GitHub Copilot CLI error
Copilot CLI: Server failed to connect
Server failed to connectStatus: Fixed in releaseLast verified 1 documented fix3 sources
What it means
Shown for Copilot Pro trial accounts as if it were a network error. The MCP logs showed the real API message: "Copilot Pro trials have been temporarily paused. Please upgrade your account or revert to Copilot Free".
Causes
- Copilot Pro trials were temporarily paused, and the CLI showed a generic error instead of the pause message.
How to fix it
- Fix 1.
Upgrade to 1.0.27 or later: "Show a clear message when Copilot Pro trial is paused instead of a generic policy error". Then upgrade the account or revert to Copilot Free, as the API message says.
More Copilot CLI errors
All 12 Copilot CLI errors✗ No model available. Check policy enablement under GitHub Settings > CopilotStatus: Fixed in releaseYou are not authorized to use this Copilot feature, it requires an enterprise or organization policy to be enabled.Status: By designRequest failed due to a transient API error. Retrying...Status: Open✗ Execution failed: Error: Failed to get response from the AI model; retried 5 times (total retry wait time: 5.927545045390875 seconds) Last error: Unknown errorStatus: Fixed in releaseCAPIError: 400 {"message":"","code":"invalid_request_body"}Status: OpenExecution failed: CAPIError: 400 {"error":{"code":"bad_request","type":"websocket_error","message":"Duplicate item found with id fc_call_ikBrgmi06fcJeO6uIpJJEQbJ. Remove duplicate items from your input and try again."}}Status: Open✗ Model call failed: "Connection error." ✗ Execution failed: CAPIError: Connection error.Status: Fixed in releaseposix_spawnp failureStatus: Fixed in release
Related reading
- Claude Code vs Codex vs Copilot CLI: Local Sandboxes ComparedCopilot CLI local sandboxing is GA. How it compares with Claude Code and Codex on defaults, network, credentials, Windows, and what still runs outside.
- GitHub Copilot CLI With Ollama: Local Models and the New SandboxCopilot CLI 1.0.94 finds local Ollama models from /model and ships an OS-level sandbox. Setup, the 4k context trap, and why local is not offline.
- Claude Sonnet 5.5 Developer Guide: Pricing and API ChangesClaude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2/$10 per million tokens, and cache reads fell to $0.10 on October 7 - half of Opus 5.5 on every line. Pricing math and API changes.
- GitHub Copilot's September Reset: Prepaid Seats, One Unified Agent Experience, Balanced Reviews by DefaultGitHub Copilot September changes: prepaid Business and Enterprise seats, one unified agent experience and Balanced reviews by default. What it means for teams.
- GitHub's August 17 Outage: Agent Fleets Need a 4-Hour Local FallbackGitHub's August 17 outage ran 7 hours 47 minutes across PRs, Actions, APIs and Copilot. Why coding agent fleets need a four-hour local fallback.
- GitHub Copilot for JetBrains Gains Persistent Memory and Ollama BYOKGitHub Copilot for JetBrains adds memory across chat sessions, Ollama as a BYOK provider, and enterprise settings for MCP access. What each feature does.
FAQ
What does "Server failed to connect" mean in Copilot CLI?
Shown for Copilot Pro trial accounts as if it were a network error. The MCP logs showed the real API message: "Copilot Pro trials have been temporarily paused. Please upgrade your account or revert to Copilot Free".
How do I fix "Server failed to connect"?
Upgrade to 1.0.27 or later: "Show a clear message when Copilot Pro trial is paused instead of a generic policy error". Then upgrade the account or revert to Copilot Free, as the API message says.
Is this Copilot CLI error fixed?
Status: Fixed in release. A release fixed this. The affected versions note says where the fix landed. Affected versions: Reported April 2026 (before 1.0.27). Clear message from 1.0.27 (2026-04-15).
Sources
Last verified against 3 sources: official docs, maintainer replies and release notes.
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