds auto model selection for all users
GitHub Copilot Chat now offers auto model selection for all users on github.com and the mobile app, allowing it to dynamically choose models based on request complexity and availability. This feature aims to optimize token usage and response quality, benefiting all Copilot plan subscribers. Auto mode routes to various models including Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5.4 mini, GPT-5.4, and Haiku 4.5, with usage billed at a 10% discount.
feature announcement
About GitHub release tracking on ReleaseBytes
The GitHub changelog covers Actions, Copilot, code security, the API and the platform itself — dozens of entries a week. ReleaseBytes summarises each changelog entry and tags breaking changes and deprecations (like Actions runner image retirements and API sunsets) so platform teams catch them before workflows break.
Frequently asked questions
How often are GitHub release notes updated on ReleaseBytes? ›
Continuously. ReleaseBytes monitors the official GitHub release channels around the clock and publishes a plain-English summary of each announcement shortly after it lands.
What kinds of GitHub changes does ReleaseBytes track? ›
New features, enhancements, bug fixes, security advisories, breaking changes, deprecations and end-of-life announcements. Every item is tagged by type so you can filter to just the changes that need action.
How can I get alerts for new GitHub releases? ›
Set up a free email or Slack alert filtered to GitHub, subscribe to the weekly digest, or follow the RSS feed. Teams can also install the ReleaseBytes GitHub App or connect via MCP.
Where does the GitHub release data come from? ›
From the official sources: GitHub changelog, platform updates, and Copilot coding-assistant releases. Every item links back to the original vendor announcement.