Feature Request: Native Plan Mode Support for GitHub CLI

[VeVarunSharma]

Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve

Currently, GitHub Copilot in VS Code and other tools like Claude Code support a dedicated Plan Mode, which provides structured, actionable plans for code changes and development workflows. However, the GitHub CLI does not natively support a similar plan mode. Some users have worked around this by creating a custom planmode.agent.md file for use with the CLI via the /agent command, but this approach is hacky and lacks cohesion or standardization.

Proposed solution

Implement a native Plan Mode in the GitHub CLI, in line with how Plan Mode works in Copilot for VS Code and other tools. This could be surfaced as a CLI command (e.g., copilot plan ...) or extension, enabling users to generate, review, and execute structured action plans from the terminal. The feature should be compatible with plan outputs from other GitHub tools, fostering cross-tool cohesion and reducing manual workarounds.

Benefits:

• Provides a consistent planning workflow across VS Code and CLI.
• Streamlines collaboration, onboarding, and review processes.
• Reduces friction and the need for custom/hacky scripts by establishing a standard for Plan Mode across the ecosystem.
• Helps set baseline expectations for plan structure and steps among devs, teams, and repos.

Example prompts or workflows

Example prompts or workflows enabled by Plan Mode support in CLI:

• copilot plan "Add authentication to API routes" → outputs a step-by-step implementation plan.
• Teams configure repo-wide or org-wide plan standards for contributions, visible everywhere that's applicable to both VSCode Plan and CLI plan via a special file in the .github folder
• Automated changelog generation or review checklists based on plan-mode output from CLI.
• Enhanced onboarding: new contributors run copilot plan "fix bug #123" to see expected steps without leaving the terminal.

Additional context

Many development teams rely on the CLI for automation and terminal-driven workflows. Having an official, native Plan Mode in the CLI (aligned with VS Code’s) will drive adoption, support standardized developer experiences, and help keep documentation, changelogs, and reviews in sync.

For example, currently, you must:

• Create an agent planmode.agent.md file if you want plan-like behavior in CLI.
• Use workaround CLI commands or scripts to simulate Plan Mode outputs.
• Copy results manually between environments (VS Code, CLI, other tools).

Standardizing this would allow developers to use the same Plan Mode output structure everywhere—reducing context switching and making tooling more powerful for all GitHub users.

Screenshots

Example Native Plan mode via ClaudeCode CLI:

Current Hacky way using Plan mode with Github Copilot CLI using a self-crate plan mode agent file: