GitHub Copilot for JetBrains version 1.18.0 adds AI-assisted tool approvals in public preview, controls for individual MCP tools, conversation and file rewind, and a planning mode for the Codex agent, according to daily.dev’s release summary and coverage on Astana Hub. For developers, the changes address several distinct parts of agent work: which actions need confirmation, which tools are available, and how to redirect a session after work has begun.
GitHub’s own changelog entry describes more control over default models and MCP servers, along with improvements to diagnostics, chat navigation and account controls. The detailed version 1.18.0 feature descriptions come from the secondary coverage; the supplied GitHub excerpt does not enumerate them.
AI-assisted approvals retain a confirmation boundary
The approval feature allows some low-risk tool calls to proceed automatically. Higher-risk actions still require manual confirmation. Astana Hub describes that boundary as covering potentially dangerous actions that can change the project or environment, while daily.dev describes it more generally as confirmation for riskier actions.
The intended benefit is fewer approval interruptions during agent work. That remains a description of the feature’s purpose, rather than a measured productivity result: the available evidence provides no benchmark for time saved or approval accuracy.
The public-preview status also matters. The coverage does not explain how risk is classified or give an exhaustive list of operations that qualify for automatic approval. Developers therefore have evidence of a selective approval mechanism, but insufficient detail to predict its decision for every tool call.
MCP controls separate tool availability from approvals
Version 1.18.0 introduces persistent controls for individual Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools and a separate toggle for the built-in GitHub MCP Server, according to daily.dev. Astana Hub likewise reports that the built-in server can be enabled or disabled independently of other MCP servers.
Daily.dev says the built-in GitHub MCP Server remains enabled by default unless disabled in settings. That default is reported by a single secondary source in the available evidence.
These settings address a different question from automatic approvals. The server toggle and per-tool controls determine which capabilities are available to an agent session; approvals determine whether a particular action can proceed without confirmation. Read together, the changes suggest more granular control over agent work, although the coverage does not specify how those controls interact in every case.
Rewind and planning provide ways to redirect work
Developers can re-edit earlier messages in a Copilot Agent session with conversation and file rewind. Astana Hub explains that editing a previous request returns the conversation and file changes to the state before that message, allowing the developer to change direction within the existing session.
The documented scope is conversation and file changes. The evidence does not establish whether rewind can reverse other effects on the environment, so it should not be treated as a general guarantee that every agent action is reversible.
The Codex agent also gains a plan mode. Both secondary sources report the feature, and Astana Hub describes it as creating a task solution plan before making changes. Its practical significance is the separation of planning from modification; the evidence does not describe a required approval step for that plan.
For team workflows, the coverage also reports support for shared organization and enterprise skills and custom instructions. Astana Hub identifies local sessions and Copilot Agent as supporting these shared resources. The available descriptions do not detail configuration or precedence rules.
Chat changes and an IDE upgrade notice
The release adds a side-by-side chat panel, described by Astana Hub as opening chat beside the session list directly in the editor. Astana Hub also reports suggestions for commands, settings and Copilot features above the input field. Daily.dev lists reliability fixes for inline chat and Codex session startup, without providing measurements of their effect.
JetBrains IDE 2025.1 remains supported in version 1.18.0. Both secondary sources describe an advance deprecation notice pointing users toward IDE version 2026.1 or later. The evidence gives no firm end-of-support date, so the notice supports upgrade planning without establishing an immediate loss of functionality.
There is a chronology limitation: the supplied GitHub entry is dated October 10, 2026, while the secondary coverage displays September 23, with Astana Hub specifying 2026. Those dates do not establish a single release date or demonstrate that the October entry describes exactly the same release. The feature breakdown above reflects the secondary sources’ explicit version 1.18.0 descriptions; GitHub’s broader model, diagnostics and account-control claims remain attributed to its separate entry.
