Microsoft Announces GitHub Copilot Free for VS Code
GitHub Copilot Free for VS Code
Introduction:
GitHub Copilot has revolutionized the way developers write code by providing AI-powered suggestions and seamless integration into popular IDEs. In an exciting move, Microsoft has announced that GitHub Copilot is now available for free in Visual Studio Code, making this powerful tool accessible to all developers. No trials, no subscriptions, and no credit card.
Github Copilot Free For Visual Studio Code:
Microsoft has announced that GitHub Copilot is now free for all users in VS Code. With just a GitHub account, developers can access it without any trials, subscriptions, or credit card requirements.
You can click on the link below or just enable GitHub Copilot right from within VS Code like
With GitHub Copilot Free, users can enjoy up to 2,000 code completions per month equivalent to around 80 completions per working day, which is substantial. Additionally, the free plan includes 50 chat requests per month and access to advanced models like GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
If you reach these limits, it likely means Copilot is effectively assisting you in achieving your goals. For those who require more, the Pro plan offers unlimited access and introduces additional models such as o1 and the highly anticipated Gemini, arriving early next year.
This exciting update makes GitHub Copilot an integral part of the VS Code experience. The development team continues to enhance its functionality with cutting-edge AI-driven features. Let’s explore some of the latest improvements rolled out over the past few months. Welcome to a new era of coding your editor, redefined with AI.
1. Work Seamlessly Across Multiple Files with Copilot Edits:
Copilot Edits introduces a powerful multi-file editing experience, accessible directly from the top of the chat sidebar. With a simple prompt, it can suggest changes across multiple files and even create new files when required. This feature blends the natural, conversational flow of chat with the advanced code generation capabilities of Copilot, delivering an unparalleled development experience. It’s a tool you’ll need to try to truly appreciate its potential..!!!
2. Multiple models with your choice:
Whether you’re using Chat, Inline Chat, or Copilot Edits, you get to decide who your pair programmer is.
3. Guide GitHub Copilot with Custom Instructions:
With custom instructions, you can now tell GitHub Copilot exactly how you want tasks completed. These instructions are sent to the model with every request, allowing you to outline your preferences and any specific details needed for Copilot to generate code according to your style.
You can set these instructions at the editor or project level. If you include a .github/copilot-instructions.md file in your project, Copilot will automatically pick them up. These instructions are also easily shareable with your team, ensuring everyone is aligned, including GitHub Copilot itself.
For Example,
## React 18
* Use functional components
* Use hooks for state management
* Use TypeScript for type safety
## SvelteKit 4
* Use SSR for dynamic content rendering
* Use static site generation (SSG) for pre-rendered static pages.
## TypeScript
* Use consistent object property shorthand: const obj = { name, age }
* Avoid implicit any4. Full project awareness:
GitHub Copilot features AI-powered domain experts that you can mention using the @ syntax, known as “participants.” The @workspace participant serves as an expert in the broader context of your entire codebase, providing tailored insights and guidance throughout your project.
GitHub Copilot also performs intent detection (as demonstrated in the video) and will automatically include the @workspace participant if it detects that your question requires a comprehensive understanding of the entire project context.
5. Naming things and other hard problems:
They say naming things is one of the hardest problems in computer science. Press F2 to rename something, and GitHub Copilot will give you some suggestions based on how that symbol is implemented and used in your code.
Exercise: If you don’t know what to call something, don’t overthink it. Just call it foo and implement it. Then hit F2 and let GitHub Copilot suggest a name for you.
6. Speak your mind to Copilot:
Click the microphone icon to initiate a voice chat. This feature is powered by the free, cross-platform VS Code Speech extension, which operates using local models, no third-party app needed.
Exercise: Use Speech with GitHub Copilot Edits to prototype your next app. You can literally talk your way to a working demo.
7. Be a terminal expert:
With terminal chat, you can perform nearly any task directly in your terminal. Simply press Cmd/Ctrl + i while in the VS Code terminal and tell GitHub Copilot what you want to accomplish. Copilot can also assist by explaining how to fix failed shell commands by analyzing the error output.
For instance, I know that I can use the ffmpeg library to extract frames from videos, but I don’t know the syntax and flags. No problem!
Exercise: The next time you get an error in your terminal, look for the sparkle icon next to your prompt. Select it to have GitHub Copilot fix, explain, or even auto-correct the shell command for you.
8. No fear of commit Message:
Say goodbye to vague commit messages like “changes.” GitHub Copilot will automatically suggest a commit message based on the modifications you’ve made, taking into account your previous commit messages.
You can use custom instructions for commit generation to format the messages exactly the way you want.
Exercise: Go beyond commits. Install the GitHub Pull Requests and Issues extension and you can generate pull request descriptions, get summaries of pull requests and even get suggested fixes for issues. All without leaving VS Code.
9. Extensions are all you need:
Every VS Code extension can seamlessly integrate with the GitHub Copilot APIs to provide a personalized AI experience. For example, MongoDB’s extension can write highly complex queries, perform fuzzy searches, and offer much more advanced functionality.
Exercise: Build your own extension for GitHub Copilot using GitHub Copilot! They’ve created some new tutorials that show you how to build a code tutor chat participant or generate AI-powered code annotations.
10. Vision Copilot Preview Extension:
This last one is a preview of something they’re adding to GitHub Copilot soon, but it’s way too cool not to show you right now.
Install the Vision Copilot Preview extension and ask GitHub Copilot to generate an interface based on a screenshot or markup.
Or use it to generate alt text for an image:
Exercise: Mock up a UI using Figma or Sketch (or PowerPoint — it’s ok if you do that. I do it too). Then use @vision to generate the UI. You can even tell it which CSS framework to use.
Note: Vision is in preview today and requires you to have your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini API key. The key will not be required when they release it as part of GitHub Copilot. Coming Soon!
11. Learning With Github Copilot:
There’s much more to GitHub Copilot that I would love to showcase, but the best way to experience it is by trying it yourself. If you’re new to Copilot, I recommend watching these 3 short videos to quickly get up to speed on the Copilot UI and learn some best practices for prompt engineering.
If you’ve got feedback, Feel free to them on social or drop an issue or feature request on the GitHub Copilot extension issues repo.
12. GitHub Copilot in other places:
As part of the free tier, you can also use GitHub Copilot on GitHub.com.
While they collaborate with GitHub to enhance the Visual Studio Code experience, GitHub Copilot isn’t exclusive to VS Code. You might be wondering about other editors like Visual Studio — will they also get a free Copilot offering?
Yes, absolutely. For more details on what’s available now and what’s coming soon, check out this blog post from the Visual Studio team.
Conclusion:
The year 2025 promises to be a transformative one for GitHub Copilot, as it becomes an integral part of the VS Code experience. With continuous advancements and exciting new features on the horizon, GitHub Copilot is set to redefine how they approach coding, making it smarter and more efficient than ever before. they invite you to be part of this journey as they continue to revolutionize the code editor experience once again.
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