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 aigaengineer ·
GitHub Copilot browser tools for VS Code reach GA
GitHub Copilot's browser interaction tools for VS Code are now generally available, allowing AI agents to navigate and interact with live web applications. This feature enhances Copilot's capabilities by enabling it to perform actions like opening pages, clicking elements, and capturing screenshots. These tools are enabled by default for all users, with enterprise controls available for administrators to manage site access and tool enablement.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog securitygovernanceengineer ·
GitHub to restrict access to public API endpoints and UI views
GitHub is restricting access to several public API endpoints and UI views, including the stargazers, watchers, and user subscriptions endpoints. This change aims to prevent misuse of public data for spam and enhance platform security. Admins and collaborators will retain access, while some users may encounter empty responses or 403 errors.
patch deprecation security - GitHub Changelog aigaengineer ·
GitHub Copilot adds Claude Sonnet 5 model
GitHub Copilot now offers Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 5, a new Sonnet-class model with strong coding performance for IDE and CLI tasks. This model demonstrates competitive latency and cache utilization, making it suitable for developers seeking fast, capable AI assistance. Claude Sonnet 5 is available for Copilot Pro, Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise users with gradual rollout.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog infrapreviewengineer ·
GitHub code coverage merge protection in public preview
GitHub has introduced code coverage merge protection for pull requests, allowing teams to block merges if test coverage falls below defined thresholds. This feature acts as a quality gate to prevent regressions and maintain testing standards, now available in public preview for GitHub Code Quality users on GitHub Enterprise Cloud and Team. Users can start in evaluate mode to assess impact before enforcing merge protection.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog securitypreviewengineer ·
GitHub Open Source License Compliance now in public preview
GitHub is launching its Open Source License Compliance feature in public preview, enabling enterprises to enforce license policies at scale. This feature integrates with dependency review to block noncompliant dependencies before they reach production, requiring specific roles for policy management. It is available for GitHub Enterprise Cloud customers with GitHub Advanced Security Code Security licenses.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog securitydeprecationengineer ·
GitHub to implement data retention for closed security alerts
GitHub will introduce a data retention policy for closed Dependabot security alerts starting August 25, 2026, affecting GitHub Enterprise Cloud users. This policy will move alerts closed over two years ago to archival storage, accessible via CSV download, while open and recently closed alerts remain in the UI/API. Users should review their current queries and plan for the archival change.
announcement - GitHub Changelog aipreviewengineer ·
Claude Opus 4.8 fast mode available in GitHub Copilot preview
GitHub Copilot is now previewing Claude Opus 4.8 in fast mode, offering substantially improved output speeds for interactive coding and agentic workflows. While priced higher than standard Opus 4.8, this fast mode is billed at provider list pricing and is available to Copilot Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise users. Administrators need to enable the fast mode policy for their organization.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog aigaengineer ·
GitHub Copilot Business and Enterprise gain MAI-Code-1-Flash
Microsoft's MAI-Code-1-Flash model is now generally available for GitHub Copilot Business and Enterprise. This model is optimized for coding, offering fast, low-latency responses for iterative workflows. Administrators must enable the MAI-Code-1-Flash policy in Copilot settings for users to access it.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog aigapreviewengineer ·
GitHub Copilot for Jira reaches General Availability
GitHub Copilot for Jira has launched as generally available, incorporating feedback from its March 2026 preview. The update introduces real-time agent progress streaming within Jira issues and post-session steering for pull requests, allowing continued instructions without creating new pull requests. Onboarding has also been simplified, reducing setup steps for connecting GitHub organizations and repositories.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog aigapreviewengineer ·
GitHub Copilot for Jira reaches General Availability
GitHub Copilot for Jira is now generally available after a public preview that began in March 2026. This release includes real-time progress monitoring within Jira issues and post-session steering for agents to refine draft pull requests, streamlining the development workflow. Onboarding has also been simplified, requiring fewer configuration steps to connect GitHub organizations and repositories. The update is available via the Atlassian Marketplace for existing and new users.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog securitypreviewengineer ·
GitHub Copilot CLI and VS Code restrict plugin installs
Enterprises can now control which plugins users can install in GitHub Copilot CLI and VS Code via new enterprise-managed settings. This feature, currently in public preview, helps enforce client governance by allowing plugins only from explicitly defined marketplaces. This applies to users licensed through Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise accounts.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog governancepreviewengineer ·
GitHub Issues adds saved views, Projects gets adjustable row heights
GitHub Issues now supports saved views, enabling teams to create and share filtered lists of issues for easier organization and access. This feature also integrates GitHub Projects more closely, with saved views appearing in a new sidebar. Additionally, Projects table layouts now offer adjustable row heights, allowing users to choose between Single, Medium, Tall, or Extra Tall to accommodate more information. These updates aim to improve issue management and project planning workflows.
feature announcement - GitHub Changelog infrapreviewengineer ·
GitHub Actions RHEL runner images in public preview
GitHub Actions now offers Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 and RHEL 10 images for larger runners in public preview, developed in partnership with Red Hat. These images provide a foundation for organizations to build custom runner environments with their specific tools and configurations. The RHEL images are available for Linux x64 larger runners, and users can select them as partner images when creating a new runner.
announcement - GitHub Changelog securitypreviewengineer ·
GitHub Code Quality API now in public preview
GitHub has released repository-level REST APIs for Code Quality findings in public preview. These new read-only endpoints allow programmatic access to CodeQL findings, enabling integrations for tooling and remediation workflows. This feature is available today on github.com and is not yet on GitHub Enterprise Server.
feature announcement - 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 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 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 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
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.