Re: Can anyone get Edge Copilot to work without logging in after July 2026?

Paul wrote:
> On my W11 Home (25H2), if I open MSEdge, there is a CoPilot icon right-most
> on the top line. That is what I would use for CoPilot "Chat".

Hi Paul,

I love your input as you always provide details that everyone can use.

Yes. Exactly. There are many ways to run Copilot (see script below).
As you noted, the only way that works, today, sans login, is the Edge
sidebar, which, let's be clear, does not work in any other web browser.

Here is what that little chat icon looks like in my Windows Edge browser:
 <https://i.postimg.cc/brVq8DKH/copilot-sidebar.jpg>

It works. On VPN. Sans login. But... it gets confused by sidebar metadata.

> My Task Bar also has a CoPilot icon, but that icon "doesn't know who I am".
> That would be an example of a path with a login requirement. At first, it
> made a fuss of installing itself, but now it sits there quietly.
> I think there was an MSOFFice365 CoPilot6 that made a fuss of
> installing itself, and I hunted that down and removed it (since
> M365 isn't rented/used on the machine and who wants a grumpy AI
> with nothing to play with).
> 
> Yet, the MSEdge and its top-right-most icon, it knows my username, which
> implies that perhaps my usage of a PIN at startup time, counts as
> a login, and that's why I am not being pestered there. No policy change
> has occurred there recently.
> 
> I don't fool with any other CoPilot portals, because if I were to do
> that, there would undoubtedly be some "side effect" I would later
> regret having triggered.

There are many ways to run Copilot, some of which I tried as shown below.

  :: copilot.bat
  :: Launches Windows copilot without the mothership login being forced.
  :: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  :: v1p3 20260726 (Firefox new-tab launch method)
  ::  In July 2026, Copilot's server-side forced-login logic triggers whenever
  ::  Copilot is launched from a redirect, a local server, a shortcut URL, or
  ::  a fresh browser session that immediately navigates to Copilot. This causes
  ::  the two-panel forced-login screen (left: "sign in to copilot", right: green
  ::  blurry splash image). This is NOT the Edge sidebar; it is Copilot's own
  ::  forced-login web mode.
  ::  To bypass this, Firefox must already be running BEFORE Copilot is opened.
  ::  Copilot must be opened in a NEW TAB inside an existing Firefox session.
  ::  This produces a normal browsing context and avoids automation detection.
  ::  Anonymous Copilot still works reliably ONLY in this pattern as of July 2026.
  ::
  :: v1p2 20260725 (Edge Copilot Sidebar Mode)
  ::  In July 2026, Microsoft disabled most of the non-login copilot attempts.
  ::  The Edge rule as of July 2026 is "If the URL is copilot.microsoft.com, 
  ::  then Edge overrides the launch and opens the Copilot sidebar".
  ::  In July 2026, "Edge Copilot sidebar experience" overrides "use --app=", 
  ::   "use --new-window", "use --incognito", "use --guest", 
  ::   "use --disable-features" and "use --no-first-run".
  ::  Edge now forcibly redirects any Copilot URL into the 
  ::  "Edge Copilot sidebar experience", which attaches page metadata, 
  ::   injects the Copilot sidebar, forces sign-in, forbids anonymous mode, 
  ::   forbids standalone windows and does not allow pure web Copilot.
  ::  But Copilot can be used in an Edge sidebar session without logging 
  ::  into a mothership tracking account, but Edge metadata pollutes it.
  ::    IsCurrent=true -> Edge Copilot sidebar
  ::    IsCurrent=false -> copilot.microsoft.com
  ::     edge_all_open_tabs = [
  ::     { ... isCurrent=true },
  ::     { pageTitle:"Microsoft Copilot: Your AI companion",
  ::     pageUrl:"https://copilot.microsoft.com",
  ::     tabId:1009037958,
  ::     isCurrent:false } ]
  ::  Luckily Firefox & Chromium should still allow anonymous Copilot.
  ::  But Copilot's server-side redirect logic kicks in forcing the Edge 
  ::  Copilot sidebar mode, even though Copilot was launched inside Firefox.
  ::  not the Edge sidebar.
  ::  It's Copilot's forced-login web mode.
  :: 
  :: v1p1 20251006 (what is this method called?)
  ::  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe" ^
  ::    --profile-directory=Default ^
  ::    --app-id=aioglfahffbnednffnodjbiiojbochai ^
  ::    --app-url=https://copilot.microsoft.com/ ^
  ::    --app-run-on-os-login-mode=windowed ^
  ::    --app-launch-source=19 ^
  ::    --disable-features=msEdgeHubsSidebar,EdgeSidebar,SidePanel,EdgeSidePanel,SidePanelAutoExpand,SidePanelDragToOpen
  :: That sequences forces Edge into standalone app mode
  :: which disables the sidebar, disables the Copilot hub, 
  :: disables the side panel, disables auto-expand, disables drag-to-open,
  ::  and then launches Copilot as a PWA, bypassing login & metadata injection.
  :: 
  :: v1p0 20250816 (what is this method called?)
  ::  Launches Copilot w/o any login rquirements:
  ::  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe" --app=https://copilot.microsoft.com/
  :: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  @echo off
  
  :: v1p3 change: Remove Mongoose redirect entirely.
  :: Copilot now blocks redirect-based launches (forced-login mode).
  :: Firefox must start FIRST, then Copilot must open in a NEW TAB.
  
  :: Step 1 Launch Firefox normally (no URL)
  start "" "C:\app\browser\firefox\firefox.exe"
  
  :: Step 2 Give Firefox time to start up (2 seconds is too short)
  timeout /t 10 >nul
  
  :: Step 3 Open Copilot in a NEW TAB inside the running Firefox session
  :: This avoids automation detection and preserves anonymous mode.
  start "" "C:\app\browser\firefox\firefox.exe" -new-tab
"https://copilot.microsoft.com"
  
  :: end of copilot.bat
  
-- 
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