Description
GitHub Copilot
What is GitHub Copilot?
Company and Key Data
| Data | Information |
|---|---|
| Developer | GitHub (Microsoft) + OpenAI |
| Launch | June 29, 2021 (preview), 2022 (GA) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA (GitHub) |
| GitHub CEO | Thomas Dohmke |
| Users | 20M+ developers |
| Suggestions accepted | 3B+ to date |
| PRs with Copilot | 1.2M/month |
| Code reviews | Millions/month |
Model Evolution
| Year | Model | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Codex (GPT-3) | Initial model |
| 2023 | GPT-3.5/GPT-4 | Accuracy improvements |
| 2024 | Multi-model | OpenAI + Anthropic + Google |
| 2025 | GPT-4.1, GPT-5, Claude, Gemini | Full multi-model architecture |
Pricing and Plans (December 2025)
Individual Plans
| Plan | Price | Completions | Premium Requests | Models |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 2,000/mo | 50/mo | GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet |
| Pro | $10/mo ($100/yr) | Unlimited | 300/mo | All models |
| Pro+ | $39/mo | Unlimited | 1,500/mo | All + Claude Opus 4, GPT-5 |
Organizational Plans
| Plan | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Business | $19/user/mo | License management, policies, IP indemnity |
| Enterprise | $39/user/mo | All Business + GitHub.com Chat, Knowledge bases, Custom models |
Important Details
- Free for: Verified students, teachers, popular open source maintainers
- Free trial: 30 days on Pro
- Premium requests: Credits for advanced models, multipliers per model
- Annual discount: ~17% ($100/year vs $120)
Available AI Models (December 2025)
Included Models (no premium cost)
- GPT-5 mini
- GPT-4.1
- GPT-4o
Premium Models (with multiplier)
| Model | Multiplier | Recommended Use |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-5 | Variable | Deep reasoning |
| Claude Opus 4.1 | 10x | Architecture, complex debugging |
| Claude Sonnet 4 | 1x (0.9x with auto) | General purpose |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | Variable | Long context |
| Gemini 2.0 Flash | 0.25x | Low latency |
| o3-mini | Variable | Reasoning |
| o4-mini | Variable | Fast edits |
| Grok Code Fast 1 | Promotion | Fast coding |
Auto Model Selection
- Automatic selection of best model per task
- 10% multiplier discount using auto
Main Features
IDE Completions
- Real-time code autocompletion
- Full line and function suggestions
- Support for 12+ languages
- <400ms latency
Copilot Chat
- Conversational chat in IDE
- Code questions
- Assisted debugging
- Code explanations
- Test generation
Agent Mode (Feb 2025)
- Multi-file changes
- Command execution
- Complete module refactoring
- Terminal suggestions
Coding Agent (May 2025)
- Autonomous asynchronous agent
- Assign issues to Copilot
- Generates complete pull requests
- Automatic tests and context
- Powered by GitHub Actions
- ~1.2M PRs/month
Next Edit Suggestions
- Predicts next change
- Accept with one Tab
- Inline suggestions
Code Review
- AI code review
- Improvement suggestions
- Vulnerability detection
Copilot CLI
- Terminal assistance
- Setup, debug, scripting
- Without switching windows
Supported IDEs and Platforms
IDEs
- Visual Studio Code (primary)
- Visual Studio
- JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, etc.)
- Eclipse
- Xcode
- Vim/Neovim
- Azure Data Studio
Platforms
- GitHub.com (integrated Chat)
- GitHub Mobile
- CLI
Supported Languages
- Python
- JavaScript/TypeScript
- Go
- Ruby
- Java
- C/C++
- C#
- PHP
- Rust
- Swift
- Kotlin
- And many more...
Enterprise Features
Security
- Public code filter
- Vulnerability filter
- IP indemnity (Business+)
- Content filters
Management
- License management
- Policy management
- SSO/SAML
- SCIM provisioning
- Audit logs
- Organizational controls
Customization
- Knowledge bases
- Custom models
- Fine-tuning (Enterprise)
- AGENTS.md for instructions
Integrations
Model Context Protocol (MCP)
- Access to external data
- Per-repository configuration
GitHub Actions
- Secure development environment
- 40M+ daily jobs
- 25,000+ actions in Marketplace
GitHub Models
- Prototype with models
- Evaluations
- Prompt management
Competition
| Competitor | Difference |
|---|---|
| Cursor | Copilot: more integrated in GitHub |
| Claude Code | Copilot: more IDEs supported |
| Amazon CodeWhisperer | Copilot: more models |
| Tabnine | Copilot: better context |
| Replit Ghostwriter | Copilot: more enterprise |
Controversies and Limitations
Licenses and Copyright
- Trained on public GitHub code
- Lawsuits about fair use
- Software Freedom Conservancy abandoned GitHub
- GitHub claims "fair use" in ML
Security
- 40% of suggestions may have vulnerabilities (IEEE 2022 study)
- Requires human review
Education
- Debate about learning impact
- Performance superior to average students
- May violate exercise restrictions
Productivity Metrics
- 20-40% time reduction on repetitive tasks
- 10-15% savings on complex logic
- 2x throughput since Sept 2025
- 37.6% better context retrieval
Open Source
- Copilot Chat open source under MIT
- Gradual integration into VS Code core
- Community can inspect and contribute
Key Features
Real-time code autocompletion
Multi-model support (GPT-5, Claude, Gemini)
Agent Mode for multi-file changes
Autonomous asynchronous Coding Agent
Predictive Next Edit Suggestions
Conversational Copilot Chat
AI Code Review
Copilot CLI for terminal
Support for 12+ programming languages
7+ IDEs supported
<400ms latency
Automatic test generation
Assisted debugging
Code explanations
Custom knowledge bases (Enterprise)
IP indemnity (Business+)
SSO/SAML and SCIM
Security and vulnerability filters
GitHub Actions integration
Free plan available
Use Cases
Professional software development
IDE code autocompletion
Function and class generation
Unit test writing
Debugging and error correction
Code refactoring
Code documentation
Learning new languages
Automated code review
Pull request generation
Scripts and automation
Full-stack development
DevOps and CI/CD
Code migration
Security analysis
Rapid prototyping
AI pair programming
Developer onboarding
Legacy code maintenance
Open source contributions
Information
Company
GitHub (Microsoft)
Website
github.comUser Reviews
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