Persistent memory for VS Code and GitHub Copilot

Copilot in VS Code keeps three kinds of context between sessions:

• Custom instructions: .github/copilot-instructions.md, .instructions.md files and AGENTS.md, written by hand and committed with the repository
• The VS Code memory tool: notes the agent saves when you ask it to remember something, in user, repository and session scopes, stored locally on your machine
• Copilot Memory: facts Copilot agents learn about a repository, checked against the code before use and deleted after 28 days; in public preview on paid Copilot plans

• Local notes stay local. The memory tool writes to your machine. VS Code's own guidance is to move anything the team depends on into a reviewed instructions file.
• Copilot Memory stays in Copilot. A fact learned by Copilot does not reach a teammate working in Claude Code, Codex or Cursor.
• Facts expire. After 28 days a repository fact is gone, along with the reason a decision was made months ago.
• Instructions are written by hand. They hold what someone chose to write down, not the root cause your agent found yesterday.

Instructions remain the right home for standing rules. Most teams use both.

• Memory captured as you work: the approach, the decision, the root cause and the fix, each linked to the files it is about
• Search instead of load: before an edit, the agent searches by topic and file path and expands only what it needs
• Kept until it is replaced: a newer decision takes over from an older one, and the older one stays on record
• Shared with your team: on Cloud Pro, every teammate's agent reads and writes the repository's memory
• Shared with your other agents: the same memory in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and any MCP client

1. Run the installer: npx -y recallium install finds VS Code and GitHub Copilot, plus your other agents, signs you in once and adds the MCP server to mcp.json
2. Open a repository in agent mode: Recallium names the project after the repository and loads its context at the start of each session
3. Work as usual: the agent stores what it works out and searches it before the next change

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Does GitHub Copilot have memory?

Yes, in two forms. Copilot Memory (public preview, paid plans) stores facts about a repository for up to 28 days, and the VS Code memory tool saves local notes when you ask it to. Custom instructions and AGENTS.md carry the rules you write yourself.

Can my team share Copilot memory with other agents?

Copilot Memory is shared between Copilot's own agents in a repository. Recallium shares memory across tools: what a teammate's agent learns in Claude Code or Cursor is there for Copilot in VS Code, and the other way round.

How does Recallium connect to VS Code?

Over MCP. VS Code reads MCP servers from mcp.json; the installer adds Recallium there, and any extension that speaks MCP can use it.