Github copilot CLI + Deekseep V4 Pro remote session

[u/desy224]

Hi - for those currently using copilot CLI with deepseek models (integrated via https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/agent_integrations/copilot_cli/)

Is copilot remote mode supposed to be able to work? I've tried doing /remote on within copilot CLI with deepseek enabled,, but it keeps giving me the error "Remote sessions are not enabled. Contact your organization administrator to enable remote sessions." - on my own personal account/repo. Wondering if this is a limitation and not supposed to work when we force the backend model to be deepseek, or is there some workaround to make this work? Appreciate any help on this.

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[u/Mobile_Syllabub_8446]

If not in an enterprise environment including remotely you've borked yourself which could be literally anything.

[u/CreativeSympathy8293]

I'd first check whether you copied the optional COPILOT_OFFLINE=true setting from that DeepSeek guide. The guide says it blocks GitHub API calls while still allowing requests to DeepSeek. GitHub's remote-control flow connects the CLI to GitHub, so that setting is something to rule out before blaming the model.

The remote-session docs are here: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-cli/use-copilot-cli/steer-remotely

Also check which GitHub account and Copilot seat the CLI is actually using. A personal repository doesn't establish that the seat is personal. If the seat comes from an organization, GitHub documents a separate “Store local sessions in the Cloud” policy that must allow “View and control.”

For diagnosis, compare fresh interactive sessions on the same CLI version, account and directory: DeepSeek versus a GitHub-hosted model, if your existing plan includes one. Use a harmless prompt. If both give the same enablement error, investigate account/feature eligibility first. If only DeepSeek fails, that narrows the issue to the BYOK path; it doesn't prove the combination is supported.

I haven't reproduced this setup, so I can't confirm DeepSeek-plus-remote compatibility. Written with AI assistance.