Using GitHub Copilot CLI with Local Models (LM Studio)

Local AI is getting attention for one simple reason: control. Cloud models are strong and fast, but for many companies and developers, especially when experimenting or working with sensitive code, that is not ideal. This is where local models come in. Tools like LM Studio let you run LLMs directly on your machine. No external calls. No data leaving your environment or your network. Instead of sending prompts to cloud models, you can point Copilot CLI to a local model running in LM Studio . This setup is not perfect. It is not officially seamless. But it works well enough for learning, experimentation, and some real workflows. What You Need Before setting this up, make sure the basics are clear. This is not a plug-and-play setup. There are a few moving parts, and some assumptions. GitHub Copilot CLI You need GitHub Copilot CLI installed and working. You can launch GitHub Copilot CLI with the following command: copilot or even better, if you want to see the banner in the terminal: copilo