Persistent memory for GitHub Copilot CLI with Slowave

Give the GitHub Copilot CLI a local memory that carries across sessions. Slowave connects over MCP and adds personal instructions for you.

Slowave gives the local GitHub Copilot CLI a memory you can inspect. Project decisions and procedures carry across sessions.

This integration is partly validated. Setup and instruction discovery were checked with Copilot CLI 1.0.95 on macOS. Full model-driven validation and native Windows and Linux qualification are still pending.

What you get

• Slowave’s memory tools appear in Copilot CLI through MCP.
• Setup writes the server to ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json.
• Setup adds Slowave’s instructions to your personal file, ~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md. They apply across repositories.
• Setup keeps your other MCP servers and your own text in those files.

Set up

1. Install and sign in to Copilot CLI

   Follow GitHub’s guide to install the standalone copilot command. Use copilot, not the older gh copilot extension. Slowave doesn’t install Copilot or sign you in.

2. Install Slowave

   Use the same account and terminal environment as Copilot.

   pipx install slowave
   
3. Preview and run setup

   slowave setup --client copilot --dry-run
   slowave setup --client copilot
   

   Plain slowave setup also finds Copilot when copilot is on your PATH.

4. Restart Copilot CLI

   Exit any open session, then run copilot again.

Check that it works

Start copilot in your repository. Then:

1. Run /mcp and confirm slowave is connected with its tools.
2. Run /instructions and confirm your personal Slowave instructions are loaded.
3. Run slowave doctor in a terminal.

A healthy background service alone doesn’t prove which instructions your session picked up. Use /instructions to check.

Good to know

• Only the local standalone Copilot CLI is supported. Copilot IDE extensions, the desktop app, the cloud agent and hosted jobs are out of scope.
• Copilot needs its own account and plan. Managed accounts may need an administrator to enable the CLI and MCP.
• If you set COPILOT_HOME, use the same value for setup and for Copilot.
• Recalled context is passed to Copilot and may reach its model service.

Troubleshooting

The tools don't appear

Check that copilot is on your PATH. Run slowave setup --client copilot again, restart the CLI, then check /mcp and /instructions.

Slowave is turned off in Copilot

Copilot can disable a server on its own. slowave doctor reports this. Run copilot mcp enable slowave to turn it back on.

Setup says the client isn't supported

Run slowave setup --help. If copilot isn’t listed, your Slowave version is too old. Upgrade it with pipx upgrade slowave, then run setup again.

Quickstart

Install Slowave and see your first memory.

All integrations

Compare every supported agent.