GitHub Copilot Tutorial: How to Use It in 2026

Published March 27, 2026 · 9 min read

GitHub Copilot is the most widely adopted AI coding tool in the world, with more than 1.8 million paying subscribers and native integration in VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Visual Studio, and the GitHub web interface itself. In 2026, it has evolved from simple autocomplete into a complete suite of agents, Copilot Chat, Workspace, agents that work directly on pull requests, and specialized modes like Ask, Edit, and Agent.

In this tutorial you will learn how to install Copilot in your editor of choice, master the three core modes (Ask, Edit, Agent), understand the differences between Individual, Business, and Enterprise plans, and discover the practices that actually multiply productivity.

What GitHub Copilot Is and How It Has Evolved

GitHub Copilot launched in 2021 based on a GPT-derived model, focused on line-by-line autocomplete. In 2026, it is a complete platform made up of:

Copilot autocomplete, suggestions while you type
Copilot Chat, conversational chat inside the IDE
Copilot Edits — multi-file editing guided by description
Copilot Workspace, environment for solving GitHub issues with AI
Copilot PR agents, automatic review and bug fixes
Copilot CLI, AI in the terminal

The big shift in 2024–2026 was the introduction of multiple models. Before, you used what Microsoft picked. Today, on paid plans, you choose between Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o, Gemini 2.0 Pro, and o3 — varying by task.

Integration with the GitHub ecosystem (Issues, PRs, Actions, Codespaces) is Copilot’s strongest differentiator versus competitors like Cursor.

How to Install GitHub Copilot

Installation varies by editor, but the overall flow is the same:

1. Have an active GitHub account. Without that, nothing works.

2. Activate a Copilot subscription. Go to github.com/settings/copilot and pick a plan. There is a 30-day free trial for Individual, and a Free tier with limited quota.

3. Install the extension in your editor:

VS Code: install “GitHub Copilot” and “GitHub Copilot Chat” from the extensions tab. Sign in with your GitHub account.
JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, etc.): Settings > Plugins > Marketplace > “GitHub Copilot.”
Visual Studio: Tools > Get Tools and Features > GitHub Copilot.
Neovim: official plugin via vim-plug or packer; instructions at docs.github.com/copilot/getting-started/neovim.

4. Sign in. The editor opens the browser for OAuth authentication. Return to the IDE when finished.

5. Verify status. In VS Code, the Copilot icon in the sidebar shows active status. In JetBrains, the icon is in the bottom status bar.

The first suggestion should appear within seconds of you starting to type code.

The Three Modes: Ask, Edit, and Agent

In 2025, GitHub introduced three distinct modes in Copilot Chat. Each applies to a kind of task:

Ask Mode, Conversation and Explanation

Use Ask when you want information without changing code. Examples:

“Explain how this middleware works.”

“What is the difference between useMemo and useCallback?”

“Why is this test failing?”

Copilot answers in text, without proposing edits. Good for learning, exploratory debugging, and concept review.

Edit Mode, Structured Editing

Edit is the mode for when you know what to change and want Copilot to execute, but with review before applying:

“Add email validation to this form.”

“Refactor this function to use async/await instead of callbacks.”

Copilot shows a side-by-side diff. You review, tweak, and apply. It can span multiple files when context demands.

Agent Mode, Autonomous Execution

Agent is the most aggressive mode: Copilot plans the task, executes across files, runs terminal commands if needed, and iterates until done:

“Implement a REST endpoint to create users, with validation, database persistence, and integration tests.”

In Agent Mode, Copilot can install dependencies, run tests, and fix errors — like Cursor’s Composer. Recommended once you trust the AI’s behavior.

The mode selector lives at the top of the Copilot Chat panel.

Copilot Chat: Important Commands and Shortcuts

Inside the chat, special commands speed up common tasks:

Slash commands:

/explain, explains the selected code
/fix, suggests a fix for the selected error
/tests — generates tests for the selected function
/doc, adds documentation (JSDoc, docstrings)
/help, lists all available commands
@workspace, uses entire-project context
@vscode — asks about the editor itself
@terminal, interacts with the integrated terminal

Default shortcuts:

Shortcut (VS Code)	Function
Tab	Accept autocomplete suggestion
Esc	Reject suggestion
Alt+] / Alt+[	Next/previous alternative suggestion
Ctrl+Enter	Open panel with multiple suggestions
Ctrl+I	Start Inline Chat
Ctrl+Shift+I	Open Copilot Chat (panel)

On macOS, swap Ctrl for Cmd. Shortcuts can be customized in Keybindings if you have conflicts.

Copilot Workspace and PR Agents

Two advanced features take Copilot beyond the editor:

Copilot Workspace

Workspace is a web interface where you open a GitHub issue, describe what you want, and Copilot:

Reads the issue and related code
Proposes a high-level plan
Implements the plan in modified files
Creates a PR ready for review

Useful for well-defined tasks (bug fixes, small features, documented refactors). It does not replace senior developers on architectural decisions, but it dramatically reduces implementation time.

Copilot PR Agents

In pull requests, Copilot acts as an automatic reviewer:

Flags inconsistencies and potential issues
Suggests fixes that can be applied with one click
Writes PR descriptions and changelogs automatically

For teams with many PRs per day, that automatic review filters basic problems before human code review, saving time.

GitHub Copilot Plans and Pricing

In 2026, Copilot has five main tiers:

Plan	Monthly price	Who it is for	Features
Free	$0	Individuals	2,000 completions/month, 50 chat messages/month, basic models
Pro	$10	Paying individuals	Unlimited completions, unlimited chat, premium model choice
Pro+	$39	Power users	Everything in Pro + priority access to top-tier models
Business	$19/user	Teams	Everything in Pro + admin, data exclusion policy, license management
Enterprise	$39/user	Large companies	Everything in Business + Workspace, PR agents, model customization with proprietary code

The Free plan is a recent addition that made Copilot accessible to students and casual developers. For ongoing professional use, Pro is worth the investment, unlimited chat and premium models make a meaningful difference.

For companies, Business solves most cases. Enterprise is justified when you need integrated Workspace, model customization with internal codebase, or specific compliance (FedRAMP, etc.).

Verified students, teachers, and eligible open source maintainers get Copilot Pro for free.

Real Use Cases Where Copilot Shines

Copilot is already used by more than 90% of Fortune 100 companies. The most frequent use cases:

Boilerplate code. Express config, Zod schemas, Prisma factories, test fixtures — Copilot almost always nails the first suggestion.

Format conversion. “Convert this JSON into a TypeScript interface” or “Transform this SQL into a Prisma query” works very well.

Documentation. Generating JSDoc, Python docstrings, READMEs, and usage examples.

Test generation. /tests produces complete suites with happy paths and edge cases.

Preliminary code review. Before opening a PR, ask @workspace /review for a quick analysis.

Solving simple issues. Bugs clearly described in GitHub issues can be closed with Workspace in minutes.

Learning new languages/frameworks. Use /explain on code from a framework you do not know, like having a 24/7 tutor.

Comparison: Copilot vs Cursor AI vs Codeium

The three main AI coding competitors have different strengths:

Criterion	GitHub Copilot	Cursor AI	Codeium
Editor	Plugin (VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim)	VS Code fork	Broad plugin
GitHub integration	Native	Indirect	Indirect
Multi-file	Edits/Agent	Composer	Limited
Available models	Multiple	Multiple	Multiple
Starting price	Free / $10	Free trial / $20	Free / paid
Enterprise privacy	Robust (Business+)	Available	Broad

Choose Copilot if you live on GitHub, value Workspace and PR agents, or need a mature plugin in non-VS Code IDEs.

Choose Cursor (see our Cursor AI tutorial) if you want aggressive multi-file editing and prefer a VS Code fork with AI more central.

Choose Codeium if you want a more generous free tier and broader support for less common editors.

GitHub Copilot Limitations

Even as the market leader, Copilot has important limits:

Suggestions can reproduce bugs. The model learns from public code, including code with vulnerabilities. Always validate security in sensitive code.

Limited project context outside Workspace. In normal editor use, Copilot sees open files, not the whole codebase. For large refactors, it falls short of Cursor with @workspace.

“Too vanilla” suggestions. By default, Copilot favors conventional code. For creative solutions or advanced patterns, it still needs the developer steering.

Cost scales in large teams. $19/user adds up fast in 50+ person teams. Negotiate pricing on Enterprise contracts.

Privacy on individual plans. Telemetry can collect prompt snippets to improve the product. For highly sensitive code, use Business/Enterprise with data exclusion enabled.

Latency at peak hours. Like any cloud service, Copilot occasionally feels slow.

Practical Tips to Get More Out of Copilot

Comment before coding. Writing a detailed comment of what a function should do dramatically improves the quality of the first suggestion.

Use descriptive variable and function names. Copilot infers intent from names. getUserByEmail produces better code than getData.

Keep files clean. Organized imports, clean code, and examples of related functions in the same file give excellent context.

Use @workspace for questions that need broad context. Instead of copying snippets, mention @workspace in chat so Copilot indexes the project.

Combine modes. Ask to understand, Edit to refactor, Agent to implement from scratch.

Keep a prompt directory. Save prompts that worked for recurring tasks (test generation, conversions, etc.).

Review diffs before accepting Edit/Agent. Trusting the AI is different from blind delegation. Always check what changed.

FAQ

Is GitHub Copilot free?

There is a Free plan with 2,000 autocompletions and 50 chat messages per month, enough for casual use. For professional use, Pro costs $10/month. Verified students, teachers, and open source maintainers get Pro for free.

Which editors does Copilot support?

There are official extensions for VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, GoLand, etc.), Neovim, Xcode (in beta), and Eclipse. The core (autocomplete + chat) works in all. Advanced features like Workspace are concentrated in VS Code and the web.

Can I choose which model Copilot uses?

Yes, on paid plans. You can pick between Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 4, GPT-4o, GPT-4 Turbo, Gemini 2.0 Pro, and o3 depending on your plan. On Free, it is restricted to basic models selected by Microsoft.

Copilot vs Cursor AI: which is better?

It depends on the flow. Copilot is better for GitHub integration (Workspace, PRs, Issues) and multi-IDE support. Cursor is better for aggressive multi-file editing and people willing to migrate to a VS Code fork. Many developers run both in parallel for the first few days and decide.

Is my code used to train the model?

On individual plans, parts may be used per GitHub’s policy. On Business and Enterprise, there are contractual guarantees that private code is excluded from training. For companies in regulated sectors, always pick the corporate plans.

Conclusion

GitHub Copilot has solidified itself as the default option for developers who want AI in the editor. The combination of multiple models, deep GitHub integration, and three specialized modes (Ask, Edit, Agent) covers practically the full spectrum of tasks AI can accelerate in development.

Start with the Free plan to experiment, upgrade to Pro when use becomes daily, and master the three modes instead of staying stuck on autocomplete. Within a few weeks, Copilot stops being a side tool and becomes a natural part of your workflow — and going back to coding without it starts to feel inefficient.

To go deeper, we recommend these iabrief articles:

Official sources

For deeper context, see the official sources and authoritative references below:

GitHub Copilot Tutorial: How to Use It in 2026

What GitHub Copilot Is and How It Has Evolved

How to Install GitHub Copilot