Reference · Glossary
GitHub Copilot
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An AI pair-programmer plugin for popular editors (VS Code, JetBrains, etc.) that started as inline autocomplete and has grown an **agent mode** for multi-file tasks, plus a chat panel for questions about your code, tightly integrated with GitHub (PRs, issues, Actions).
#When to use
Teams already living in GitHub who want AI help without switching editors — autocomplete for the fast small edits, agent/chat mode for larger asks, PR summaries, and code review comments.
#When not to
Tasks needing deep terminal/shell automation as the primary interface — a terminal-native agent may fit that workflow more directly.
#Example
Typing a function signature and a one-line comment describing intent, then accepting Copilot's inline suggestion for the body — or asking its chat panel to "explain why this test is flaky."