Imagine having a senior developer sitting right next to you while you code. Not someone who takes over, but someone who watches what you are typing, understands where you are going, and quietly suggests the next few lines before you even finish thinking about them. They help you fix bugs, explain code you do not understand, write tests you keep putting off, and review your pull requests. And they are available every single second, never get tired, and cost less than a cup of coffee a day. That is GitHub Copilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide explains everything a beginner needs to know about GitHub Copilot in plain, simple language. What it is, how it works, what it can actually do, what it costs, and whether it is worth using. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quick Answer <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant made by GitHub and OpenAI. It lives inside your code editor and helps you write, debug, explain, and review code using artificial intelligence. It can suggest entire lines or functions as you type, answer questions about your code in a chat window, automatically fix bugs, and even work on multi-file tasks on its own. It is available for free with limits, or from $10 per month for unlimited use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GitHub Copilot is an AI tool that works directly inside your code editor to help you write software faster and with fewer mistakes. It was created by GitHub (which is owned by Microsoft) in partnership with OpenAI, and it launched in 2021 as the first AI coding assistant to reach mainstream adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of it this way. Without it, typing in a code editor is like writing an essay in a plain text document. When you write with GitHub Copilot, it is like using a very smart autocomplete that has read every publicly available piece of code ever written and can predict exactly where you are going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thought to ponder:<\/em><\/strong> If AI can suggest the next function before you finish typing the first line, what does that mean for how you should spend your time as a developer? And does it actually help you learn, or just help you avoid learning?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hint:<\/em><\/strong> Research shows GitHub Copilot saves experienced developers roughly 55% of the time on certain coding tasks. For learners, the impact is different. Used well, it teaches you new patterns and better approaches. Used poorly, it can become a crutch that produces code you do not understand. The key is staying engaged with what it suggests rather than blindly accepting everything.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n How Did GitHub Copilot Start?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It was trained on billions of lines of code from public repositories on GitHub, along with other publicly available code and text. It uses large language models<\/a>, the same technology behind ChatGPT, but fine-tuned specifically to understand programming languages and generate accurate, contextually relevant code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It launched in 2021 as a technical preview, became publicly available in 2022, and has been evolving rapidly ever since. By 2026, it has grown from a simple autocomplete tool into a full AI development platform with chat, autonomous agents, multi-model support, and terminal integration. Nearly two million students alone use GitHub Copilot today, and the total user base spans millions of professional developers worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do check out HCL GUVI’s Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Course<\/a>, designed to help you build real-world AI and ML skills through live mentor-led sessions, hands-on projects, and industry-focused curriculum covering machine learning, deep learning, NLP, and model deployment. This 5-month program also offers certification, placement guidance, and training aligned with real industry requirements, making it a strong choice for beginners and career switchers interested in AI careers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the question that matters most for a beginner. The tool is no longer just one thing. It has several distinct capabilities, each useful in different situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is what most people picture. As you type in your code editor, it watches what you are writing and suggests the next line, the next function, or sometimes several lines ahead. It appears as a greyed-out suggestion. Press Tab to accept it or keep typing to ignore it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The suggestions are context-aware. The tool reads the code you have already written in the file, understands what you are trying to accomplish, and generates suggestions that fit. It is not guessing randomly. It is reasoning about your specific situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a practical walkthrough of these features, read Code Interpreter with GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code (2026 Guide)<\/a> to learn how to use them inside Visual Studio Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Riddle:<\/em><\/strong> You are writing a function to check if a string is a valid email address. You type the function name and nothing else. The assistant suggests the entire implementation including the regex, input validation, and edge case handling. Does this mean the code is correct, and should you just accept it?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Answer:<\/em><\/strong> No. GitHub Copilot suggestions are a strong starting point, not a finished product. Always read what it suggests before accepting. The email validation it generates might be syntactically correct but use a regex that misses certain valid formats or accepts certain invalid ones. GitHub Copilot accelerates your work, but your judgment as the developer is still essential. Review every suggestion the same way you would review code from a colleague.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Copilot Chat is a conversation window built into your editor where you can ask questions and get answers in natural language, all within the context of your codebase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can ask it to explain a function, help you debug an error, write tests for your code<\/a>, refactor something to make it cleaner, or explain why a piece of code is doing something unexpected. It is like having a mentor available inside your editor at all times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agent mode is the newest and most powerful feature. Instead of suggesting one thing at a time, Copilot in agent mode can take a goal you describe and work toward it autonomously, making changes across multiple files, running terminal commands, fixing errors it encounters along the way, and iterating until the task is done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might tell it: “Add error handling to all of the API endpoints in this project.” In agent mode, it reads every relevant file, makes the necessary changes throughout the codebase, runs any tests it finds, and fixes issues it encounters without you having to guide each step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brain teaser: <\/em><\/strong>Agent mode can edit multiple files and run terminal commands autonomously. A developer asks it to “refactor the entire authentication module to use JWT tokens instead of session cookies.” It makes changes to 12 files and runs the test suite. Five tests fail. What should happen next, and what is your role as the developer in this scenario?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Answer:<\/em><\/strong> GitHub Copilot will attempt to fix the failing tests automatically. Your role is to review both the changes it made and the final result before merging anything. Agent mode is powerful but not infallible. On large, architecturally significant changes, it can introduce logic errors or misunderstand the intent of a function. Always review the full diff before accepting the result, run your own tests, and never deploy AI-generated changes without understanding what they do.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Copilot can review pull requests and leave comments, the same way a human reviewer would. It checks for bugs, security issues, performance problems, and code style violations. It can catch problems that slip past tired human reviewers and it does so instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This does not replace human code review. But it adds a first pass that catches obvious issues before the human reviewer even looks, making the human review faster and more focused on higher-level concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Copilot CLI brings the assistant into your terminal. Instead of switching between your editor and your browser to look up commands, you can ask GitHub Copilot directly in the terminal. Ask it to explain what a complex shell command does, generate the exact command you need for a task, or help you debug a script that is not working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the tool’s biggest practical advantages is how many editors and environments it supports. You do not need to change your workflow or switch to a new tool to use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a significant advantage over tools like Cursor, which require you to switch to a completely new IDE. It works inside the editor you already use, from your first day of coding to your most complex production work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GitHub Copilot offers multiple pricing plans in 2026 designed to support everyone from beginners to large enterprise teams. Whether you are learning to code, working as an individual developer, or managing a development team, each plan provides different levels of AI assistance, premium requests, and collaboration features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of beginners ask this question, and it is a good one. Both use AI to help with code, but they work very differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is GitHub Copilot?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Can GitHub Copilot Actually Do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Inline Code Completion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2. Copilot Chat<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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3. Agent Mode<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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4. Code Review<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Copilot CLI<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Where Does GitHub Copilot Work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Editor or Environment<\/strong><\/td> GitHub Copilot Support<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Visual Studio Code<\/td> Full support, all features<\/td><\/tr> JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.)<\/td> Full support<\/td><\/tr> Neovim<\/td> Full support<\/td><\/tr> Vim<\/td> Supported<\/td><\/tr> Visual Studio<\/td> Full support<\/td><\/tr> Xcode<\/td> Preview support<\/td><\/tr> Eclipse<\/td> Supported<\/td><\/tr> Terminal (via Copilot CLI)<\/td> Full support<\/td><\/tr> GitHub.com<\/td> Chat and code review features<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n GitHub Copilot Plans and Pricing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Plan<\/strong><\/td> Price<\/strong><\/td> Key Features<\/strong><\/td> Best For<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Free Plan<\/strong><\/td> Free<\/td> 2,000 code completions\/month, 50 premium requests, supports Chat, agent mode, code reviews, works in VS Code & JetBrains IDEs, no credit card required<\/td> Beginners and developers coding a few hours per week<\/td><\/tr> Pro Plan<\/strong><\/td> $10\/month<\/strong> (\u2248 Rs. 840)<\/td> Unlimited code completions, 300 premium requests\/month, supports daily Chat usage and occasional agent mode<\/td> Individual developers who code regularly<\/td><\/tr> Pro Plus Plan<\/strong><\/td> $39\/month<\/strong> (\u2248 Rs. 3,276)<\/td> 1,500 premium requests\/month, access to advanced AI models including GPT-5, Claude Opus 4.6, and Gemini 2.5 Pro<\/td> Power users and developers using AI tools extensively<\/td><\/tr> Business Plan<\/strong><\/td> $19\/user\/month<\/strong> (\u2248 Rs. 1,596)<\/td> Team management tools, policy controls, audit logs, and IP indemnity protection<\/td> Development teams and companies with multiple developers<\/td><\/tr> Enterprise Plan<\/strong><\/td> $39\/user\/month<\/strong> (\u2248 Rs. 3,276)** (Requires GitHub Enterprise Cloud \u2014 total ~$60\/user\/month)<\/em><\/td> Custom model training, deep GitHub integration, knowledge bases, enterprise-grade security<\/td> Large organisations needing advanced security and customisation<\/td><\/tr> Student & Open Source Plan<\/strong><\/td> Free (Eligibility Required)<\/td> Unlimited completions and premium request allowance through GitHub Education or qualifying open-source work<\/td> Students and active open-source maintainers<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Overall, GitHub Copilot\u2019s pricing structure makes it accessible to beginners while still offering powerful enterprise-level capabilities. Most individual developers start with the Free or Pro plan, while teams and organisations typically benefit from Business or Enterprise plans depending on their collaboration and security needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGitHub Copilot vs ChatGPT: What is the Difference?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n