Access to this page requires authorization. You can try signing in or changing directories . Access to this page requires authorization. You can try changing directories . GitHub Copilot acts as an AI-powered pair programmer for Visual Studio that provides you with context-aware code completions, suggestions, and even entire code snippets. It provides these suggestions directly in the editor while you write your code, and it can work with a broad range of programming languages and frameworks. Copilot provides two kinds of inline suggestions, both of which take your existing code into account: Completions - As you type in the editor, Copilot provides ghost text suggestions with colorized syntax highlighting at your current cursor location. Next edit suggestions - Based on your current editing patterns, NES predicts both where your next code edit will be and what changes you'll make. How GitHub Copilot works GitHub Copilot works by using advanced machine-learning models trained on a vast dataset of publicly available code from GitHub repositories. As you type code, AI analyzes the context and provides relevant suggestions in real time. You can also receive suggestions by writing a comment in natural language that describes what you want the code to do. You can also use GitHub Copilot to convert comments to code, create unit tests, create SQL queries, and more. Visual Studio 2026 or Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 (with the latest servicing release recommended for the most up-to-date features) Sign in to Visual Studio by using a GitHub account with Copilot access . As of April 20, 2026, GitHub Copilot Pro trials have been paused. If on a trial, switch to Copilot Free or upgrade to a paid plan. For support, see https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/get-started/plans . 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 inline suggestions and chat interactions. Get your first code completions As you type code or comments in the editor, GitHub Copilot provides ghost text code suggestions: sometimes the completion of the current line, sometimes a whole new block of code. You can accept all, or part of a suggestion, or you can keep typing and ignore the suggestions. GitHub Copilot provides suggestions for numerous languages, including (but not limited to) C#, C++, and Python. The following examples are in C#, but other languages work similarly. Open Visual Studio and create a new C# project. Open Visual Studio and create a new C# project. Open a C# file ( Program.cs ) in the code editor. Open a C# file ( Program.cs ) in the code editor. In the editor, enter a comment or a method signature to see inline code suggestions from Copilot. // method to add two numbers int subtractNumbers( In the editor, enter a comment or a method signature to see inline code suggestions from Copilot. Press Enter to open the GitHub Copilot command palette. To accept the suggestion, select the Tab key. To reject the suggestion, select the Esc key or continue typing. Press Enter to open the GitHub Copilot command palette. To accept the suggestion, select the Tab key. To reject the suggestion, select the Esc key or continue typing. Select the arrow in the left margin to see the Copilot command menu. To accept the suggestion, select the Tab key. To reject the suggestion, continue typing. Select the arrow in the left margin to see the Copilot command menu. To accept the suggestion, select the Tab key. To reject the suggestion, continue typing. Add the following code to see completions from Copilot: int a = 5; int b = 10; int sum Add the following code to see completions from Copilot: Generate documentation comments To use automatic generation of documentation comments on your C++ or C# project file, type the comment pattern according to your configuration (for example, /// ). Copilot instantly completes the function description based on the function's content. Tips and tricks Click to accept code completions You can accept part of an inline completion by clicking inside the suggestion. When an inline suggestion appears, hover over it. As you move the pointer, Visual Studio highlights the segment that will be accepted. Click at the point in the suggestion where you want to stop accepting text. If you prefer using the keyboard, you can still accept a completion word by word ( Ctrl + Right arrow ) or line by line ( Ctrl + Down arrow ). Keyboard shortcuts The following table lists the default keyboard shortcuts for Copilot inline suggestions. You can customize these shortcuts to match your preferences. Manually trigger a completion: Alt + . or Alt + , Cycle through available completions: Alt + . (next) and Alt + , (previous) Partially accept a completion word by word: Ctrl + Right arrow Partially accept a completion line by line: Ctrl + Down arrow Customize your experience All inline suggestions settings can be found via Tools > Options > Text Editor > Inline Suggestions . You can also access this settings page via shortcuts from the Copilot badge menu, or via the context menu from Copilot inline suggestions margin indicator. Customize your inline suggestions experience with these settings: Disable automatic completions - By default, each keystroke triggers inline suggestions. To disable this, go to Tools > Options > All Settings > Text Editor > Inline Suggestions > General , and set Inline Suggestions Invocation to Manual . You can then manually trigger suggestions with Alt + , or Alt + . .

Adjust completion timing - If completions appear too quickly and interrupt your typing, go to Tools > Options > All Settings > Text Editor > Inline Suggestions > Preferences , and select the Show inline suggestions only after a pause in typing . This adds a debounce delay, so completions don't flash and disappear while you type. Change the accept suggestion keyboard shortcut - By default, Tab key accepts suggestions. You can change it to the Right Arrow key instead. For additional settings and options, see the Inline Suggestions settings page. Customize Copilot keyboard shortcuts You can customize the keyboard shortcuts for accepting Copilot inline suggestions, including the shortcuts for accepting a full suggestion, the next word, or the next line. To set up your preferred shortcuts: Go to Tools > Options > Environment > Keyboard . Go to Tools > Options > Environment > Keyboard . Search for the command you want to customize: Edit.AcceptSuggestion — accepts the full inline suggestion Edit.AcceptNextWordinSuggestion — accepts the next word in the suggestion Edit.AcceptNextLineinSuggestion — accepts the next line in the suggestion Search for the command you want to customize: Edit.AcceptSuggestion — accepts the full inline suggestion Edit.AcceptNextWordinSuggestion — accepts the next word in the suggestion Edit.AcceptNextLineinSuggestion — accepts the next line in the suggestion Remove the existing keybinding. Remove the existing keybinding. Assign a new shortcut under the Inline Suggestion Active scope. Assign a new shortcut under the Inline Suggestion Active scope. For example, in the following image, the default accept shortcut is changed from Tab to Ctrl + Tab . The updated shortcut is reflected in the hint bar in the editor. For more information on customizing keyboard shortcuts in Visual Studio, see Identify and customize keyboard shortcuts . Customize appearance To customize the appearance of completions, go to Tools > Options > Environment > Font and Colors , and then select Code Completions from the Show settings for list, and adjust the font type, size, foreground/background color, and style. Code completions can display with syntax highlighting, making it easier to parse suggested code at a glance. Variables, functions, keywords, strings, and other code elements appear in distinct colors, just like your actual code. To differentiate suggestions from your actual code, colorized completions appear with lower opacity and italic styling. To disable colorization and use the original single-color appearance, go to Tools > Options > Text Editor > Code Completions , and clear the Use colorized text for code completions checkbox. IntelliSense and Copilot completion behavior When IntelliSense is active (for example, when the member list or parameter info appears), Copilot completions are temporarily suppressed so you can focus on the IntelliSense list without distraction. Once you dismiss or commit the IntelliSense selection, Copilot completions resume automatically. This is the default behavior and requires no configuration. All inline suggestions settings can be found via Tools > Options > GitHub > Copilot . You can also access these settings via shortcuts from the Copilot badge menu, or via the context menu from Copilot inline suggestions margin indicator. Customize preferences Adjust completion timing - If completions appear too quickly and interrupt your typing, go to Tools > Options > IntelliCode > Advanced , and select Wait for pauses in typing before showing whole line completions . This adds a debounce delay, so completions don't flash and disappear while you type. Adjust completion timing - If completions appear too quickly and interrupt your typing, go to Tools > Options > IntelliCode > Advanced , and select Wait for pauses in typing before showing whole line completions . This adds a debounce delay, so completions don't flash and disappear while you type. Disable automatic completions - By default, each keystroke triggers completions. To disable this, go to Tools > Options > IntelliCode > General , and uncheck Automatically generate code completions in the Editor . You can then manually trigger completions with Alt + , . Disable automatic completions - By default, each keystroke triggers completions. To disable this, go to Tools > Options > IntelliCode > General , and uncheck Automatically generate code completions in the Editor . You can then manually trigger completions with Alt + , . Content exclusion Completions and suggestions aren't available for content excluded by your admin . To learn more, see Excluding content from GitHub Copilot . Code referencing If you or your organization enable suggestions that match public code , Copilot notifies you when a completion matches code from a public GitHub repository. To see detailed information in GitHub Copilot logs in the Output window, select View code matches . The log entry includes a link to a GitHub.com page where you can view details on license type. It also includes references to similar code in public GitHub repositories. Code referencing enables you to make an informed decision on using code attribution or removing the code from your project. Related content Next edit suggestions Get started with GitHub Copilot GitHub Copilot Trust Center Was this page helpful? Need help with this topic? Want to try using Ask Learn to clarify or guide you through this topic? Additional resources Last updated on 2026-05-06