Feature Request: Options to Disable Copilot Identity for Commits & Auto-Create Upstream PRs

[ylevental]

I am using Copilot to contribute to open-source repositories. While Copilot successfully pushes changes to my fork, I have two requests to improve the contributor workflow:

1. Option to Disable Forced Copilot "Committer" Identity:
Currently, Copilot forcibly sets the git Committer identity to "GitHub Copilot" (distinct from the Author). Even if I remove the Co-authored-by line from the message, the commit metadata still lists Copilot as the Committer.

• Problem: I cannot change the Committer identity via the web UI, and many open-source repositories block commits where the Committer does not match the Author.
• Request: Please provide a setting to use my git identity for both the Author and Committer fields. Since I verify the code before clicking "Commit," I should be the sole committer of record.

2. Complete the Pull Request Workflow (Fork to Upstream):
After Copilot pushes changes to my fork, the workflow stops.

• Request: Please add the ability for the Agent to automatically open (or draft) the Pull Request from my fork to the upstream (parent) repository immediately after pushing, saving me the manual step of navigating the UI to create it.

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[abre0101]

Great suggestions! I've been thinking about these exact things while using Copilot for contributions.

On the Co-authored-by Thing

I totally get where you're coming from. When you're reviewing every line and taking full responsibility for the code, having Copilot listed as a co-author feels a bit off. It's like having your spell-checker listed as a co-author on an essay.

That said, I can see why GitHub added it - transparency about AI involvement is important to some maintainers. But yeah, a toggle would be perfect. Let those of us who want to claim full authorship do so, especially when we're doing thorough reviews.

On Auto-Creating PRs

This one's a no-brainer. The workflow right now is:

Copilot makes changes ✓
Copilot pushes to your fork ✓
You manually go to GitHub and click "Create PR" ← why?
It's like ordering food delivery and having to pick it up yourself at the last step. Copilot should absolutely be able to finish the job and at least draft the PR for you.

Potential Concerns (Playing Devil's Advocate)

The co-author tag might be there for legal/compliance reasons - some orgs want to know when AI was involved. Maybe the setting could default to "on" but be toggleable?

For auto-PR creation, I'd want it to be opt-in or at least show me a preview before submitting. Some repos have specific PR templates and requirements.

What Would Be Ideal

A checkbox in settings: "Include Copilot as co-author" (default: on)
After pushing to fork: "Would you like me to create a PR to upstream?" with a preview
Bonus: Let Copilot fill out the PR template based on the changes
These would make the contribution workflow so much smoother. Hope the team considers this!

[ylevental]

"The 'spell-checker' analogy is spot on—that’s exactly how it feels.

I actually just managed to achieve the 'Ideal Workflow' you described today, but I had to step outside of the standard Copilot interface to do it. I used a terminal-based agent (Gemini CLI) to handle the actual git operations.

Because it ran in my terminal as me, it respected my git config author/committer settings (no forced co-author tag). And regarding your 'Bonus' point about templates: I pasted the raw markdown template from the repo into the chat, and the agent filled out the entire PR description based on the diffs automatically.

So the capability to do this—including the 'paperwork' of filling out templates—is definitely there. Hopefully, the Copilot team can bake this natively into the main product soon!"

[capJavert]

Totally agree with this feature request!