Positron assistant not working in remote SSH target

[bigzero61]

I have added github copilot as the model provider.

My positron version: 2025.10.1 (system setup) build 4

[nstrayer]

Hi @bigzero61, thank you for reporting this issue!

To help us understand what's happening, could you provide a bit more detail:

1. Does the Assistant work when you use Positron locally (not connected via Remote SSH)?
2. When you're connected to the remote SSH target, can you see the GitHub Copilot provider in the model selection dropdown?
3. Can you check the output logs for any errors?

There are a few known issues with the GitHub Copilot integration in Positron Assistant (see #9955), and remote SSH connections can add additional complexity. Issue #8079 was previously reported about Assistant failures in remote connections and there it seemed to be due to network restrictions on the server side. Are you aware of anything like this for your network?

Any additional details about error messages or what you see in the Output panel would be very helpful for the team to diagnose this -- hopefully we can figure this out quickly!

[bigzero61]

Hi @nstrayer,
The Assistant doesn't work in my local machine too. And there is nothing in the output logs.

I have my github copilot signed in.

[juliasilge]

It looks to me like you are having the same problem as we are tracking in #9955. We are tracking a better solution in that issue, but if you want to try a workaround right now, I think the best option is:

• Backup your settings.json somewhere so you can get your customizations back (you can find them via Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON))
• Use positron --list-extensions to see what extensions you have installed (some of these will be the ones that come bundled with Positron, so pay attention to the ones you decided to install)
• Complete reset Positron to its default state: https://positron.posit.co/troubleshooting.html#resetting-positron
• Put your settings.json back where it belongs
• Re-install your settings

I know that's pretty dramatic, but it is what we think is the best option if your GH Copilot Chat is in a really bad state like this.

[cpenaloza]

I'm having the same issue but only on my remote SSH instance (code completion, yes, chat/agent, no) (I followed #9955 suggestions and Github Copilot now works as expected locally). Github Copilot DOES WORK (completion/chat/agent) in VSCode with my remote SSH.

[juliasilge]

Ah interesting, GitHub Copilot working for completions but not for chat is basically the opposite of the problem reported in #8409.

I just set up a new remote session, and what I had to do to get Copilot working was:

• Connect to the remote session
• In the remote session, log out via the Positron Assistant: Configure Language Model Providers dialog
• In the same remote session, log back in via the same dialog

After I did that, I was able to have GitHub Copilot working for both chat and completions. I am using a daily build right now FYI, so it might be worth updating to the dailies to get some recent improvements in Copilot management.

Can you try this out? If it works for you, I will open an issue to track the fact that if you just open up a remote session already authenticated, Copilot does not seem to work.

[cpenaloza]

Finally SUCCESS!!!
This is what I did:

• I signed back onto the dailies
• Updated & Restarted
• Signed out & back in to Copilot (x3, but it only took me to my Github Enterprise the first time)
• Restarted (didn't work)
• Applied VSCode settings to my settings.json file (though they didn't look any different to me)
• Restarted again, and IT WORKED!

Thank you @juliasilge! Now I can start spreading the Positron 🔥 within my team.

[juliasilge]

Thank you so much! I have opened #10317 for us to track and prioritize a fix for this situation.

[bigzero61]

Thank you @juliasilge @cpenaloza . After reinstalling Positron and removing all the extensions, copilot can work for both chat and code completion now!