Claude Opus 4.8 (fast mode) is now in preview for GitHub Copilot
Claude Opus 4.8 (fast mode) is now rolling out in preview on GitHub Copilot. Fast mode delivers significantly faster output token speeds while maintaining the same intelligence as Claude Opus 4.8, making it well suited for interactive coding and agentic workflows where responsiveness matters.
Also shipped Jun 29, 2026GitHub in June 2026 →
Dynamic Iceberg table replication (General availability)
Snowflake now supports replication of dynamic Iceberg tables as part of replication and failover groups. Previously, dynamic Iceberg tables were skipped during replication refresh operations. For more information, see Configure replication for Snowflake-managed Iceberg tables .
Databricks SQL version 2026.20 is now available in Preview
Databricks SQL version 2026.20 is now available in the Preview channel. Review the following section to learn about new features, behavioral changes, and bug fixes.
SQL alert task in Lakeflow Jobs is now generally available
The SQL alert task in Lakeflow Jobs is now generally available. Use the task to evaluate a Databricks SQL alert as part of a Lakeflow Job. The task returns its evaluation state as a task output value, so downstream tasks can branch on the result. See SQL alert task for jobs .
Govern LLMs in Unity Catalog with model services (Beta)
You can now govern Databricks-hosted LLMs in Unity Catalog using model services , currently in Beta. A model service is a Unity Catalog securable that represents a governed LLM endpoint, so you can define an endpoint once and share it across workspaces using Unity Catalog privileges, instead of duplicating endpoints per workspace.
Custom Docker images for AI Runtime CLI workloads (Beta)
You can now bring your own Docker container image to AI Runtime CLI ( air ) workloads. This feature is in Beta . Use a custom image when you need specific system library versions, complex dependencies, or a reproducible environment. See Use custom Docker images .
Parquet v2 for Delta Lake tables is generally available
Parquet v2 is now generally available for Delta Lake tables in Databricks Runtime 18.1 and above. Parquet v2 uses advanced encodings, v2 data page headers, and INT64 timestamps to improve query performance and reduce table sizes. To use, set the delta.parquet.format.version table property to 2.12.0 or enable automatic upgrades.
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Claude Sonnet 5 is generally available for GitHub Copilot
Claude Sonnet 5 is Anthropic’s latest Sonnet-class model, now available in GitHub Copilot. It brings strong coding performance to everyday development and agentic workflows, giving developers a new Sonnet-class option for tasks across the IDE and CLI.
Copilot Agent is now available in JetBrains AI Assistant
Today, JetBrains and GitHub are announcing a deeper integration between JetBrains AI Assistant and GitHub Copilot. Millions of developers already rely on the GitHub Copilot plugin as their AI pair programmer in JetBrains IDEs, and Copilot has also been available inside JetBrains AI Assistant through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) .
Per-user AI credit budgets available for cost centers
Enterprise admins can now set a cost center user-level budget: one per-user AI credit budget on a cost center that applies to every individual in it. As membership changes, the budget follows. Anyone added to the cost center, directly or through an enterprise team, picks up its per-user budget, and anyone removed is no longer covered by it.
Enterprises can default to auto model selection
Enterprise administrators can now set model to auto in the enterprise managed-settings.json to make Copilot auto model selection the default for new conversations. Add auto to .github-private/.github/copilot/managed-settings.json in your source organization for enterprise governance so new conversations start with Copilot auto model selection by default.
GitHub Models is being fully retired on July 30, 2026
In June, we announced that we are retiring GitHub Models and closed it to new customers. We’re now sharing the timeline for the next step: GitHub Models will be fully retired on July 30, 2026. After that date, GitHub Models, including the playground, model catalog, inference API, and bring your own key (BYOK), will no longer be available to any customer.
Enterprise managed-settings.json is generally available
GitHub Enterprise Cloud customers can configure AI standards through a managed-settings.json file maintained in a .github-private repository in a selected organization. This allows the enterprise to define new governance and extensibility flows that apply to Copilot clients such as VS Code or Copilot CLI.
New C++ language server config skill for Copilot CLI
The Microsoft C++ Language Server is now available as a plugin on the Copilot Plugins marketplace. It includes a new built-in setup skill that helps automate project setup, making it easier to generate and maintain the compile_commands.json file the language server needs to understand your code.
Kimi K2.7 Code is generally available in GitHub Copilot
Kimi K2.7 Code, an open-weight model, is now generally available in GitHub Copilot. This is the first open-weight model offered as a selectable option in the Copilot model picker, giving you more choice and a lower-cost option for your coding workflows. Kimi K2.7 Code is hosted by GitHub on Microsoft Azure.