Feature
GitHub
Three models are removed from all GitHub Copilot experiences — Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 5, and GPT-5.6 Terra — with suggested replacements
departs 16 Nov 2026
Quick answers
- Is it true that GitHub Copilot deprecates the Claude Opus 4.8, Opus 5, and GPT-5.6 Terra models on 16 November 2026?
- Yes. GitHub has officially announced it, effective 16 Nov 2026. If you use GitHub Copilot and have pinned a workflow, chat preference, or integration to one of three specific models, it stops being available on 16 November 2026.
- When does it take effect?
- 16 Nov 2026. Verified against the vendor's own announcement.
- What should I use instead?
- Before 16 November 2026, switch any workflow or integration that names Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 5, or GPT-5.6 Terra to a supported model.
What this means for you
If you use GitHub Copilot and have pinned a workflow, chat preference, or integration to one of three specific models, it stops being available on 16 November 2026. Per GitHub's changelog, the models being removed across every Copilot surface — Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask and agent modes, and code completions — are Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 5, and GPT-5.6 Terra. GitHub lists suggested replacements: Claude Opus 5.5 for both Opus models, and GPT-6.1 Sol or GPT-6 Luna for GPT-5.6 Terra. One carve-out: GitHub says Claude Opus 4.8 stays available to individual Copilot subscribers on annual plans, so those users keep an Opus option; the removal applies to everyone else. The people most affected are teams whose agent configs, scripts, or saved chat settings name one of these models explicitly — automation that requests a now-removed model will fall back or fail rather than warn you in advance.
Where to go
Before 16 November 2026, switch any workflow or integration that names Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 5, or GPT-5.6 Terra to a supported model. GitHub's suggested mapping is Claude Opus 5.5 in place of either Opus model, and GPT-6.1 Sol or GPT-6 Luna in place of GPT-5.6 Terra. For Copilot Enterprise and Copilot Business, GitHub says the suggested alternatives are enabled automatically under default model enablement unless an administrator has turned off the global default or disabled the model — in which case an admin must enable the replacement through its model policy in Copilot settings before users see it in the model selector. GitHub states no action is required to remove the models after deprecation. Individual subscribers on annual plans keep Claude Opus 4.8; no change is needed there.
- Claude Opus 5.5 — GitHub's suggested replacement for both Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Opus 5
- GPT-6.1 Sol or GPT-6 Luna — GitHub's suggested replacements for GPT-5.6 Terra
GitHub has announced that three models will be removed from GitHub Copilot on 16 November 2026. In its changelog post, GitHub says the deprecation applies “across all GitHub Copilot experiences” — Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask and agent modes, and code completions.
The three models going away, with GitHub’s suggested replacements:
- Claude Opus 4.8 → Claude Opus 5.5
- Claude Opus 5 → Claude Opus 5.5
- GPT-5.6 Terra → GPT-6.1 Sol or GPT-6 Luna
There is one exception. GitHub states that Claude Opus 4.8 will remain available to individual GitHub Copilot subscribers on annual plans, so those users keep an Opus offering; the removal does not apply to them. For everyone else, all three models are gone on the date.
Who this actually affects: most Copilot users pick a model from a dropdown and will simply see the replacement. The sharper edge is for teams that name a specific model in an agent configuration, a saved workflow, or an integration — once a model is deprecated, requests for it no longer resolve to that model. GitHub says that under default model enablement, the suggested alternatives are turned on automatically for Copilot Enterprise and Copilot Business customers, unless an administrator has disabled the global default or that specific model. If your organization has turned off the global default, an admin needs to enable the replacement through its model policy in Copilot settings before it appears in the model selector.
GitHub adds that no action is required to remove the models after they are deprecated, and points Enterprise customers with questions to their account team. The practical to-do before 16 November is narrow: check anything that requests one of these three models by name and move it to a supported one.
Entry changelog
- — last reviewed.
- — Entry created from GitHub's official changelog post (github.blog, 15 October 2026). The three deprecated models (Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 5, GPT-5.6 Terra), the 16 November 2026 date, the suggested replacements, and the annual-individual-subscriber carve-out for Claude Opus 4.8 are all quoted from that post. No detect: fingerprint — Copilot model choice is a service-side setting, not a dependency a repo scan can match reliably.
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