GitHub Copilot is generally available (github.blog)

Article summary

GitHub Copilot, an AI pair programmer, is now generally available to all developers for a monthly or yearly fee. It suggests code in the user's editor and can help with repetitive tasks. Verified students and maintainers of popular open source projects can use it for free. The criteria for a popular open source project are not clearly defined, leading to confusion among some developers.

Main themes

• GitHub Copilot
• AI-powered coding
• Productivity tools
• Open source projects
• Pricing and accessibility
• Code quality and security
• Developer workflows and tools
• Language support and compatibility

What commenters say

• Some developers find GitHub Copilot to be a valuable tool that boosts their productivity, while others are more skeptical about its usefulness.
• The lack of clear criteria for what constitutes a popular open source project is frustrating for some developers who want to know if they qualify for free access.
• GitHub Copilot's ability to suggest code is not limited to popular languages like Python and JavaScript, but its performance may vary for less common languages like Elixir.
• Integrating GitHub Copilot into a shell or other non-IDE environments could be useful, but also poses potential security risks.
• Some developers are concerned about the potential for GitHub Copilot to introduce errors or suggest low-quality code, and want to carefully review its suggestions.
• The tool's pricing model is seen as reasonable by some, while others think it should be free or more affordable for certain groups of developers.
• GitHub Copilot's performance and usefulness can depend on the specific use case and the developer's workflow, with some finding it more helpful for certain tasks than others.