Copilot Settings

Open Settings → Copilot to configure Copilot V4. Settings normally save as soon as you change them. Controls labeled Apply or Save are the exceptions.

Copilot V4 starts with Agent Chat. Quick Chat remains available for lightweight conversations and as the main chat on mobile. Agent Chat, its backend settings, and Skills require desktop Obsidian.

Choose your data route deliberately. Copilot-hosted models, cloud BYOK providers, Claude, Codex, remote Miyo servers, and hosted skills can receive the prompt, note excerpts, or files needed for a request. Local models and local Miyo can keep model and search traffic on your computer, but an agent or skill can still use a network service when you ask it to. See Copilot Plans, Privacy, and Self-Hosting.

The top of the settings page has two controls that apply across every tab:

Control	What it does
Version and update status	Shows the installed Copilot version. When an update is available, the link opens Copilot’s Obsidian plugin page.
Reset Settings	Restores non-credential preferences to their defaults after confirmation. It keeps API and license keys, credential-bearing provider rows and their models, the last confirmed paid state, and the history of Copilot folders. Keyless provider rows, including local ones, and their models are reset. Backend model enablement is also reset, so you may need to enable models again under Basic → Agents. Reset does not delete AGENTS.md, saved chats, commands, skills, or data registered in Miyo. To erase credentials, use Advanced → API Key Storage → Delete All Keys.

Basic

Basic contains licensing, the main Agent Chat setup, Quick Chat model curation, general behavior, vault instructions, and conversation saving.

Copilot License

Control	Default	What it does
License key	Blank on a new free setup	Paste a Copilot license key, then select Apply to validate it. The badge reports the current plan or Inactive. The key is stored in this device’s Obsidian Keychain.
Copilot paid plans / See plans	Not applicable	Opens the paid-plan page. Paid access can add Copilot-hosted models, document processing, cloud-backed skills, and other services. Multi-agent answers require active Plus access.
Miyo / pair Copilot with Miyo	Not applicable	Opens miyo.md. Miyo is a separate local-first knowledge product. Remote Relay access requires a Relay or Lifetime entitlement after its trial; Supporter and eligible legacy Copilot licenses can include that access.

A Copilot license is optional. You can use Agent Chat with opencode plus BYOK or local models, Claude with your Claude Code account, or Codex with your Codex account. Those vendors may charge separately. See Copilot Plans, Privacy, and Self-Hosting for the full free and paid boundary.

Agents

This section is desktop-only. The first selector and four inline tabs control what new Agent Chat and Quick Chat sessions can use.

Control	Default	What it does
Default backend	opencode	Chooses the agent used when you select + for a new session and when Copilot starts a session automatically. Choosing a model from another agent in the Agent Chat model picker also changes this default. Options are opencode, Claude, and Codex.
opencode / Claude / Codex tabs	opencode tab opens first	Configure each installed agent, its default model and effort, its enabled models, and its process environment.
Quick Chat tab	Not applicable	Curates the separate model list used by Quick Chat and Quick Ask. Claude and Codex account models do not become Quick Chat models.

The model controls shared by installed agents behave as follows:

Control	Default	What it does
Default model	Agent default until explicitly chosen	Sets the model for new chats and multi-agent answerers on that agent. An already open chat adopts a changed default on its next turn. A model disabled later remains visible as disabled until you clear or replace the default.
Default effort	Agent default	Appears as a disabled or dynamic selector according to what the chosen model reports. Available effort names differ by agent and model.
Search models and model switches	Dynamic	Controls which reported, BYOK, or Copilot-hosted models appear in that agent’s model picker. A missing-key label means the model is known but cannot run until its provider key is set.
Environment variables	No rows	Select Add variable to pass a name and value only to that agent process; use the trash button to remove a row. Names must be valid environment variable identifiers. Values are used literally, so ~ is not expanded. Do not treat this editor as a secret manager.

opencode

opencode is the recommended backend and the only one Copilot can install for you. It can route Copilot-hosted models, supported BYOK providers, local OpenAI-compatible endpoints, and models reported by opencode.

When opencode is absent:

1. Select Download opencode to download Copilot’s pinned build. Progress and Cancel appear in the row.
2. If you already installed it, select I already have it to search known locations and adopt the binary.
3. If detection fails, use Try again or Configure to enter an absolute path.

The Configure opencode dialog has these controls:

Control	Default	What it does
Managed by Copilot	Selected when no source is configured	Shows the platform, pinned version, and destination. Use Download & install for first setup, Reinstall to replace the managed copy, and Uninstall to remove every Copilot-downloaded opencode binary. Uninstall keeps your custom path and BYOK keys.
My own binary	Off	Enter an absolute path, then use Apply, or select Auto-detect. Clear forgets the custom path. Applying a path switches the active source without deleting the managed copy.
Upgrade to latest / Run opencode upgrade	Shown when an update is needed	A managed source downloads the current supported build. A custom source runs opencode’s own upgrade command.

After installation, choose the Default model, Default effort, model switches, and optional environment variables such as XDG_CONFIG_HOME or HTTPS_PROXY. Copilot-hosted models require an eligible Copilot license. BYOK and local models do not.

Claude

Claude uses the Claude Code CLI and the credentials held by that CLI. It does not use Anthropic keys from the BYOK tab. If the installed CLI is too old, Copilot shows the current minimum supported version in the configuration dialog.

Select Configure to open these controls:

Control	Default	What it does
Claude Code binary	Auto-detected when possible	Shows the resolved claude path. Auto-detect searches common install locations, Apply validates and saves a custom absolute path, and Clear removes an override and returns to auto-detection.
Install it	Not applicable	Shows the platform-specific Claude Code installation command. Copy and run it outside Copilot when Claude is missing or too old.
Sign in	Not applicable	Shows the CLI sign-in command. When supported, the Sign in button runs the flow and may expose Open sign-in page. Copilot inherits the CLI login and never asks you to paste it into this dialog.

The Claude settings card also includes:

Control	Default	What it does
Default model / Default effort / model switches	Agent defaults; models reported by Claude	Curates Claude models for Agent Chat. Billing and limits belong to your Claude Code account.
Auto mode permissions	Auto	Auto lets Claude judge risk and still ask about sensitive work. Accept edits automatically approves file edits only. Bypass permissions skips all checks and should be used only in a trusted vault and task.
Show extended thinking	Off	Streams Claude’s reasoning blocks in the conversation. This can increase token use.
Environment variables	No rows	Passes values such as CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR or HTTPS_PROXY to Claude. These can change where Claude reads configuration and credentials.

Codex

Codex uses the codex-acp adapter and the login held by the Codex CLI. It does not use an OpenAI API key from the BYOK tab.

Select Configure to open these controls:

Control	Default	What it does
codex-acp binary	Blank until detected or applied	Auto-detect searches known locations and PATH. Apply validates and saves an absolute codex-acp path. Clear forgets it.
Install it	Not applicable	Shows the platform-specific codex-acp installation command.
Sign in	Not applicable	Shows codex login. Run it outside Copilot; the adapter inherits that login. There is no key field here.
Default model / Default effort / model switches	Agent defaults; models reported by Codex	Curates the models available to Codex Agent Chat. Billing and limits belong to the OpenAI or ChatGPT account used by the CLI.
Environment variables	No rows	Passes values such as CODEX_HOME or OPENAI_BASE_URL to the adapter.

See Agent Chat for setup, permissions, projects, multi-agent answers, and normal use.

Quick Chat

Quick Chat uses Copilot-hosted or BYOK models, not the model currently selected in Agent Chat.

Control	Default	What it does
Default model	Select Model until an enabled, usable model is available	Chooses the model for new Quick Chat conversations. A licensed setup may seed a Copilot-hosted default.
Search chat models and model switches	New BYOK chat models are enabled automatically	Controls what appears in the Quick Chat model picker. Add or remove providers in BYOK, then curate the list here.

Quick Ask uses a Quick Chat model. It inherits the Quick Chat choice until you select another model inside Quick Ask; there is no separate Quick Ask row in settings. See Quick Chat and Quick Ask.

General

Control	Default	What it does
Open Plugin In	Sidebar View	Chooses whether Copilot opens in a sidebar leaf or an editor tab. Options are Sidebar View and Editor.
Send Shortcut	Enter	Chooses Enter or Shift + Enter to send. If the shortcut does not work, check Obsidian → Hotkeys for a conflict.
Copilot folder location	copilot	Sets the root for conversations, custom prompts, system prompts, skills, and projects. Press Enter or select Apply to validate and confirm the change. The folder button reveals the active root.

Changing the Copilot folder does not move existing files. The old root remains treated as Copilot data, and a new root that already contains notes becomes excluded from Copilot search. Move files yourself after the change. If Miyo is connected, open the Miyo tab and use Resync Miyo when prompted.

Custom instructions

Control	Default	What it does
Custom vault instructions	Blank AGENTS.md	Edits the root AGENTS.md used by every agent for vault-wide instructions. Text saves automatically after a short delay. Open AGENTS.md closes settings and opens the file as a note. Start a new Agent Chat after changing instructions.
Saved Chat prompt notice	Hidden unless old prompt files exist	Points upgrading users to their old system-prompt files so useful instructions can be copied into AGENTS.md. It does not migrate or delete those files.

See AGENTS.md examples and Projects for project-specific instructions.

Saving conversations

Control	Default	What it does
Autosave Chat as Markdown	On	Writes a Markdown conversation note after each user message and response under <Copilot folder>/copilot-conversations/. Turning it off skips the note. Agent Chat sessions still appear in Recent Chats, and Quick Chat offers Save Chat as Note.
Conversation Filename Template	{$topic}@{$date}_{$time}	Expand the disclosure, edit the template, then select Apply. It controls automatic and manual conversation-note names. The template must contain {$topic}, {$date}, and {$time} and cannot add backslashes, slashes, colons, asterisks, question marks, quotes, angle brackets, or vertical bars outside those placeholders.

BYOK

Bring Your Own Key connects Copilot directly to a model provider, compatible gateway, Ollama, LM Studio, or another OpenAI-compatible endpoint. No Copilot license is required. Cloud-provider billing and data handling belong to that provider.

Add a provider

1. Select Add a provider.
2. Search or choose from Recommended providers, Self Host templates for Ollama and LM Studio, the dynamic More providers catalog, or Add a custom provider.
3. Complete the configuration and select at least one model.
4. Select Save. New chat models are enabled for Quick Chat and opencode automatically; curate each list later under Basic → Agents.

The configuration dialog contains:

Control	Default	What it does
Display name	Provider name	Changes the label shown throughout Copilot.
API key	Blank; required or optional according to provider	Test verifies the current key and refreshes model discovery. In edit mode, Clear stages key removal until you select Save. Required-key providers cannot be saved without a key. Keys are stored in this device’s Obsidian Keychain.
Base URL	Provider’s standard endpoint when known	Overrides where Copilot sends requests. A custom OpenAI-compatible provider must have a Base URL. Ollama defaults to http://localhost:11434/v1; LM Studio defaults to http://localhost:1234/v1.
Enable CORS	Off	Compatibility option for Quick Chat endpoints that reject browser-style requests. When enabled, responses arrive only after completion instead of streaming token by token. It does not change opencode routing.
Model ID → Add	Blank	Adds an exact model ID manually. Use this when an endpoint cannot list models. A typed ID can be removed from the candidate list with its remove button.
Search available models	Blank	Filters discovered, previously configured, and manually added models. Check each model you want to save. Model rows can show context size, release date, and capabilities when known.
Save / Cancel	Save disabled until the setup is usable	Save requires at least one model, a required key when applicable, and a routable custom endpoint. A conclusive invalid-key result blocks saving; a temporary network failure does not prevent an offline setup from being saved.

Manage providers and models

Control	What it does
Search providers	Filters by provider name, model name, or model ID.
Provider card	Expand it to see configured models. The status reads Running for keyless local providers, API key set, or No key.
More actions → Edit key	Reopens the full configuration dialog, where you can change the name, key, Base URL, CORS behavior, and selected models.
More actions → Remove	Removes the provider and all of its models from every model picker after confirmation.
Remove model	The remove button on an expanded model row removes that model from the provider and all model pickers after confirmation.

When Self-Host Mode is on, local and self-hosted endpoints sort first. Cloud providers remain usable but receive a cloud-egress warning. See Model Sources and BYOK for routing details and local-server setup.

Miyo

Miyo supplies Copilot’s current semantic search and selected chat-history search through the connected Miyo service. A local search connection keeps those requests on your computer; a remote connection sends them to the address you enter. PDF and EPUB processing uses the local Miyo CLI in Agent Chat, while Quick Chat uses the connected local or remote Miyo service.

Connection

Control	Default	What it does
Miyo → Connect	Disconnected	Probes local discovery or the configured remote server. A healthy connection shows Connected · local or Connected · remote. If an enabled server becomes unreachable, the pill shows Unavailable. Select the pill to Disconnect and return Copilot to non-Miyo routing.
Download	Not applicable	Opens miyo.md when Miyo is not installed.
Connector · Relay → Set up in Miyo	Status detected from Miyo	Opens Miyo’s Connector setup. Connector can let cloud ChatGPT or Claude clients read and write registered local files. This is a separate, explicit Miyo Relay setup and privacy boundary.
Remote Miyo server (advanced)	Blank	Expand the disclosure and enter a server URL. Blank uses local discovery. The value saves on blur and is used by both Copilot’s Miyo connection and the Connector row.
Resync Miyo	Shown only when exclusions are stale	Updates Miyo’s excluded folders after the Copilot root or related folder rules change and starts re-indexing when needed. If one-click resync is unavailable, remove and re-add the folder in Miyo. Do this promptly because stale exclusions can expose Copilot chats to Miyo search or Relay.

If Miyo is reachable but the vault is not registered, the connection dialog offers Register & connect for a local Miyo. With a remote server or mobile setup, select Open Miyo, add the vault there, then Retry. Register only folders you intend Miyo and any enabled Relay clients to access.

Powered by Miyo

Control	Default	Dependency and effect
Semantic search	Off	Desktop-only. Requires a reachable Miyo to turn on. Enabling installs the shared miyo-search skill; disabling removes it. The switch remains available if Miyo later goes offline. Searches are local and unlimited when Miyo is local.
Search scope	Current vault	Available while connected. Current vault restricts integrated searches to this vault. Unrestricted searches everything registered in that Miyo instance. Scope is a retrieval preference, not an authorization boundary.
Search chat → Manage in Miyo	Not set up until Miyo reports chat sources	Shows whether ChatGPT or Claude chat sources are ready or syncing, and opens Miyo to manage them. Chat search is separate from vault search.
Document Processor	Plus	Controls document routes rather than one shared parser. In Agent Chat, Miyo runs the local miyo-parse CLI for PDF and EPUB and fails closed if that CLI is unavailable; a remote Miyo server is not used. Quick Chat instead asks the connected Miyo service to parse those formats, so a configured remote server processes them remotely. Plus can use Copilot-hosted PDF processing and paid usage. Outside the Miyo route, EPUB and ordinary non-PDF formats such as DOCX are unsupported in regular chat context; Projects use a separate conversion route. The selector remains available while Miyo is disconnected.

See Miyo: Local-First Search and AI Ownership for setup, privacy, search behavior, and troubleshooting.

Skills

Skills are reusable instruction packets centered on a SKILL.md file. The Skills tab is desktop-only and does not require a Copilot license. Individual cloud-backed skills can still require paid Copilot access or another service.

Copilot discovers skills automatically from:

• <Copilot folder>/skills/, the shared home, which defaults to copilot/skills/
• .opencode/skills/
• .claude/skills/
• .agents/skills/

There is no separate Skills folder setting. Change the root under Basic → General → Copilot folder location.

Skill list controls

Control	What it does
Search skills	Filters the visible name and description. The adjacent count reports all discovered skills.
opencode, Claude, and Codex icon switches	Enables or disables the skill for each agent by managing a link in that agent’s native skills folder. A project-only or duplicated skill may first require migration into the shared folder.
Edit SKILL.md	Opens the shared skill in Obsidian. A skill under a hidden agent folder opens with the system’s default editor.
Properties…	Edits structured SKILL.md frontmatter.
Reveal in vault	Reveals a shared skill folder in Obsidian’s File Explorer. Hidden agent folders may need your system file manager.
Delete…	Lists every real folder and link that will be removed, then asks for confirmation. Deletion has no built-in undo; vault sync or Git is the recovery path.
Migrate to shared folder	Appears for identical copies spread across agent folders. It consolidates them into one shared copy and creates links for the enabled agents. Editing and deletion remain locked until the copies are consolidated.

The Properties dialog contains:

Control	Default	What it does
Name	Current folder name	Renames the skill. Names are required, at most 64 characters, lowercase alphanumeric with single hyphens, and have no leading or trailing hyphen. This is the /skill-name users type.
Description	Current description	Required summary of when the skill should be used, up to 1,024 characters.
Allowed tools	Blank unless declared	Writes the tool allow-list used by agents that support this skill field.
Model override	Blank	Claude Code only. Requests a specific Claude model for this skill.
Don’t let Claude invoke this on its own	Off	Claude Code only. When on, Claude cannot select the skill automatically.
Hide from slash menu	Off	Claude Code only. When on, the skill does not appear in Claude’s slash menu.
Save / Cancel	Not applicable	Save validates the name and description and writes the SKILL.md; a name collision keeps the dialog open.

When a toggle needs to move or consolidate a skill, Copilot previews every move, deletion, and link it will create. Don’t ask again for future migrations suppresses later migration confirmations. Leave it off if you want to review each filesystem change.

On Windows, creating links can require administrator access or Settings → Privacy & security → For developers → Developer Mode. A warning appears after a permission failure. Vaults under OneDrive, iCloud, or Dropbox can also show a sync warning because a sync client may replace links; re-toggle the agent to recreate one.

See Skills across agents.

Command

Custom commands are reusable prompt files loaded from <Copilot folder>/copilot-custom-prompts/. The Command tab and command execution do not require a Copilot license, but the selected model or hosted service can have its own cost. Editing the Markdown files directly updates this tab.

Command-wide controls

Control	Default	What it does
Custom Prompt Templating	On	Resolves variables such as active note, folder, tag, and selected text. Turn it off when prompt braces should remain literal.
Custom Prompts Sort Strategy	Recency	Recency sorts by last use, Alphabetical sorts by name, and Manual uses the saved drag order.
Generate Default	Not applicable	After confirmation, adds Copilot’s starter command files to the custom-prompts folder. It does not replace the folder setting because that folder derives from the Copilot root.
Add Cmd	Not applicable	Opens the command editor with a blank command.

Command list and editor

Control	Default	What it does
Drag handle	Saved order	Reorders commands. Choose Manual if you want drag order to control the slash menu.
In Menu	On for a new command	Shows the command in the editor right-click menu.
Slash Cmd	On for a new command	Shows the command after / in chat. In Agent Chat, the current agent resolves a slash invocation.
Edit	Not applicable	Opens the command editor.
Duplicate	Not applicable	Creates a uniquely named copy beside the original.
Delete	Not applicable	Permanently removes the command’s Markdown file after confirmation.
Name	Blank for a new command	Required unique command name.
Prompt	Blank for a new command	Required prompt body. With templating on, the syntax helper shows the supported note variables.
Model (Optional)	Inherit from chat model	Selects a Quick Chat model for editor and command-palette runs. An Agent Chat slash run uses the current Agent Chat model.
Show in context menu	On	Same setting as In Menu in the list.
Show in slash menu	On	Same setting as Slash Cmd in the list.
Save / Cancel	Not applicable	Save validates and writes the command file.

See Copilot Commands and Quick Ask for prompt variables, invocation, and Quick Ask.

Self-Host

Self-Host Mode is an optional presentation and routing aid for licenses whose signed entitlement includes Self-Host. The tab labels it a Lifetime license feature for Believer and Supporter access. A local BYOK model and local Miyo do not require this entitlement.

Self-Host Mode is not a firewall. It flags and sorts cloud options but does not disable them. Claude, Codex, Copilot-hosted models, cloud BYOK providers, Firecrawl, Perplexity, Parallel, Exa, and Supadata can still send data off-device when selected.

Control	Default	Dependency and effect
Enable Self-Host Mode	Off	Can turn on only when the current signed entitlement grants Self-Host. Turning it off is always allowed. While on, local options sort first and cloud agents, providers, and models receive warnings. The entitlement can remain usable offline until it expires.
Web Search Provider	Firecrawl	Enabled only while Self-Host Mode is on. Chooses Firecrawl, Perplexity Sonar, Parallel, or Exa as the web-search skill provider.
Firecrawl API Key	Blank	Appears when Firecrawl is selected. Enables Firecrawl web search and fetch. Firecrawl is a separate third-party service.
Perplexity API Key	Blank	Appears when Perplexity Sonar is selected. Enables Perplexity web search. Perplexity is a separate third-party service.
Parallel API Key	Blank	Appears when Parallel is selected. Enables Parallel web search. Parallel is a separate third-party service.
Exa API Key	Blank	Appears when Exa is selected. Enables Exa web search. Exa is a separate third-party service.
Supadata API Key	Blank	Enables YouTube transcript retrieval through Supadata, a separate third-party service.
Open BYOK	Not applicable	Opens the BYOK tab, where you add local or self-hosted OpenAI-compatible endpoints. It does not choose or install a model automatically.

All controls below the main switch are disabled while Self-Host Mode is off. See Copilot Plans, Privacy, and Self-Hosting for routes and limitations.

Advanced

Advanced contains credential storage, one retiring search switch, and diagnostic controls.

Others

Control	Default	What it does
API Key Storage	Obsidian Keychain on Obsidian 1.11.4 or newer	Reports whether secure storage is available and whether this device appears to have keys. Each device has a separate Keychain, so vault sync does not copy credentials. Older Obsidian builds cannot load, save, or delete Keychain entries.
Delete All Keys	Not applicable	After confirmation, removes Copilot API and license keys from the Obsidian Keychain, data.json, and in-memory settings. You must enter them again. Credential backup files created during a V4 upgrade are left in place for you to review and delete manually.
Legacy vault index	Off	Retiring. Copilot V3 semantic search has moved to Miyo, powered by miyo.md.
Debug Mode	Off	Logs Quick Chat activity to View → Toggle Developer Tools. It does not control the separate Agent Chat activity log below.
Create Log File	Not applicable	Flushes, saves, and opens the regular Quick Chat log for troubleshooting. Review it before sharing because diagnostic data can contain conversation content.

Agent Chat debugging

These controls are separate from Quick Chat logging.

Control	Default	What it does
Report an Issue	Not applicable	Desktop-only. Asks what went wrong, then prepares a local folder containing an Agent Chat pane screenshot and recent activity log and opens a prefilled GitHub issue. For opencode, including its global backend log is an extra checkbox that is off by default. Files are not attached automatically; review and redact them before dragging them into the public issue.
Keep an Agent Chat activity log	On	Records messages between Copilot and the agent so a recent trace exists when a problem occurs. The plain-text log is device-local and outside the vault, but it can contain prompts, note contents, and tool inputs or outputs. Turn it off to stop future logging.
Agent Chat activity log file → Open	Not applicable	Desktop-only. Opens the current log on disk so you can inspect it.
Agent Chat activity log file → Clear	Not applicable	Desktop-only. Clears the local activity log.

See Troubleshooting and FAQ before sharing logs or filing an issue.