Rajeev Pentyala – Technical Blog on Power Platform, Azure and AI

Lets say you started a new GitHub Copilot CLI session and noticed it is not using the model you want.

You have two options:

• Use /model to change the model for the current session.
• Use /config model to set the default model for future sessions.

Lets look at both options.

Change the Model for the Current Session

• Use /model when you want to switch models without changing your saved default.

• The model picker displays the available models and their context sizes. It also shows the reasoning effort and AI credit cost.
• Select a model and press Enter. The selected model applies only to the current session.

Now lets set a model as the default for all future sessions.

Set the Model for Future Sessions

• Type /config model in the Copilot CLI prompt and press Enter.

• /config is an alias for /settings. The CLI saves this change in your personal settings.
• Use the arrow keys to highlight the model you want as the default.

• You can also change the reasoning effort when the selected model supports it. Press Enter to apply the selection.
• Copilot CLI confirms the old model and the new user default in the timeline.

Now lets confirm that the saved model is used in a future session.

Start a New Session

• Exit the current session. Run copilot again to start a new GitHub Copilot CLI session.
• The selected model gets loaded for the new session and future sessions.

Summary

• Use /model when you need a different model for the current session. This choice does not replace your saved default.
• Use /config model when you want future sessions to start with your preferred model.

For the complete command list, see the GitHub Copilot CLI command reference. The /settings documentation explains how /config settings are stored and reused. 🙂