GitHub Copilot

What it does

GitHub Copilot takes in code, issues, pull requests, and repository context, along with natural-language prompts, and produces code suggestions, chat answers, agent-generated changes, and code review feedback. Agents can start from an issue, return a pull request, and continue work across the Copilot app, CLI, editors, github.com, or GitHub Mobile.

People use it for everyday completions, delegating tasks to a cloud agent, reviewing local changes before opening a pull request, and automating recurring repository work. What sets it apart is that it runs inside the same place where your code, issues, and pull requests already live, so context does not need to be copied between tools.

It suits individual developers and teams who already work on GitHub. Free access is limited to 2,000 completions and entry-level models per month, and paid plans start at $10 per user per month. Usage beyond included credits depends on model choice and task size, and organizations can set limits or disable paid usage. Non-English prompts may produce lower-quality results, and suggestions should still be tested and reviewed.

What it can do

• Inline code completions and next edit suggestions
• Chat and agent mode for multi-file coding tasks
• Copilot cloud agent that researches, plans, writes code, and opens pull requests from issues
• Code review of pull requests and local file diffs for quality and security issues
• Repository custom instructions and custom agents for project-specific conventions
• Automations that run reusable agent tasks on demand, on a schedule, or from supported triggers

Works with

• Visual Studio Code
• Visual Studio
• JetBrains IDEs
• Xcode
• Eclipse
• Neovim
• Zed
• SQL Server Management Studio
• Raycast
• MCP servers

Example workflows

Delegate an issue to the cloud agent

Input: a GitHub issue describing a bug or feature. Steps: open a Copilot session from the issue, let the cloud agent research and plan, review the proposed pull request, and address review findings. Output: a pull request ready for human review and merge.

Review local changes before opening a pull request

Input: uncommitted edits in a local repository. Steps: run Copilot code review on the local diff, select which quality or security findings to address, and ask Copilot to fix them. Output: a cleaner change set ready to commit and open as a pull request.

Before you choose

• Credit usage depends on model and task complexity: completions are unlimited on paid plans, while chat and agent work draws from monthly GitHub AI Credits at $0.01 each.
• Copilot suggestions can match public code in rare cases; the optional code-referencing filter can suppress matches and should be reviewed under your own license policies.
• Business and enterprise admins control usage limits and whether additional paid usage is allowed; individual Free, Pro, and Pro+ subscribers can opt out of AI model training through their Copilot settings.

Listed under

• Coding
• Code review and testing
• Coding agents
• AI coding
• Code completion
• Code generation
• Code review
• Coding agent

Get started

The free plan requires no credit card; the Copilot page links to VS Code and plan options.

1. Sign up for a free or paid GitHub Copilot plan from the Copilot page, or open it in VS Code.
2. Install the Copilot extension in your editor or the Copilot CLI from the Copilot page.
3. Add repository custom instructions (for example via a copilot-instructions.md file) so Copilot follows your project's conventions.

Paid plans are billed per user per month. Each plan includes a monthly GitHub AI Credits allowance (1 credit = $0.01); completions and next edit suggestions do not consume credits. Optional flex allotments and purchased additional credits are variable. Business and Enterprise pricing is not included in the reviewed information; contact sales is referenced only for business inquiries.

Source: github.com/features/copilot/plans, checked 28 Oct 2026. Prices can change; check before you buy.

Sources for this overview

Product pages, documentation, and pricing checked 28 Oct 2026. Each source supports part of the overview; availability and prices can change.

• GitHub Copilot · Your AI coding agent · GitHub · GitHub ↗github.com
• GitHub Copilot · Plans & pricing · GitHub ↗github.com
• Customize Copilot for your project - GitHub Docs ↗docs.github.com

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knowledge_base

Last checked 28 Oct 2026. Every field keeps its source and date; unknown means we couldn’t confirm it.