GitHub Copilot CLI error
Copilot CLI: Request failed due to a transient API error. Retrying...
Request failed due to a transient API error. Retrying...Status: OpenLast verified 3 documented fixes3 sources
What it means
A model request failed and the CLI is retrying it automatically. In the original report the retries ended with: "Sorry, you've hit a rate limit that restricts the number of Copilot model requests you can make within a specific time period. Please try again in 1 minute."
Causes
- Service-side incidents. On #3831 a maintainer said: "There was a short incident tonight which is now resolved" (githubstatus.com incident rfmjwng33vjf).
- Rate limiting on model requests (the error in the #2101 body).
How to fix it
- Fix 1.
During an incident, check githubstatus.com and retry once it is resolved (maintainer dereklegenzoff, #3831).
- Fix 2.
v1.0.35 adds a continueOnAutoMode config option "to automatically switch to auto model on rate limit instead of pausing".
SnippetcontinueOnAutoMode - Fix 3.
v1.0.96: "Show retry progress messages before recovered responses after transient model failures".
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 design✗ 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 releaseServer failed to connectStatus: 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 "Request failed due to a transient API error. Retrying..." mean in Copilot CLI?
A model request failed and the CLI is retrying it automatically. In the original report the retries ended with: "Sorry, you've hit a rate limit that restricts the number of Copilot model requests you can make within a specific time period. Please try again in 1 minute."
How do I fix "Request failed due to a transient API error. Retrying..."?
There are 3 documented fixes. Start with the first: During an incident, check githubstatus.com and retry once it is resolved (maintainer dereklegenzoff, #3831).
Is this Copilot CLI error fixed?
Status: Open. Still open upstream. Any documented fixes are workarounds so far. Affected versions: Reported on 1.0.6 through 1.0.59 and later. #2101 is still open.
Sources
Last verified against 3 sources: official docs, maintainer replies and release notes.
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