diff --git a/agent/credential_pool.py b/agent/credential_pool.py
index 2d5accd41..6fbb553d2 100644
--- a/agent/credential_pool.py
+++ b/agent/credential_pool.py
@@ -1078,9 +1078,10 @@ def _seed_from_singletons(provider: str, entries: List[PooledCredential]) -> Tup
         # env vars (COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN / GH_TOKEN).  They don't live in
         # the auth store or credential pool, so we resolve them here.
         try:
-            from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import resolve_copilot_token
+            from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import resolve_copilot_token, get_copilot_api_token
             token, source = resolve_copilot_token()
             if token:
+                api_token = get_copilot_api_token(token)
                 source_name = "gh_cli" if "gh" in source.lower() else f"env:{source}"
                 if not _is_suppressed(provider, source_name):
                     active_sources.add(source_name)
@@ -1092,7 +1093,7 @@ def _seed_from_singletons(provider: str, entries: List[PooledCredential]) -> Tup
                         {
                             "source": source_name,
                             "auth_type": AUTH_TYPE_API_KEY,
-                            "access_token": token,
+                            "access_token": api_token,
                             "base_url": pconfig.inference_base_url if pconfig else "",
                             "label": source,
                         },
diff --git a/hermes_cli/auth.py b/hermes_cli/auth.py
index ff0028875..207dc719f 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/auth.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/auth.py
@@ -426,10 +426,10 @@ def _resolve_api_key_provider_secret(
     if provider_id == "copilot":
         # Use the dedicated copilot auth module for proper token validation
         try:
-            from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import resolve_copilot_token
+            from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import resolve_copilot_token, get_copilot_api_token
             token, source = resolve_copilot_token()
             if token:
-                return token, source
+                return get_copilot_api_token(token), source
         except ValueError as exc:
             logger.warning("Copilot token validation failed: %s", exc)
         except Exception:
diff --git a/hermes_cli/copilot_auth.py b/hermes_cli/copilot_auth.py
index 24859da1a..348e4efe8 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/copilot_auth.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/copilot_auth.py
@@ -275,6 +275,99 @@ def copilot_device_code_login(
     return None
 
 
+# ─── Copilot Token Exchange ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+# Module-level cache for exchanged Copilot API tokens.
+# Maps raw_token_fingerprint -> (api_token, expires_at_epoch).
+_jwt_cache: dict[str, tuple[str, float]] = {}
+_JWT_REFRESH_MARGIN_SECONDS = 120  # refresh 2 min before expiry
+
+# Token exchange endpoint and headers (matching VS Code / Copilot CLI)
+_TOKEN_EXCHANGE_URL = "https://api.github.com/copilot_internal/v2/token"
+_EDITOR_VERSION = "vscode/1.104.1"
+_EXCHANGE_USER_AGENT = "GitHubCopilotChat/0.26.7"
+
+
+def _token_fingerprint(raw_token: str) -> str:
+    """Short fingerprint of a raw token for cache keying (avoids storing full token)."""
+    import hashlib
+    return hashlib.sha256(raw_token.encode()).hexdigest()[:16]
+
+
+def exchange_copilot_token(raw_token: str, *, timeout: float = 10.0) -> tuple[str, float]:
+    """Exchange a raw GitHub token for a short-lived Copilot API token.
+
+    Calls ``GET https://api.github.com/copilot_internal/v2/token`` with
+    the raw GitHub token and returns ``(api_token, expires_at)``.
+
+    The returned token is a semicolon-separated string (not a standard JWT)
+    used as ``Authorization: Bearer <token>`` for Copilot API requests.
+
+    Results are cached in-process and reused until close to expiry.
+    Raises ``ValueError`` on failure.
+    """
+    import urllib.request
+
+    fp = _token_fingerprint(raw_token)
+
+    # Check cache first
+    cached = _jwt_cache.get(fp)
+    if cached:
+        api_token, expires_at = cached
+        if time.time() < expires_at - _JWT_REFRESH_MARGIN_SECONDS:
+            return api_token, expires_at
+
+    req = urllib.request.Request(
+        _TOKEN_EXCHANGE_URL,
+        method="GET",
+        headers={
+            "Authorization": f"token {raw_token}",
+            "User-Agent": _EXCHANGE_USER_AGENT,
+            "Accept": "application/json",
+            "Editor-Version": _EDITOR_VERSION,
+        },
+    )
+
+    try:
+        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=timeout) as resp:
+            data = json.loads(resp.read().decode())
+    except Exception as exc:
+        raise ValueError(f"Copilot token exchange failed: {exc}") from exc
+
+    api_token = data.get("token", "")
+    expires_at = data.get("expires_at", 0)
+    if not api_token:
+        raise ValueError("Copilot token exchange returned empty token")
+
+    # Convert expires_at to float if needed
+    expires_at = float(expires_at) if expires_at else time.time() + 1800
+
+    _jwt_cache[fp] = (api_token, expires_at)
+    logger.debug(
+        "Copilot token exchanged, expires_at=%s",
+        expires_at,
+    )
+    return api_token, expires_at
+
+
+def get_copilot_api_token(raw_token: str) -> str:
+    """Exchange a raw GitHub token for a Copilot API token, with fallback.
+
+    Convenience wrapper: returns the exchanged token on success, or the
+    raw token unchanged if the exchange fails (e.g. network error, unsupported
+    account type). This preserves existing behaviour for accounts that don't
+    need exchange while enabling access to internal-only models for those that do.
+    """
+    if not raw_token:
+        return raw_token
+    try:
+        api_token, _ = exchange_copilot_token(raw_token)
+        return api_token
+    except Exception as exc:
+        logger.debug("Copilot token exchange failed, using raw token: %s", exc)
+        return raw_token
+
+
 # ─── Copilot API Headers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 def copilot_request_headers(
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_copilot_token_exchange.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_copilot_token_exchange.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9c6a219ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_copilot_token_exchange.py
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+"""Tests for Copilot token exchange (raw GitHub token → Copilot API token)."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import time
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _clear_jwt_cache():
+    """Reset the module-level JWT cache before each test."""
+    import hermes_cli.copilot_auth as mod
+    mod._jwt_cache.clear()
+    yield
+    mod._jwt_cache.clear()
+
+
+class TestExchangeCopilotToken:
+    """Tests for exchange_copilot_token()."""
+
+    def _mock_urlopen(self, token="tid=abc;exp=123;sku=copilot_individual", expires_at=None):
+        """Create a mock urlopen context manager returning a token response."""
+        if expires_at is None:
+            expires_at = time.time() + 1800
+        resp_data = json.dumps({"token": token, "expires_at": expires_at}).encode()
+        mock_resp = MagicMock()
+        mock_resp.read.return_value = resp_data
+        mock_resp.__enter__ = MagicMock(return_value=mock_resp)
+        mock_resp.__exit__ = MagicMock(return_value=False)
+        return mock_resp
+
+    @patch("urllib.request.urlopen")
+    def test_exchanges_token_successfully(self, mock_urlopen):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import exchange_copilot_token
+
+        mock_urlopen.return_value = self._mock_urlopen(token="tid=abc;exp=999")
+        api_token, expires_at = exchange_copilot_token("gho_test123")
+
+        assert api_token == "tid=abc;exp=999"
+        assert isinstance(expires_at, float)
+
+        # Verify request was made with correct headers
+        call_args = mock_urlopen.call_args
+        req = call_args[0][0]
+        assert req.get_header("Authorization") == "token gho_test123"
+        assert "GitHubCopilotChat" in req.get_header("User-agent")
+
+    @patch("urllib.request.urlopen")
+    def test_caches_result(self, mock_urlopen):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import exchange_copilot_token
+
+        future = time.time() + 1800
+        mock_urlopen.return_value = self._mock_urlopen(expires_at=future)
+
+        exchange_copilot_token("gho_test123")
+        exchange_copilot_token("gho_test123")
+
+        assert mock_urlopen.call_count == 1
+
+    @patch("urllib.request.urlopen")
+    def test_refreshes_expired_cache(self, mock_urlopen):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import exchange_copilot_token, _jwt_cache, _token_fingerprint
+
+        # Seed cache with expired entry
+        fp = _token_fingerprint("gho_test123")
+        _jwt_cache[fp] = ("old_token", time.time() - 10)
+
+        mock_urlopen.return_value = self._mock_urlopen(
+            token="new_token", expires_at=time.time() + 1800
+        )
+        api_token, _ = exchange_copilot_token("gho_test123")
+
+        assert api_token == "new_token"
+        assert mock_urlopen.call_count == 1
+
+    @patch("urllib.request.urlopen")
+    def test_raises_on_empty_token(self, mock_urlopen):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import exchange_copilot_token
+
+        resp_data = json.dumps({"token": "", "expires_at": 0}).encode()
+        mock_resp = MagicMock()
+        mock_resp.read.return_value = resp_data
+        mock_resp.__enter__ = MagicMock(return_value=mock_resp)
+        mock_resp.__exit__ = MagicMock(return_value=False)
+        mock_urlopen.return_value = mock_resp
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="empty token"):
+            exchange_copilot_token("gho_test123")
+
+    @patch("urllib.request.urlopen", side_effect=Exception("network error"))
+    def test_raises_on_network_error(self, mock_urlopen):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import exchange_copilot_token
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="network error"):
+            exchange_copilot_token("gho_test123")
+
+
+class TestGetCopilotApiToken:
+    """Tests for get_copilot_api_token() — the fallback wrapper."""
+
+    @patch("hermes_cli.copilot_auth.exchange_copilot_token")
+    def test_returns_exchanged_token(self, mock_exchange):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import get_copilot_api_token
+
+        mock_exchange.return_value = ("exchanged_jwt", time.time() + 1800)
+        assert get_copilot_api_token("gho_raw") == "exchanged_jwt"
+
+    @patch("hermes_cli.copilot_auth.exchange_copilot_token", side_effect=ValueError("fail"))
+    def test_falls_back_to_raw_token(self, mock_exchange):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import get_copilot_api_token
+
+        assert get_copilot_api_token("gho_raw") == "gho_raw"
+
+    def test_empty_token_passthrough(self):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import get_copilot_api_token
+
+        assert get_copilot_api_token("") == ""
+
+
+class TestTokenFingerprint:
+    """Tests for _token_fingerprint()."""
+
+    def test_consistent(self):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import _token_fingerprint
+
+        fp1 = _token_fingerprint("gho_abc123")
+        fp2 = _token_fingerprint("gho_abc123")
+        assert fp1 == fp2
+
+    def test_different_tokens_different_fingerprints(self):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import _token_fingerprint
+
+        fp1 = _token_fingerprint("gho_abc123")
+        fp2 = _token_fingerprint("gho_xyz789")
+        assert fp1 != fp2
+
+    def test_length(self):
+        from hermes_cli.copilot_auth import _token_fingerprint
+
+        assert len(_token_fingerprint("gho_test")) == 16
+
+
+class TestCallerIntegration:
+    """Test that callers correctly use token exchange."""
+
+    @patch("hermes_cli.copilot_auth.resolve_copilot_token", return_value=("gho_raw", "GH_TOKEN"))
+    @patch("hermes_cli.copilot_auth.get_copilot_api_token", return_value="exchanged_jwt")
+    def test_auth_resolve_uses_exchange(self, mock_exchange, mock_resolve):
+        from hermes_cli.auth import _resolve_api_key_provider_secret
+
+        # Create a minimal pconfig mock
+        pconfig = MagicMock()
+        token, source = _resolve_api_key_provider_secret("copilot", pconfig)
+        assert token == "exchanged_jwt"
+        assert source == "GH_TOKEN"
+        mock_exchange.assert_called_once_with("gho_raw")