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GitHub Copilot in VS Code cheat sheet

GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code provides AI-powered features to help you write code faster and with less effort. This cheat sheet provides a quick overview of the features for GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code.

You can access GitHub Copilot in VS Code through the Chat view, directly in the editor, from the integrated terminal, and via AI-powered enhancements in the VS Code user interface.

Tip

If you don't yet have a Copilot subscription, you can use Copilot for free by signing up for the Copilot Free plan and get a monthly limit of completions and chat interactions.

The team is continuously working on improving Copilot in VS Code and adding new features. Some features are still experimental. Try them out and share your feedback in our issues.

Chat with GitHub Copilot

Use natural language to chat with GitHub Copilot and get help with coding tasks. For example, ask Copilot to explain a block of code or a programming concept. Get more information about using Copilot Chat.

Action Description
⌃⌘I (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Alt+I) Open the Chat view.
⇧⌥⌘L (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+Alt+L) Open Quick Chat and ask a quick question to Copilot.
⌘I (Windows, Linux Ctrl+I) Start Inline Chat to send a chat request to Copilot directly from the editor. Use natural language or use / commands to give instructions to Copilot.
⌘. (Windows, Linux Ctrl+.) Toggle between different chat modes in the Chat view.
Add Context... Attach different types of context to your chat prompt.
/explain Ask Copilot to explain a block of code or a programming concept.
Access your history of chat sessions.
Enter a chat prompt by using speech (voice chat). The chat response is read out aloud.

Tips

  • Use / commands and @ participants to get more precise and relevant answers.
  • Be specific, keep it simple, and ask follow-up questions to get the best results.
  • Provide context by attaching files, symbols, or selections to your chat prompt.
  • Choose the appropriate chat mode: ask, edit, or agent mode.

Generate code from chat

Copilot can generate code blocks in response to your chat prompts. Quickly apply the generated code in your project or insert it in a new file. For example, ask Copilot to optimize an algorithm in your code.

Action Description
Smart-apply the generated code block in the active editor.
Insert the generated code block at the cursor.
Copy the generated code block to the clipboard.
Insert the generated code block in the terminal as a shell command.

Tips

Attach context to your prompt

When you send a chat prompt to Copilot, you can attach context to help Copilot understand your question better. For example, add the current editor selection, a file, or a symbol to your chat prompt. Get more information about best practices for using Copilot.

Action Description
Add Context Open a Quick Pick to select relevant context for your chat prompt. Choose from different context types, such as workspace files, symbols, current editor selection, terminal selection, and more.
Prompts... (Experimental) Add reusable prompt instructions to your request.
Drag & drop file Drag & drop a file or editor tab onto the chat to attach the file as context.
Drag & drop folder Drag & drop a folder onto the chat to attach the files within it as context.
Drag & drop problem Drag & drop an item from the Problems panel to attach it as context.
Recent files (Experimental) Automatically include recently opened and edited files in your chat prompt. Get more info.

Chat variables

Use chat variables in your chat prompt to reference context that is relevant to your question.

Chat variable Description
#changes The list of source control changes.
#codebase Add relevant workspace content as context to your prompt.
#extensions Tool to find and ask questions about VS Code extensions. For example, "how to get started with Python #extensions?"
#fetch Fetch the content from a web page - provide the URL.
#<file or folder name> Type #, followed by a file or folder name, to add it as chat context.
#githubRepo Perform a code search for a GitHub repo to gather context for your prompt. For example, "what is a global snippet #githubRepo microsoft/vscode."
#new Tool to scaffold a new VS Code workspace.
#newJupyterNotebook Tool to scaffold a new Jupyter notebook.
#openSimpleBrowser Tool to open the built-in Simple Browser and preview a locally-deployed web app.
#problems Add workspace issues and problems from the Problems panel as context. Useful while fixing code or debugging.
#searchResults Add the results from the Search view as context to your prompt.
#selection Add the current editor selection as context to your prompt.
#<symbol> Type #, followed by a symbol name, to get symbol suggestions for workspace files and attach as context.
#terminalSelection Add the current terminal selection as context to your chat prompt.
#terminalLastCommand Add the last run terminal command as context to your chat prompt.
#testFailure Add test failure information as context. Useful when running and diagnosing tests.
#usages Combination of "Find All References", "Find Implementation", and "Go to Definition".
#VSCodeAPI Add the VS Code API as context to your prompt to ask questions related to VS Code extension development.

Copilot in the editor

As you're coding in the editor, you can use Copilot to generate code completions as you're typing. Invoke Inline Chat to ask questions and get help from Copilot, while staying in the flow of coding. For example, ask Copilot to generate unit tests for a function or method. Get more information about code completions and Inline Chat.

Action Description
Code completions Start typing in the editor and Copilot provides code suggestions that match your coding style and take your existing code into account.
Code comments Provide a code completion prompt to Copilot by writing instructions in a code comment.
Example: # write a calculator class with methods for add, subtract, and multiply. Use static methods.
Next edit suggestions Predict your next code edit with Copilot next edit suggestions. Enable Copilot NES with the github.copilot.nextEditSuggestions.enabled setting. Learn how to get started with Copilot NES.
⌘I (Windows, Linux Ctrl+I) Start Inline Chat to send a chat request to Copilot directly from the editor. Use natural language or use / commands to give instructions to Copilot.
F2 Get AI-powered suggestions when renaming symbols in your code.

Tips

  • Use meaningful method or function names to get better code completions quicker.
  • Select a code block to scope your Inline Chat prompt or attach relevant context by attaching files or symbols.
  • Use the editor context menu options to access common Copilot actions directly from the editor.

Customize AI code generation

Define custom instructions to help AI generate code or review code that matches the coding style, tools, and developer workflow of your team or project.

With reusable prompt files, you can specify common prompt instructions and relevant content in a Markdown file (*.prompt.md), that you can then reuse in your chat prompts.

Action Description
Instructions files Define shared instructions for code generation in *.instructions.md Markdown files in your workspace or user data folder. These common instructions supplement your own personal code-generation instructions.
Code-review instructions (Preview) Define instructions for using Copilot to review an editor selection in settings or import from a file. You can define language-specific instructions.
Code-generation instructions (Experimental) Define instructions for code generation with GitHub Copilot in settings or import from a file. You can define language-specific instructions.
Test-generation instructions (Experimental) Define instructions for test generation with GitHub Copilot in settings or import from a file. You can define language-specific instructions.
Commit-message generation instructions (Experimental) Define instructions for commit message generation with GitHub Copilot in settings or import from a file. You can define language-specific instructions.
Pull request title and description generation instructions (Experimental) Define instructions for pull request title and description generation with GitHub Copilot in settings or import from a file. You can define language-specific instructions.
Reusable prompt files (Experimental) Define reusable prompt files for repeatable tasks with additional context in *.prompt.md Markdown files and run them in chat.

Tips

  • Define language-specific instructions to get more accurate generated code for each language.
  • Store your instructions in your workspace to easily share them with your team.

Review code (experimental)

Copilot can do a quick review pass of a code block or perform a review of uncommitted changes in your workspace. Review feedback shows up as comments in the editor, where you can apply the suggestions.

Action Description
Review and Comment (Preview) Select a block of code, and select Copilot > Review and Comment from the editor context menu for quick review pass.
Copilot Code Review Select the Copilot Code Review button in the Source Control view for a deeper review of all uncommitted changes. Join the waitlist.

Generate tests

Copilot can generate tests for functions and methods in your codebase. Get more information about slash commands in Chat.

Action Description
/tests Generate tests for all or only the selected methods and functions in the editor. The generated tests are appended in an existing tests file or a new tests file is created.
/setupTests Get help setting up a testing framework for your code. Get recommendation for a relevant testing framework, steps to set up and configure it, and suggestions for VS Code testing extensions.
/fixTestFailure Ask Copilot for suggestions on how to fix failing tests.
Test coverage (Experimental) Generate tests for functions and methods that are not yet covered by tests. Get more information.

Tips

  • Provide details about the testing frameworks or libraries to use.

Generate documentation

Generate code documentation for functions and methods in your codebase. Get more information about slash commands in Chat.

Action Description
/docs Generate documentation comments for all or only the selected methods and functions in the editor.

Debug and fix problems

Use Copilot to help fix coding problems and to get help with configuring and starting debugging sessions in VS Code.

Action Description
/fix Ask Copilot for suggestions on how to fix a block of code or how to resolve any compiler or linting errors in your code. For example, to help fix unresolved Node.js package names.
/fixTestFailure Ask Copilot for suggestions on how to fix failing tests.
/startDebugging (Experimental) Generate a launch.json debug configuration file and start a debugging session from the Chat view.
copilot-debug command Terminal command to help you debug your programs. Prefix a run command to start a debugging session for it (for example, copilot-debug python foo.py).

Tips

  • Provide additional information about the type of fix you need, such as optimizing the memory consumption or performance.
  • Watch for Copilot Code Actions in the editor that indicate suggestions for fixing problems in your code.

Scaffold a new project

Copilot can help you create a new project by generating a scaffold of the project structure, or generate a notebook based on your requirements.

Action Description
/new Use the /new command in the Chat view to scaffold a new project or a new file. Use natural language to describe the type of project/file you need, and preview the scaffolded content before creating it.
Example: /new Express app using typescript and svelte
/newNotebook Use the /newNotebook command in the Chat view to generate a new Jupyter notebook based on your requirements. Use natural language to describe what the notebook should contain.
Example: /newNotebook get census data and preview key insights with Seaborn.

Source control and issues

Copilot can analyze the changes in your commits and pull requests and provide suggestions for commit messages and pull request descriptions.

Action Description
Commit Generate a commit message for the current changes in a source control commit.
Pull request Generate a pull request title and description that correspond with the changes in your pull request.
@github Use the @github participant in chat to ask about issues, pull requests, and more across your repositories. Get more information about the available GitHub skills.
Example: @github What are all of the open PRs assigned to me?, @github Show me the recent merged pr's from @dancing-mona

Search

Use Copilot to get more relevant search results in the Search view.

Action Description
Semantic search (Experimental) Include search results from Copilot in the Search view that are semantically relevant for your query.

Terminal

Get help about shell commands and how to resolve errors when running commands in the terminal.

Action Description
⌘I (Windows, Linux Ctrl+I) Start Inline Chat within the terminal to use natural language to quickly get and run a shell command.
Example: how many cores on this machine?
@terminal Use the @terminal participant in the Chat view to ask questions about the integrated terminal or shell commands.
Example: @terminal list the 5 largest files in this workspace
@terminal /explain Use the /explain command in the Chat view to explain something from the terminal.
Example: @terminal /explain top shell command

Python and notebook support

You can use chat to help you with Python programming tasks in the Native Python REPL and in Jupyter notebooks.

Action Description
Generate
⌘I (Windows, Linux Ctrl+I)		 Start Inline Chat in a notebook to generate a codeblock or Markdown block.
# Attach variables from the Jupyter kernel in your chat prompt to get more relevant responses.
Native REPL + ⌘I (Windows, Linux Ctrl+I) Start Inline Chat in the Native Python REPL and run the generated commands.
⌃⌘I (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Alt+I) Open the Chat view and use edit or agent mode to make notebook edits.
/newNotebook Use the /newNotebook command in the Chat view to generate a new Jupyter notebook based on your requirements. Use natural language to describe what the notebook should contain.
Example: /newNotebook get census data and preview key insights with Seaborn.

VS Code commands and APIs

You can use Copilot to get help about VS Code features, settings, and the VS Code extension APIs. Get more information about chat participants.

Action Description
@vscode Use the @vscode chat participant to ask questions about VS Code by using natural language.
Example: @vscode how to enable word wrapping?
@vscode /runCommand Use /runCommand with the @vscode chat participant to run a VS Code command.
@vscode /runCommand enable developer mode
@vscode /search Use /search with the @vscode chat participant to generate a VS Code search.
Example: @vscode /search python files without imports

Tips

  • Use the #vscodeAPI chat variable if you're asking about the VS Code extension API.

Next steps

06/12/2025