Does GitHub Copilot work offline?

No. GitHub Copilot sends context to cloud servers for inference and requires an active internet connection to produce suggestions.

Will GitHub Copilot use my code to train models?

Business and Enterprise plans exclude your code from training. Individual users can opt out in settings if they wish.

Which languages does GitHub Copilot support best?

GitHub Copilot performs strongest in Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Ruby, Java, and C#, where it had the most training data available.

How is GitHub Copilot different from ChatGPT?

GitHub Copilot lives in your editor with awareness of your file context, while ChatGPT is a general-purpose web chat without IDE integration or codebase awareness.

GitHub Copilot

AI Pair Programmer Built Into Your Editor

Freemium

Code AssistantPair ProgrammingCode Completion

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What is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is GitHub's AI coding assistant for code completion, chat, code review, pull request help, and agentic development workflows across GitHub.com, VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, and GitHub Mobile. Copilot includes a limited Free tier for individual developers, paid Pro and Pro+ plans for heavier individual usage, and Business and Enterprise plans for organizations that need policy controls, IP indemnity, private codebase context, and GitHub.com integration. Copilot is powered by generative AI models from GitHub, OpenAI, Microsoft, and other supported providers depending on feature and plan.

Key Features of GitHub Copilot

Inline Code Completion

GitHub Copilot suggests multi-line completions as you type, anticipating the next function or block. Press Tab to accept, or cycle through alternative GitHub Copilot suggestions until one matches your intent perfectly.

Copilot Chat

Ask GitHub Copilot questions about your code in a sidebar chat. Request explanations, generate tests, refactor selections, or debug errors. Copilot Chat understands the file you have open and your selected code.

Slash Commands

Use commands like /tests, /fix, /explain, and /doc inside GitHub Copilot Chat to trigger specialized workflows. These shortcuts let GitHub Copilot generate test suites or write documentation without long prompts.

Multi-File Edits with Workspaces

GitHub Copilot's @workspace agent reasons about your entire repository. Ask about architecture, request changes spanning multiple files, and Copilot will plan and apply coordinated edits across the codebase.

Pull Request Summaries

On GitHub.com, Copilot drafts PR descriptions from your diff, suggests reviewers, and answers questions about changes. This makes code review faster for both authors and reviewers using GitHub Copilot.

Broad IDE Support

GitHub Copilot runs in VS Code, Visual Studio, all JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, Xcode, and Azure Data Studio. Settings sync across editors, so your Copilot experience stays consistent everywhere.

GitHub Copilot Pricing Plans

Free

Limited Copilot access for individual developers, including code completion and chat with monthly usage limits.

Pro

$10/month

Individual Copilot plan with expanded coding assistance, chat, and included AI usage for solo developers.

Pro+

$39/month

Higher-usage individual plan for developers who need more access to premium models and agentic workflows.

Business

$19/user/month

Team plan with license management, policy controls, audit logs, IP indemnity, and business privacy controls.

Enterprise

$39/user/month

Enterprise plan with GitHub.com integration, deeper organization knowledge, advanced customization, and enterprise governance.

Best Use Cases for GitHub Copilot

Writing Repetitive Boilerplate

Target user:: Backend engineer building REST endpoints
Pain point:: Typing the same controller, validator, and DTO patterns for every new route burns 30 minutes per endpoint
Solution:: GitHub Copilot infers the pattern from one example and generates the rest in seconds. A comment like // POST /users yields a complete handler.

Generating Unit Tests

Target user:: Mid-level developer with low test coverage
Pain point:: Writing tests for existing untested code feels like a chore and gets deprioritized
Solution:: Select a function, run /tests in GitHub Copilot Chat, and get a working test suite with edge cases. Coverage climbs from 30% to 80% in an afternoon.

Learning an Unfamiliar Codebase

Target user:: New hire onboarding to a large monorepo
Pain point:: Tracing how a feature works across 50 files takes days of grep and Slack messages
Solution:: Ask @workspace in Copilot Chat how authentication flows through the app. GitHub Copilot summarizes the path and links to the relevant files.

Translating Between Languages

Target user:: Engineer porting a Python script to Go
Pain point:: Manual translation introduces subtle bugs and takes hours per file
Solution:: Paste the Python into Copilot Chat and ask for an idiomatic Go version. GitHub Copilot preserves logic while applying language-appropriate patterns.

How to Use GitHub Copilot — Step by Step

1
Install the Extension
Install the GitHub Copilot extension from your IDE's marketplace. VS Code users get it from the Extensions view; JetBrains users install from the Plugins menu.
2
Sign In to GitHub
Authenticate with your GitHub account. If your account has an active GitHub Copilot subscription or organization seat, completions activate immediately in any supported file.
3
Write a Comment or Function Name
Start typing a comment describing what you want, or begin a function signature. GitHub Copilot proposes a completion in gray ghost text within a second.
4
Accept or Cycle Suggestions
Press Tab to accept, Esc to dismiss, or Alt+] to see the next GitHub Copilot suggestion. Partial acceptance with Ctrl+Right takes one word at a time.
5
Open Copilot Chat for Deeper Work
Press Ctrl+Alt+I to open the chat panel. Ask GitHub Copilot to refactor a selection, explain an error, or generate tests for the open file.

GitHub Copilot vs Alternatives

Want the most polished IDE integration?

Pick: GitHub CopilotGitHub Copilot has the deepest, most stable plugins across VS Code, JetBrains, and Visual Studio, refined over years of production use.

Need a free self-hosted option?

Pick: Tabnine or WindsurfTabnine emphasizes enterprise privacy and self-hosting. Windsurf offers an AI-first editor experience alongside coding assistance.

Want agentic refactors across many files?

Pick: Cursor or Claude CodeTheir agent modes are more aggressive at multi-file edits. GitHub Copilot is catching up but is still more conservative.

GitHub Copilot FAQ

GitHub Copilot is free for verified students, teachers, and maintainers of popular open source projects. Everyone else pays $10/month for the Individual plan.