How to Use GitHub Copilot: Pricing, Free Plans, Pro & AI Agent Mode

GitHub Copilot, similar to other AI pair programming tools, is transforming software development. It acts as an AI pair programmer that helps you write code faster with less effort. The terms “AI pair programmer” and “Copilot” mean it supports you but cannot replace the developer. It'sn't magic and can't read your minds, even though it occasionally seems like it does. However, it provides code suggestions based on your project’s context and style. GitHub Copilot helps you strengthen your confidence as a programmer.

The great thing is that GitHub Copilot can also boost your velocity and confidence while coding. Since June 2022, it has been available to all individual developers.

Read more - Easy Programming Languages to Learn for Beginners.

How to Use GitHub Copilot

Getting started with GitHub Copilot requires several steps, beginning with installation and moving on to leveraging its features for code suggestions and development assistance.

Installation and Setup

Open your preferred IDE ( such as VS Code, Visual Studio, or JetBrains). Go to the extensions or plugins marketplace Search for "GitHub Copilot" and install both "GitHub Copilot" and "GitHub Copilot Chat" extensions.

Once installed, log in with your GitHub account inside the IDE. If it's your first time, you'll also need to authorize the IDE through your GitHub account settings.

Using Code Suggestions (Tab Autocomplete)

tart writing code in your editor and Copilot will suggest code based on the analysis of your context. If you like their suggestion, and if you want to use it, press the Tab key to accept it.

Advertisment

Using Copilot Chat

Open the chat window: Look for the Copilot icon (usually a chat bubble) in the sidebar or menu of your IDE to open the Copilot Chat window.

Using Inline Chat/Code Actions

Inline Chat: Showing a piece of code and pressing Ctrl+I (or Cmd+I on macOS) to open the inline chat. This lets you ask questions or request changes directly for the selected code.

Code Actions (VS Code): If Copilot spots any issues or opportunities for improvement (shown by a "sparkle" icon near the code), click it to see suggestion code actions, like "Fix using Copilot."

Read more - What is the Next Big Thing in Technology.

How does GitHub Copilot work?

OpenAI Codex, a machine learning model designed to convert natural language into code, is the engine behind GitHub Copilot. understands context from both comments and code to suggest single lines or even complete functions as you type. Codex is a specialized version of GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3) that has been fine-tuned for programming. Interestingly, popular apps such as Duolingo also use GPT-3 for grammar correction.

Unexpected yet valuable GitHub Copilot use cases

After installing the extension, it will start to suggest code as you type, but what next? How can you make the most out of GitHub Copilot ?

Copilot coding agent versus agent mode

By comparison, agent mode in Visual Studio and VS Code is tied to the GitHub Copilot Edits feature, Copilot, to perform automatic changes in your local development environment.

Advertisment

The coding agent works independently in a GitHub Actions-powered environment, completing tasks assigned through GitHub issues or Copilot chat prompts and The coding agent works autonomously in GitHub; it runs in an actions-powered environment to execute development tasks assigned via GitHub issues or GitHub Copilot Chat prompts and submit the completed results.

Copilot coding agent usage costs

Copilot coding agent relies on GitHub Actions minutes and Copilot premium requests. Within your monthly allowance, you can assign coding tasks to Copilot to work on coding tasks without incurring any additional costs.

Advantages over traditional AI workflows

When used well, the Copilot coding agent can boost productivity compared to traditional AI assistants in the IDEs:

IDE-based AI assistants, platform coding locally. Developers work side by side with the AI assistant. Decisions made during those sessions are untracked and lost to time unless committed. While the assistant can generate code, the developer still needs to handle many manual steps to do: like creating a branch, writing commit messages, pushing the changes, opening a pull request, getting a review, iterating in the IDE, and repeating the cycle. For simple or repetitive issues, these extra steps can feel time-consuming and unnecessary.

With the Copilot coding agent, coding and iterating take place directly on GitHub within the pull request workflow. It handles tasks such as creating a branch creation, writing a commit message and pushing, PR opening, and PR description writing. Developers can let the agent run in the background and then guide it toward the final solution using PR reviews. Because everything that happens on GitHub adds transparency, because everything that happens in this setup is recorded in a commit and is viewable in logs. Working on GitHub also encourages team-wide collaboration opportunities for the entire team.

Read more - How to create Ghibli style AI image free using Chatgpt.

Github Copilot Plans

GitHub provides several plans for GitHub Copilot, depending on your needs, whether you're an individual user, part of an organization or an enterprise.

GitHub Copilot Free is offered to individual developers who are not using Copilot through an organization or enterprise. This plan provides limited access to certain Copilot features, giving you the chance to experience AI-powered coding assistance for free.

GitHub Copilot Pro is aimed at individuals who want more flexibility. This paid plan offers unlimited completions, premium models in Copilot Chat, access to the Copilot coding agent, and a monthly quota of premium requests. Verified students, educators, and maintainers of popular open source projects may qualify for free access. 

GitHub Copilot Pro+ gives individual developers the most advanced level of Copilot Pro access. This plan offers an increased number of premium requests and complete access to all models available in Copilot Chat.It's best suited for AI power users who want the most advanced features.

GitHub Copilot Enterprise is tailored for enterprises on GitHub Enterprise Cloud. It offers all the features of Copilot Business along with advanced enterprise-grade capabilities.Enterprise owners can assign Copilot Enterprise or Copilot Business to their chosen organizations.

Why Use GitHub Copilot AI?

• It saves time , 

• provide smart code suggestion, 

• It supports multiple languages

Conclusion

GitHub Copilot is not only a code completion tool, it's a full-fledged AI coding partner. You are a professional developer or student. It helps everyone. If you are a student you can learn programming easily and if you are professional you can easily solve complex coding. GitHub help in shaping the future of coder.