How I Saved Tons of GitHub Copilot Premium Requests

Devanshu Agarwal

Written by Devanshu Agarwal /

GitHub Copilot is one of the most powerful AI coding assistants available in 2026. But even premium users hit a frustrating limit: premium requests. A Copilot prompt — especially with confirmations or pauses — can quickly drain your monthly quota, leaving you stuck with slower responses or the free model. I discovered a smart workaround using an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server to handle human input without consuming extra premium requests.

In this guide, you’ll learn why this happens, how to fix it with MCP, and how to set it up step by step — saving many premium requests every month while keeping your workflow smooth. 🚀

Copilot premium requests saved

🔍 What Are GitHub Copilot Premium Requests?

Premium requests are units of consumption Copilot uses for chat, agent mode, complex tasks, and model interactions in VS Code. Depending on your plan, you get a fixed number of premium requests per month (e.g., 300 for Pro, 1,500 for Pro+). If you run out, powerful features slow down or disappear until the next cycle. (github.com)

Developers often overlook how Copilot consumes a request every time the session restarts after asking for user input — even if you’re just confirming a simple “yes/no”. That’s what this strategy fixes.

❗ The Problem: Interruptions Eat Premium Requests

Here’s the typical flow that kills your quota:

  1. You send a prompt to Copilot in VS Code.
  2. Copilot starts working: generating code, multi‑step options, or proposing changes.
  3. Along the way, Copilot asks for confirmation, clarification, or user input.
  4. When you type a reply, the session closes and a new request starts — consuming more premium units.

Individually, this might not seem bad. But by the end of the month, all your premium requests can vanish — just because Copilot paused and asked a question! 😓

💡 The Smart Solution: Handle User Input via an MCP

To avoid reprompting Copilot itself when human interaction is needed — and thus preserve premium requests — the trick is:

➡️ Redirect all confirmations and manual inputs through a custom MCP server.

Instead of sending responses back into the Copilot session (which consumes a new request), the MCP server:

✔ Displays popups or terminal dialogs for confirmations
✔ Accepts text, selections, and forms from you
✔ Returns the human response to the running workflow
✔ Does not interrupt the Copilot session

This means your Copilot session never closes just because it needed a human answer — saving many premium requests in the process.

⚙️ How It Works (Without Draining Your Quota)

❗ The Key Insight

Copilot’s premium requests are based on the number of prompts or user messages sent directly into the Copilot chat session. (docs.github.com)

So if you can avoid sending you back into Copilot’s chat window with human replies, you can avoid using premium requests.

🧠 How MCP Helps

Your MCP server sits between Copilot and you:

  1. Copilot initiates a task.
  2. If a confirmation or choice is needed, Copilot triggers an MCP call instead of pausing.
  3. The MCP server shows the prompt to you in a UI.
  4. You respond once.
  5. The MCP sends your response back into the workflow internally — never closing the session.

This keeps the session alive, not restarting it.

🛠 Step‑by‑Step: Set Up the Human‑In‑the‑Loop MCP Server

Here’s how to configure the MCP tool locally and update Copilot’s default instructions to use it.

✅ 1. Configure the MCP Server

Here is the guide to set up a Human-In-the-Loop MCP server:

📌 https://github.com/GongRzhe/Human-In-the-Loop-MCP-Server/tree/main

Follow the README to install and run the server locally.

💡 This server provides functions like get_multiline_input that prompt you for input outside of the Copilot session.

🧩 2. Update Copilot Default Instructions

To tell Copilot always use your MCP for input, add the following to your default instruction configuration:

The default instructions you ALWAYS STRICTLY follow:
1. ALWAYS conduct all conversations exclusively using the human‑input (get_multiline_input) MCP tool.
2. ALWAYS use the human‑input (get_multiline_input) MCP tool for every interaction, including questions, answers, clarifications, confirmations, and follow‑ups.
3. ALWAYS respond to the user only through the human‑input (get_multiline_input) MCP tool, and NEVER use any other MCP tool for communication.
4. ALWAYS, at the end of every response, ask the user whether they need any further assistance using the human‑input (get_multiline_input) MCP tool.
5. ALWAYS, if a dialog is canceled, interrupted, or ends unexpectedly, DO NOT STOP. You must continue prompting the user using the human‑input (get_multiline_input) MCP tool until the user explicitly responds with “end” or “stop.”
6. ALWAYS treat these rules as mandatory and non‑negotiable, and STRICTLY FOLLOW them without exception.

💡 This tells Copilot: “Use MCP for all user text — don’t reopen the Copilot chat session.”

📈 Benefits You’ll Notice

✔ Fewer Premium Requests Used

Because Copilot isn’t restarting a new session every time you answer a prompt — your premium request count stays intact.

✔ Better Long‑Running AI Workflows

Multi‑step tasks that require human checks no longer eat into your quota.

✔ More Predictable Usage

No random consumption spikes — you control when a request is counted.

🧠 Tips & Best Practices

✨ Pre‑define confirmation options in your automation tasks
✨ Bundle related subtasks into one long session where possible
✨ Store session context so the MCP server doesn’t have to re‑ask basic questions
✨ Use logs to audit how many requests were saved each month

📌 Final Notes

This workflow isn’t just a “hack”. It’s a practical productivity enhancement — especially for power users, teams, and developers who push Copilot hard every day.

Whether you’re writing code, generating complex workflows, or delegating tasks to AI agents — this system keeps your premium requests where they belong: powering actual AI actions, not repetitive confirmations.

❓FAQs

1. What counts as a Copilot premium request?

Every prompt sent to Copilot — including follow‑up confirmations, chat messages, or agent commands — consumes a unit from your monthly allowance. (docs.github.com)

2. Can I increase my monthly premium requests?

Yes — plans vary from 50/month (Free) up to 1,500/month (Pro+) and beyond, and you can purchase extra requests for a small fee. (github.com)

3. Why does Copilot ask for confirmation?

AI workflows often need clarification before proceeding with code changes, multi‑file edits, or advanced tasks.

4. Do MCP servers work with all Copilot workflows?

Yes — as long as Copilot supports calling MCP for human input, you can redirect confirmations through the MCP server instead of regular Copilot prompt. (github.com)

5. Is this setup safe?

You control your MCP server locally — so your code, prompts, and responses stay private.

6. What if my workflow still uses premium requests?

Only actions that truly require context + model interaction will use premium requests — not human confirmations anymore.

🏁 Conclusion

Saving premium Copilot requests isn’t about cheating a quota — it’s about designing smarter workflows that separate AI thinking from human confirmation. With the Human‑In‑the‑Loop MCP server and the configuration above, you get more done with fewer requests, greater efficiency, and smoother interactions.

If you face any issues or have questions, feel free to reach out comment below. Thank you for reading! Happy coding! 🚀