GitHub Copilot by GitHub
GitHub Copilot is a cloud-based AI tool developed by GitHub and OpenAI to assist programmers by autocompleting code. Available as an extension for Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, Neovim, and the JetBrains suite of IDEs, it supports many popular programming languages, such as Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, and Go.
GitHub Copilot can draw context from comments and code to suggest individual lines and whole functions instantly. It is powered by Codex, a generative pre-trained AI model created by OpenAI that has been trained on natural language text and source code from publicly available sources, including code in public repositories on GitHub.
According to GitHub’s own evaluation, users accepted, on average, 26% of all completions shown by GitHub Copilot. They have also found that on average more than 27% of developers’ code files were generated by GitHub Copilot, and in certain languages like Python, that goes up to 40%.
Video Overview ▶️
What are the key features? ⭐
- Codes entire functions: Uses the OpenAI Codex to suggest code and entire functions in real-time, right from your editor.
- Context-based recommendations: GitHub Copilot's recommendations are based on the project's context and style conventions.
- Write in English: Turns natural language prompts into coding suggestions across dozens of languages.
- It can read comments: You can write a comment describing the logic you want and GitHub Copilot will suggest code to implement the solution.
- Integrated with popular IDEs: Integrates directly into popular editors, such as Neovim, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, and Visual Studio Code.
- Proven to work: Research has found GitHub Copilot helps developers code faster, focus on solving bigger problems.
Who is it for? 🤔
Examples of what you can use it for 💭
- Code faster with code completion
- Use the English language to create entire functions
- Check and review your code, make it more consistent
How much does it cost? 🏷️
| Plan | Period | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot for Individuals | Monthly | $10 |
| Copilot for Individuals | Yearly | $100 |
| Copilot for Business | Monthly | $19 |
Pros & Cons ⚖️
- Research has found GitHub Copilot helps developers code faster
- Allow programmers to navigate unfamiliar coding frameworks and languages
- Can autocomplete based on the current code base
- Privacy concerns: as a cloud-based, it requires continuous communication with the GitHub Copilot servers
