You can use Copilot to get answers to coding-related questions, such as how best to code something, how to fix a bug, or how someone else's code works. For full details of what Copilot can do, seeWhat is GitHub Copilot?.

Instructions for using Copilot differ depending on where you are using it. This version of the quickstart is for GitHub. Click the tabs above for instructions on using Copilot in other environments.

Sign up for GitHub Copilot

Get started for free

To use Copilot, you’ll need a personal GitHub account with access to a Copilot plan. You can:

• Start with Copilot Free to explore limited features without subscribing to a plan.
• Upgrade to Copilot Pro or Copilot Pro+ to unlock more features, models, and request limits.

For more information about the different plans for GitHub Copilot, seePlans for GitHub Copilot.

Asking your first question

1. On GitHub, navigate to a repository and open a file.

2. Click the Copilot icon () at the top right of the file view.

   

3. Type a question in the "Ask Copilot" box at the bottom of the chat panel and pressEnter.

   For example, you could enter:

   • Explain this file.
   • How could I improve this code?
   • How can I test this code?

   Copilot responds to your request in the panel.

4. You can continue the conversation by asking a follow-up question. For example, you could type "tell me more" to get Copilot to expand on its last comment.

Other questions you can ask

There are many more things you can do with GitHub Copilot Chat in GitHub. For example:

• Ask a general question about software development
• Ask exploratory questions about a repository
• Ask a question about a knowledge base
• Find out about the changes in a pull request
• Ask a question about a specific issue or commit

For more information, seeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in GitHub.

Next steps

• Find out more about GitHub Copilot Chat - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in your IDE.
• Get Copilot code completion suggestions in an IDE - SeeGetting code suggestions in your IDE with GitHub Copilot.
• Learn how to write effective prompts - SeePrompt engineering for Copilot Chat.
• Use Copilot on your mobile device - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in GitHub Mobile.
• Use Copilot on the command line - SeeUsing GitHub Copilot in the command line.

GitHub Copilot provides coding suggestions as you type in your editor. You can also ask Copilot coding-related questions, such as how best to code something, how to fix a bug, or how someone else's code works. For full details of what Copilot can do, seeWhat is GitHub Copilot?.

Instructions for using Copilot differ depending on where you are using it. This version of the quickstart is for Windows Terminal. Click the tabs above for instructions on using Copilot in other environments.

Sign up for GitHub Copilot

Get started for free

To use Copilot, you’ll need a personal GitHub account with access to a Copilot plan. You can:

• Start with Copilot Free to explore limited features without subscribing to a plan.
• Upgrade to Copilot Pro or Copilot Pro+ to unlock more features, models, and request limits.

For more information about the different plans for GitHub Copilot, seePlans for GitHub Copilot.

Prerequisites

• Windows Terminal Canary. Terminal Chat is only available inWindows Terminal Canary.

Use Copilot in Terminal Chat

After you've installed Windows Terminal Canary, you can use Copilot inTerminal Chat to ask command line-related questions.

1. OpenSettings from the dropdown menu.

   

2. Go to theTerminal Chat (Experimental) setting.

   

3. UnderService Providers, selectGitHub Copilot andAuthenticate via GitHub to sign in.

Chat with GitHub Copilot

1. OpenTerminal Chat (Experimental) in the dropdown menu.

2. In the Terminal Chat chat window, typehow do i list all markdown files in my directory then pressEnter.

   Copilot's answer is displayed below your question.

3. Click on an answer to insert it to the command line.

Next steps

• Find out more about Copilot code completion - SeeGetting code suggestions in your IDE with GitHub Copilot.
• Find out more about GitHub Copilot Chat - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in your IDE.
• Learn how to write effective prompts - SeePrompt engineering for Copilot Chat.
• Use Copilot on your mobile device - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in GitHub Mobile.
• Use Copilot on the command line - SeeCustomizing GitHub Copilot in the CLI.
• Configure Copilot in your editor - You can enable or disable GitHub Copilot from within your editor, and create your own preferred keyboard shortcuts for Copilot. SeeConfiguring GitHub Copilot in your environment.

GitHub Copilot provides coding suggestions as you type in your editor. You can also ask Copilot coding-related questions, such as how best to code something, how to fix a bug, or how someone else's code works. For full details of what Copilot can do, seeWhat is GitHub Copilot?.

Instructions for using Copilot differ depending on where you are using it. This version of the quickstart is for Visual Studio Code. Click the tabs above for instructions on using Copilot in other environments.

Sign up for GitHub Copilot

Get started for free

To use Copilot, you’ll need a personal GitHub account with access to a Copilot plan. You can:

• Start with Copilot Free to explore limited features without subscribing to a plan.
• Upgrade to Copilot Pro or Copilot Pro+ to unlock more features, models, and request limits.

For more information about the different plans for GitHub Copilot, seePlans for GitHub Copilot.

Prerequisites

• Latest version of Visual Studio Code. See theVisual Studio Code download page.
• Sign in to GitHub in Visual Studio Code. If you experience authentication issues, seeTroubleshooting common issues with GitHub Copilot.

Chat with GitHub Copilot

After you've installed the GitHub Copilot extension, you can ask Copilot coding-related questions.

1. Open an existing code file.

2. Open the Chat view from the Activity Bar.

   

3. At the bottom of the chat view, in the chat input field, type:explain this file.

4. PressEnter.

   Copilot replies in the chat view.

5. In the editor, select one or more lines of code that are not commented.

6. In the chat input field, type:add comments to these lines.

7. If you like the comments that Copilot suggests, hover over the suggested code in the chat view and click the "Insert at Cursor" icon to replace the selected lines with the suggested code.

   

Get your first code completion suggestion

The following example uses JavaScript, however other languages will work similarly. GitHub Copilot provides suggestions for numerous languages and a wide variety of frameworks, but works especially well for Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, C# and C++. GitHub Copilot can also assist in query generation for databases, generating suggestions for APIs and frameworks, and can help with infrastructure as code development.

1. Open Visual Studio Code.

2. In Visual Studio Code, create a new JavaScript (*.js) file.

3. In the JavaScript file, type the following function header.

   JavaScript

   functioncalculateDaysBetweenDates(begin, end) {

   GitHub Copilot will automatically suggest an entire function body in grayed text. The exact suggestion may vary.

4. To accept the suggestion, pressTab.

Next steps

• Find out more about Copilot code completion - SeeGetting code suggestions in your IDE with GitHub Copilot.
• Find out more about GitHub Copilot Chat - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in your IDE.
• Learn how to write effective prompts - SeePrompt engineering for Copilot Chat.
• Use Copilot like a pro - Learn how to write effective prompts for GitHub Copilot. For more information, seeBest practices for using GitHub Copilot in VS Code in the Visual Studio Code documentation.
• Get familiar with next edit suggestions - SeeAbout next edit suggestions.
• Use Copilot on your mobile device - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in GitHub Mobile.
• Use Copilot on the command line - SeeCustomizing GitHub Copilot in the CLI.
• Configure Copilot in your editor - You can enable or disable GitHub Copilot from within your editor, and create your own preferred keyboard shortcuts for Copilot. SeeConfiguring GitHub Copilot in your environment.

GitHub Copilot provides coding suggestions as you type in your editor. You can also ask Copilot coding-related questions, such as how best to code something, how to fix a bug, or how someone else's code works. For full details of what Copilot can do, seeWhat is GitHub Copilot?.

Instructions for using Copilot differ depending on where you are using it. This version of the quickstart is for Visual Studio. Click the tabs above for instructions on using Copilot in other environments.

Sign up for GitHub Copilot

Get started for free

To use Copilot, you’ll need a personal GitHub account with access to a Copilot plan. You can:

• Start with Copilot Free to explore limited features without subscribing to a plan.
• Upgrade to Copilot Pro or Copilot Pro+ to unlock more features, models, and request limits.

For more information about the different plans for GitHub Copilot, seePlans for GitHub Copilot.

Prerequisites

• Compatible version of Visual Studio. To use GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio, you must have version 2022 17.8 or later of Visual Studio for Windows installed. For more information, seeInstall Visual Studio in the Microsoft documentation.
• GitHub Copilot extension for Visual Studio. For instructions on how to install the Copilot extension, seeInstall GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio in the Microsoft documentation.
• Add your GitHub account to Visual Studio. SeeAdd your GitHub accounts to your Visual Studio keychain in the Microsoft documentation.

Chat with GitHub Copilot

After you've installed the GitHub Copilot extension, you can ask Copilot coding-related questions.

1. Open an existing code file.

2. In the Visual Studio menu bar, clickView, then clickGitHub Copilot Chat.

3. In the Copilot Chat window, typewhat does this file do then pressEnter.

   Copilot's answer is displayed below your question.

4. Select a line of code in the editor.

5. In the Copilot Chat window, typeexplain this line then pressEnter.

Get your first code completion suggestion

The following example uses JavaScript, however other languages will work similarly. GitHub Copilot provides suggestions for numerous languages and a wide variety of frameworks, but works especially well for Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, C# and C++. GitHub Copilot can also assist in query generation for databases, generating suggestions for APIs and frameworks, and can help with infrastructure as code development.

1. Open Visual Studio.

2. In Visual Studio, create a new JavaScript (*.js) file.

3. In the JavaScript file, type the following function header.

   JavaScript

   functioncalculateDaysBetweenDates(begin, end) {

   GitHub Copilot will automatically suggest an entire function body in grayed text. The exact suggestion may vary.

4. To accept the suggestion, pressTab.

Next steps

• Find out more about Copilot code completion - SeeGetting code suggestions in your IDE with GitHub Copilot.
• Find out more about GitHub Copilot Chat - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in your IDE.
• Learn how to write effective prompts - SeePrompt engineering for Copilot Chat.
• Prompt like a pro - WatchVisual Studio Prompt Engineering with GitHub Copilot on YouTube.
• Use Copilot on your mobile device - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in GitHub Mobile.
• Use Copilot on the command line - SeeCustomizing GitHub Copilot in the CLI.
• Configure Copilot in your editor - You can enable or disable GitHub Copilot from within your editor, and create your own preferred keyboard shortcuts for Copilot. SeeConfiguring GitHub Copilot in your environment.

GitHub Copilot provides coding suggestions as you type in your editor. You can also ask Copilot coding-related questions, such as how best to code something, how to fix a bug, or how someone else's code works. For full details of what Copilot can do, seeWhat is GitHub Copilot?.

Instructions for using Copilot differ depending on where you are using it. This version of the quickstart is for JetBrains IDEs. Click the tabs above for instructions on using Copilot in other environments.

Sign up for GitHub Copilot

Get started for free

To use Copilot, you’ll need a personal GitHub account with access to a Copilot plan. You can:

• Start with Copilot Free to explore limited features without subscribing to a plan.
• Upgrade to Copilot Pro or Copilot Pro+ to unlock more features, models, and request limits.

For more information about the different plans for GitHub Copilot, seePlans for GitHub Copilot.

Prerequisites

• A compatible JetBrains IDE. Copilot is supported in a large number of JetBrains IDEs. For a full list, seeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in your IDE.
• GitHub Copilot plugin. See theGitHub Copilot plugin in the JetBrains Marketplace. For installation instructions, seeInstalling the GitHub Copilot extension in your environment.
• Log in to GitHub in your JetBrains IDE. For authentication instructions, seeInstalling the GitHub Copilot extension in your environment.

Chat with GitHub Copilot

After you've installed the GitHub Copilot plugin, you can ask Copilot coding-related questions.

1. Open an existing code file.

2. Open the Copilot Chat window by clicking theCopilot Chat icon at the right side of the JetBrains IDE window.

   

3. In the Copilot Chat window, typewhat does this file do then pressEnter.

   Copilot's answer is displayed below your question.

4. Select a line of code in the editor.

5. In the Copilot Chat window, typeexplain this line then pressEnter.

Get your first code completion suggestion

The following example uses JavaScript, however other languages will work similarly. GitHub Copilot provides suggestions for numerous languages and a wide variety of frameworks, but works especially well for Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, C# and C++. GitHub Copilot can also assist in query generation for databases, generating suggestions for APIs and frameworks, and can help with infrastructure as code development.

1. In your JetBrains editor, create a new JavaScript (*.js) file.

2. In the JavaScript file, type the following function header.

   JavaScript

   functioncalculateDaysBetweenDates(begin, end) {

   GitHub Copilot will automatically suggest an entire function body in grayed text. The exact suggestion may vary.

3. To accept the suggestion, pressTab.

Next steps

• Find out more about Copilot code completion - SeeGetting code suggestions in your IDE with GitHub Copilot.
• Find out more about GitHub Copilot Chat - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in your IDE.
• Learn how to write effective prompts - SeePrompt engineering for Copilot Chat.
• Use Copilot on your mobile device - SeeAsking GitHub Copilot questions in GitHub Mobile.
• Use Copilot on the command line - SeeCustomizing GitHub Copilot in the CLI.
• Configure Copilot in your editor - You can enable or disable GitHub Copilot from within your editor, and create your own preferred keyboard shortcuts for Copilot. SeeConfiguring GitHub Copilot in your environment.