diff --git a/cmd/picoclaw/cmd_gateway.go b/cmd/picoclaw/cmd_gateway.go
index cf7f3563a..3010c1451 100644
--- a/cmd/picoclaw/cmd_gateway.go
+++ b/cmd/picoclaw/cmd_gateway.go
@@ -211,6 +211,9 @@ func gatewayCmd() {
 	<-sigChan
 
 	fmt.Println("\nShutting down...")
+	if cp, ok := provider.(providers.StatefulProvider); ok {
+		cp.Close()
+	}
 	cancel()
 	healthServer.Stop(context.Background())
 	deviceService.Stop()
diff --git a/pkg/providers/github_copilot_provider.go b/pkg/providers/github_copilot_provider.go
index 6124881f7..9210021e1 100644
--- a/pkg/providers/github_copilot_provider.go
+++ b/pkg/providers/github_copilot_provider.go
@@ -4,60 +4,84 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"sync"
 
 	copilot "github.com/github/copilot-sdk/go"
 )
 
 type GitHubCopilotProvider struct {
 	uri         string
-	connectMode string // `stdio` or `grpc``
+	connectMode string // "stdio" or "grpc"
 
+	client  *copilot.Client
 	session *copilot.Session
+
+	mu sync.Mutex
 }
 
 func NewGitHubCopilotProvider(uri string, connectMode string, model string) (*GitHubCopilotProvider, error) {
-	var session *copilot.Session
 	if connectMode == "" {
 		connectMode = "grpc"
 	}
-	switch connectMode {
 
+	switch connectMode {
 	case "stdio":
-		// todo
+		// TODO:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("stdio mode not implemented")
 	case "grpc":
 		client := copilot.NewClient(&copilot.ClientOptions{
 			CLIUrl: uri,
 		})
 		if err := client.Start(context.Background()); err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf(
-				"Can't connect to Github Copilot, https://github.com/github/copilot-sdk/blob/main/docs/getting-started.md#connecting-to-an-external-cli-server for details",
+				"can't connect to Github Copilot: %w; `https://github.com/github/copilot-sdk/blob/main/docs/getting-started.md#connecting-to-an-external-cli-server` for details",
+				err,
 			)
 		}
-		defer client.Stop()
-		session, _ = client.CreateSession(context.Background(), &copilot.SessionConfig{
+
+		session, err := client.CreateSession(context.Background(), &copilot.SessionConfig{
 			Model: model,
 			Hooks: &copilot.SessionHooks{},
 		})
+		if err != nil {
 
+			client.Stop()
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("create session failed: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		return &GitHubCopilotProvider{
+			uri:         uri,
+			connectMode: connectMode,
+			client:      client,
+			session:     session,
+		}, nil
+	default:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown connect mode: %s", connectMode)
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubCopilotProvider) Close() {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	defer p.mu.Unlock()
+	if p.client != nil {
+		p.client.Stop()
+		p.client = nil
+		p.session = nil
 	}
-
-	return &GitHubCopilotProvider{
-		uri:         uri,
-		connectMode: connectMode,
-		session:     session,
-	}, nil
 }
 
-// Chat sends a chat request to GitHub Copilot
 func (p *GitHubCopilotProvider) Chat(
-	ctx context.Context, messages []Message, tools []ToolDefinition, model string, options map[string]any,
+	ctx context.Context,
+	messages []Message,
+	tools []ToolDefinition,
+	model string,
+	options map[string]any,
 ) (*LLMResponse, error) {
 	type tempMessage struct {
 		Role    string `json:"role"`
 		Content string `json:"content"`
 	}
 	out := make([]tempMessage, 0, len(messages))
-
 	for _, msg := range messages {
 		out = append(out, tempMessage{
 			Role:    msg.Role,
@@ -65,12 +89,30 @@ func (p *GitHubCopilotProvider) Chat(
 		})
 	}
 
-	fullcontent, _ := json.Marshal(out)
+	fullcontent, err := json.Marshal(out)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("marshal messages: %w", err)
+	}
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	session := p.session
+	p.mu.Unlock()
 
-	content, _ := p.session.Send(ctx, copilot.MessageOptions{
+	if session == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("provider closed")
+	}
+
+	resp, err := session.SendAndWait(ctx, copilot.MessageOptions{
 		Prompt: string(fullcontent),
 	})
 
+	if resp == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("empty response from copilot")
+	}
+	if resp.Data.Content == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no content in copilot response")
+	}
+	content := *resp.Data.Content
+
 	return &LLMResponse{
 		FinishReason: "stop",
 		Content:      content,
diff --git a/pkg/providers/types.go b/pkg/providers/types.go
index f711e7803..b2dda04a5 100644
--- a/pkg/providers/types.go
+++ b/pkg/providers/types.go
@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ type LLMProvider interface {
 	GetDefaultModel() string
 }
 
+type StatefulProvider interface {
+	LLMProvider
+	Close()
+}
+
 // FailoverReason classifies why an LLM request failed for fallback decisions.
 type FailoverReason string