GitHub Copilot is a powerful AI-powered coding assistant that helps developers write code faster and smarter. If you're using Copilot with Visual Studio Code (VS Code), mastering its shortcuts can significantly enhance your productivity. This guide covers essential GitHub Copilot shortcuts in VS Code to streamline your workflow.
🔹 Getting Started with GitHub Copilot in VS Code
Before diving into shortcuts, ensure you have GitHub Copilot installed and enabled in VS Code:
- Install the GitHub Copilot extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
- Sign in with your GitHub account.
- Enable Copilot in your settings (
Cmd + , on macOS or Ctrl + , on Windows/Linux).
🔥 Essential GitHub Copilot Shortcuts
Here are the must-know shortcuts for efficiently using GitHub Copilot in VS Code:
🚀 Code Suggestions and Completion
| Shortcut |
Description |
Tab |
Accept Copilot's suggestion |
Esc |
Dismiss the suggestion |
Alt + ] (Windows/Linux) <br> Option + ] (macOS) |
Show next suggestion |
Alt + [ (Windows/Linux) <br> Option + [ (macOS) |
Show previous suggestion |
Ctrl + Enter (Windows/Linux) <br> Cmd + Enter (macOS) |
Force generate a suggestion |
⚡ Inline Code Generation
| Shortcut |
Description |
Option + \ (macOS) |
Trigger inline Copilot suggestion |
✨ Working with Copilot Code Editor
| Shortcut |
Description |
Ctrl + Shift + i (Windows/Linux) <br> Cmd + Shift + i (macOS) |
Open Copilot Code Editor |
Ctrl + Enter (Windows/Linux) <br> Cmd + Enter (macOS) |
Accept |
Ctrl + Space (Windows/Linux) <br> Cmd + Space (macOS) |
Discard |
✨ Working with Copilot Chat Inline
| Shortcut |
Description |
Ctrl + i (Windows/Linux) <br> Cmd + i (macOS) |
Open Copilot Chat Inline |
/ in Copilot Chat |
Start a command prompt |
Shift + Enter |
Send a multi-line prompt |
✨ Working with Copilot Chat
| Shortcut |
Description |
Ctrl + Alt + i (Windows/Linux) <br> Cmd + control + i (macOS) |
Open Copilot Chat |
/ in Copilot Chat |
Start a slash command prompt |
/doc |
Adds a documentation comment |
/explain |
Explains the selected code |
/fix |
Proposes a fix for problems in the selected code |
/test |
Generates unit tests for the selected code |
@ in Copilot Chat |
Mention a specific AI assistant |
# in Copilot Chat |
Attach context to your prompt |
Shift + Enter |
Send a multi-line prompt |
📌 Bonus Tips for Maximizing Copilot
- Use comments to guide Copilot (e.g.,
// Create a function to fetch data from API).
- Combine Copilot with VS Code Snippets for even faster coding.
- Use Copilot in Jupyter Notebooks for Python-based data science workflows.
- Customize Your Shortcuts: If these shortcuts don’t align with your workflow, you can always customize them in VS Code. Go to File > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts and search for “Copilot” to remap the keys to your liking.
🎯 Conclusion
By mastering these GitHub Copilot shortcuts in VS Code, you can boost your coding speed and efficiency. Whether you’re writing code, debugging, or experimenting with AI-generated suggestions, Copilot can be a game-changer.
