GitHub Copilot features

GitHub Copilot offers a suite of features for users and administrators.

In this article

Assistive features

These tools are used synchronously, providing advice or suggestions as people work on a task.

Copilot Chat

A chat interface that lets you ask coding-related questions. GitHub Copilot Chat is available on the GitHub website, in GitHub Mobile, in supported IDEs, and in Windows Terminal. Users can also use skills with Copilot Chat. See Asking GitHub Copilot questions in GitHub and Asking GitHub Copilot questions in your IDE.

Inline suggestions

Autocomplete-style suggestions from Copilot in supported IDEs. See Getting code suggestions in your IDE with GitHub Copilot.

If you use VS Code, Xcode, or Eclipse, you can also use next edit suggestions, which will predict the location of the next edit you are likely to make and suggest a completion for it.

Copilot pull request summaries

AI-generated summaries of the changes that were made in a pull request, which files they impact, and what a reviewer should focus on when they conduct their review. See Creating a pull request summary with GitHub Copilot.

Copilot in GitHub Desktop

Automatically generate commit messages and descriptions with Copilot in GitHub Desktop based on the changes you make to your project.

Agentic features

These features can work autonomously without direct human supervision. However, they typically need human approval to perform sensitive actions, such as running commands in a developer's terminal or merging a pull request.

Copilot CLI

A command line interface that lets you use Copilot in your terminal. Use the CLI to add features or fix bugs, then create a pull request. Start Copilot working on a task in your terminal, then continue working in the same session on GitHub.com, or on your mobile. See About GitHub Copilot CLI.

Copilot cloud agent (formerly Copilot coding agent)

An autonomous AI agent that can research a repository, create an implementation plan, and make code changes on a branch. You can review the diff, iterate, and create a pull request when you're ready. You can also assign a GitHub issue to Copilot or ask it to open a pull request directly to complete a task. See GitHub Copilot cloud agent.

Third-party coding agents (public preview)

You can use third-party coding agents alongside Copilot cloud agent. Third-party agents are subject to the same security protections, mitigations, and limitations as Copilot cloud agent. See About third-party agents.

Copilot code review

AI-generated code review suggestions to help you write better code. See Using GitHub Copilot code review.

Several tools in Copilot code review are in public preview and subject to change. See About GitHub Copilot code review.

Agent mode in IDEs

Allow Copilot to work autonomously in the IDE. Copilot will determine which files to make changes to, offer code changes and terminal commands for the user's approval, and iterate to remediate issues until the original task is complete.

GitHub Spark (public preview)

Build and deploy full-stack applications using natural-language prompts that seamlessly integrate with the GitHub platform for advanced development. See Building and deploying AI-powered apps with GitHub Spark.

Features for customization

These features can be used to add context to Copilot and improve its performance. For a comparison of when to use each feature, see Copilot customization cheat sheet.

Copilot Spaces

Organize and centralize relevant content—like code, docs, specs, and more—into Spaces that ground Copilot’s responses in the right context for a specific task. See About GitHub Copilot Spaces.

Custom instructions

Enhance responses by providing contextual details on your preferences, tools, and requirements. See About customizing GitHub Copilot responses.

Copilot Memory (public preview)

Copilot can deduce and store useful information about a repository, which Copilot cloud agent and Copilot code review can use to improve the quality of their output when working in that repository. For more information, see About agentic memory for GitHub Copilot.

Prompt files

Build and share reusable prompt instructions with additional context. A prompt file is a Markdown file, stored in your workspace, that mimics the existing format of writing prompts. See About customizing GitHub Copilot responses.

MCP servers

You can configure Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for many Copilot features, giving Copilot access to external tools or data sources. See About Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Agent skills

Create folders of instructions, scripts, and resources that Copilot can load when relevant to improve its performance in specialized tasks. See About agent skills.

Custom agents

Create specialized versions of Copilot cloud agent with access to specific tools, instructions, and MCP servers. See About custom agents.

Features for administrators

The following features are available to organization and enterprise owners with a Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise plan.

Policy management

Manage policies for Copilot in your organization or enterprise. See Managing policies and features for GitHub Copilot in your organization and Managing policies and features for GitHub Copilot in your enterprise.

Access management

Enterprise owners can specify which organizations in the enterprise can use Copilot, and organization owners can specify which organization members can use Copilot. See Managing access to GitHub Copilot in your organization and Managing access to Copilot in your enterprise.

Usage data

Review Copilot usage data within your organization or enterprise to inform how to manage access and drive adoption of Copilot. See Reviewing user activity data for GitHub Copilot in your organization and Viewing Copilot license usage in your enterprise.

Audit logs

Review audit logs for Copilot in your organization to understand what actions have been taken and by which users. See Reviewing audit logs for GitHub Copilot.

File exclusions

Configure Copilot to ignore certain files. This can be useful if you have files that you don't want to be available to Copilot. See Excluding content from GitHub Copilot.

Next steps