Setting up GitHub Copilot for your development workflow

Configure permissions and personal settings

Once GitHub Copilot is installed and running in your IDE, you can tailor its behavior to match your development style and project needs. GitHub offers a variety of customization options that help improve usability, reduce distractions, and maintain control over your development environment. This section walks you through the key settings you can adjust, including how suggestions are presented, how to control Copilot on a per-language basis, and how your data is handled, how to change suggestion behavior (e.g., number of suggestions, inline vs. in a panel), and how to use keyboard shortcuts with GitHub Copilot.

GitHub Copilot offers a set of intuitive keyboard shortcuts that are designed to streamline and accelerate your coding workflow. These shortcuts allow you to interact with Copilot's AI-generated suggestions more efficiently, helping you accept, reject, explore alternatives, and manage how suggestions appear in your editor. Knowing these shortcuts enhances productivity and also reduces the friction between ideation and implementation.

The shortcuts may vary slightly depending on the IDE you're using (such as VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, or Neovim), but most of the commonly used shortcuts are available in Visual Studio Code, which is the IDE used throughout this book.

Let’s say you're writing a function, and Copilot offers a suggestion. To accept it, all you need to do is press the Tab key. If the suggestion isn’t helpful, press Esc to dismiss it.

To boost productivity, GitHub Copilot includes several keyboard shortcuts. The following table lists and describes the most useful shortcuts.

Exploring the GitHub Copilot interface in VS Code

GitHub Copilot's integration with Visual Studio Code isn't just about code suggestions. VS Code with GitHub Copilot provides a complete interface that empowers you to control when, how, and where suggestions appear. Next, we will look at the key elements of the interface along with practical use cases.

Copilot in the status bar: Real-time control over code suggestions

The Copilot status bar icon, located at the bottom right of the VS Code window (next to the language selector), gives you access to quick toggles and settings. Let’s look at the options available when you click the status bar icon and consider some use cases.

Visual Studio Code, showing a Copilot-related settings pop-up, including code completion and next edit suggestions, with workspace indexing set to locally indexed

Locally Indexed (Workspace Index)

What it does: Tells you whether the Copilot suggestions are enhanced with your current project files.

Use case: When you're working in a large codebase like a Django project, local indexing helps Copilot provide more context-aware suggestions, such as referencing existing models, views, or utility functions.

Example:

def get_user_email(user_id):

Copilot suggests:

return User.objects.get(id=user_id).email

   ```

Because your project is indexed, Copilot knows you're using Django ORM.

Code Completions (All Files)

What it does: Enables Copilot suggestions across all file types.

Use case: You're working in a full-stack project with both Python and JavaScript files, and you want Copilot to help in both.

Example: In app.js, you begin typing a fetch() call, and Copilot suggests a full API call with error handling.

Code Completions (Python)

Use case: You're preparing for a data science assignment and want Copilot’s help specifically in .py files but not in README files.

Example:

import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv(

Copilot suggests available CSV files in the project folder.

Next Edit Suggestions

What it does: Suggests what to do next after a code change.

Use case: You just wrote a new class, and Copilot immediately recommends test cases or docstrings.

Example:

class InvoiceProcessor:
    def process(self):
        pass

Copilot suggests:

# def test_invoice_processor():
#     processor = InvoiceProcessor()
#     ...

Top bar Copilot menu: Interact, chat, and configure

At the top right of VS Code (next to the split editor and layout icons) is the Copilot icon, which you can click to open the GitHub Copilot menu. Next, we’ll look at the options available in this menu.

Visual Studio Code with the GitHub Copilot menu expanded, showing multiple interaction and configuration options for using the AI assistant

Open Chat (Ctrl+Alt+I)

Use case: You need help understanding a block of unfamiliar code or generating a function on the fly.

Sample prompts:

“What does this regex do?”
“Generate a function to validate email format.”

Benefit: Think of this as your coding assistant; it is conversational, context-aware, and fast.

Editor Inline Chat (Ctrl + I)

Use case: You’re editing a class and want to ask for a method without opening the sidebar.

Example: Highlight a method and then type the following prompt:

“Convert this function to async and add error handling.”

Benefit: Perfect for in-place refactoring or micro-improvements.

Quick Chat (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+L)

Use case: You're writing a loop and are stuck. Use Quick Chat for a one-line prompt without switching focus.

Sample prompt:

“Generate a for-loop to iterate over a list of files and print the filenames.”

Configure Code Completions

Use case: You're working on a sensitive codebase and want to limit suggestions to only certain file types.

Manage Copilot

Use case: You need to access your Copilot account, disable telemetry, switch to Copilot for Business, or set up organization-wide preferences. Or you need to customize how Copilot handles suggestions, integrates with other extensions, or operates offline.