Test the Copilot Desktop App With a 20-Minute BYOK Exit Drill

Primary source: https://github.blog/changelog/2026-07-07-github-copilot-app-available-to-all/.

GitHub made the Copilot app available across Copilot plans and says users can also run sessions with their own model-provider key. Before moving real work into a desktop agent, run one cheap exit test.

0–5: clone a disposable repository
5–12: ask for one failing-test fix
12–17: disconnect or close the app
17–20: recover from Git alone

The artifact is a small exit pack:

base_commit: "..."
patch_commit: "..."
test_command: "npm test"
expected_failure_before: "named assertion"
expected_pass_after: true
credentials_retained: false

Test normal completion, app restart before completion, and a rejected provider credential. Pass only if the diff, test, and rollback can be reconstructed without chat history. Revoke the test key afterward and inspect where provider settings were stored.

This does not measure model quality or claim every plan has identical features. Use the current product documentation and a disposable key. Which artifact would be hardest to recover if your agent UI vanished today?