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Sunsetting GitHub Copilot Business: Transitioning to Enterprise for CNCF Maintainers

· 3 min read
Ihor Dvoretskyi
Ihor Dvoretskyi
Senior Developer Advocate

Late last year, we announced the strategic agreement with GitHub to provide GitHub Copilot Enterprise licenses to CNCF project maintainers at no cost. Since then, we have seen a strong response from the community, with over 100 Enterprise seats already in active use.

As we move forward, we are working to simplify our infrastructure and billing. To that end, we will be phasing out all legacy GitHub Copilot Business licenses in early April 2026.

Why the transition?​

Historically, the CNCF provided Copilot Business seats to various contributors. However, our current partnership with GitHub focuses on the Enterprise tier, which offers an expanded feature set and is provided specifically for formal maintainers.

By sunsetting the legacy Business seats, we ensure we use our resources efficiently and that all maintainers have access to GitHub's highest-tier AI tools.

Enterprise vs. Business: What is the difference?​

GitHub Copilot Enterprise includes all the features of the Business plan, along with advanced capabilities designed to support larger-scale collaboration and deeper integration with your development environment.

To see a side-by-side comparison of the features available in each plan, visit the official GitHub documentation: GitHub Copilot Plans Comparison.

How does this affect you?​

I already have an Enterprise license​

No action required

You are all set. Your access continues uninterrupted.

I already have an Enterprise license and a Business license​

If you are already using an Enterprise seat, you do not need to take any action. You may have noticed you were assigned both "Business" and "Enterprise" seats—in this case, the Enterprise license already takes precedence. When the Business seats are removed in April, your access will continue without interruption.

I only have a Business license (or no license at all)​

If you are currently relying on a Business seat provided by the CNCF, you must ensure you are transitioned to an Enterprise seat to avoid a lapse in access.

Eligibility

To receive a free Enterprise seat, you must be a formal maintainer of a CNCF project, as reflected on the CNCF Maintainers Dashboard.

How to request your Enterprise seat​

If you are an eligible maintainer and have not yet moved to the Enterprise tier, please follow the formal request procedure outlined in our previous guide:

How to request GitHub Copilot Enterprise for CNCF Maintainers

Timeline​

Act before early April 2026

The removal of the legacy Business seats will begin in early April 2026, shortly after KubeCon Europe. We encourage all maintainers to check their seat status and submit requests for Enterprise access before this time.

If you have any questions or encounter issues during this transition, please open a ticket at the CNCF Service Desk.

References​