• Vim>9.0
• NerdFonts (Optional for pretty icons)

Using Vundle, Pathogen vim-plug, Vim 8+ packages, or any other plugin manager.

Add into .vimrc configuration.

call vundle#begin()
Plugin 'DanBradbury/copilot-chat.vim'
call vundle#end()

filetype plugin indent on

Clone repository.

git clone https://github.com/DanBradbury/copilot-chat.vim.git ~/.vim/bundle

Add into .vimrc configuration.

call pathogen#infect()
syntax on
filetype plugin indent on

Add into .vimrc configuration.

call plug#begin()
Plug 'DanBradbury/copilot-chat.vim'
call plug#end()

filetype plugin indent on

Clone repository.

git clone https://github.com/DanBradbury/copilot-chat.vim.git ~/.vim/pack/plugins/start

Add into .vimrc configuration.

filetype plugin indent on

1. After installing the plugin, the first time you launch vim you'll be presented with the device registration page in your default browser.
2. Follow the steps on the page and paste the Device Code when prompted.
3. Once completed press <Enter> back in vim to complete the registration process.
4. Start chatting with Copilot (:CopilotChatOpen, :CopilotChat simple question, etc)
5. 🎉🎉🎉

The plugin avoids adding any default vim key mappings to prevent conflict with other plugins and the users' own mappings.

However, to easily work with the Copilot Chat plugin, the user might want to setup his own vim key mappings. See example configuration below:

" Open a new Copilot Chat window
nnoremap <leader>cc :CopilotChatOpen<CR>

" Add visual selection to Copilot window
vmap <leader>a <Plug>CopilotChatAddSelection

The plugin includes autocomplete macros, specifically designed to enhance productivity when working with file references.

• Typing /tab all in the chat window will automatically expand into a list of all open tabs (excluding the current buffer) with their filenames prefixed by #file:.
• The filenames are displayed in their relative path format, making it easier to reference files in your project.
• If no other tabs are found, the message No other tabs found will be inserted instead.

• When typing #file: in the chat window, the plugin provides an autocomplete menu for file paths.
• The autocomplete intelligently suggests files based on:
  • Files tracked in the current Git repository (if inside a Git project).
  • All files in the current working directory (if not in a Git project).
• The suggestions exclude directories and only include files that match the text typed after #file:.
• Example:
  • Typing #file:src/ will show a list of files in the src/ directory.
  • Selecting a file from the menu will insert its full path.

:CopilotChatModels brings up a popup menu for of all the available models for you to choose from. Press <Enter> or <Space> to select the highlighted model. New chats will use the selected model.

By default, this is configured to <Leader>a when in visual mode.

• Adds the selection to the active chat window inside of a &filetype named codeblock

Save and restore your chat conversations with Copilot:

• Use :CopilotChatSave <name> to save the current chat history
• If no name is provided, a timestamp will be used automatically
• History files are stored in ~/.vim/copilot-chat/history/ as JSON files

• Use :CopilotChatLoad <name> to load a previously saved chat
• If no name is provided, a list of available chat histories will be shown
• You can also view all saved histories with :CopilotChatList

Copilot Chat supports custom prompt templates that can be quickly accessed during chat sessions. Templates allow you to save frequently used prompts and invoke them with a simple syntax.

• In the chat window, start a line with > PROMPT_NAME
• The PROMPT_NAME will be automatically replaced with the template content before sending to Copilot
• Example: > explain would expand to the full explanation template

1. Open the config with :CopilotChatConfig
2. Add prompts to the prompts object in config.json:

{
  "model": "gpt-4",
  "prompts": {
    "explain": "Explain how this code works in detail:",
    "refactor": "Suggest improvements and refactoring for this code:",
    "docs": "Generate documentation for this code:"
  }
}

> explain

function validateUser() {
  // code to validate
}

This will send the full template text + your code to Copilot.

You can customize the behavior of Copilot Chat by setting global variables in your vimrc.

For example, to always open chats in a horizontal split at the bottom:

let g:copilot_chat_window_position = 'bottom'

For better performance with long chat sessions, you can adjust these settings:

" Send only the last 10 messages for faster responses
let g:copilot_chat_message_history_limit = 10

" Increase debounce delay for slower machines (reduces CPU usage)
let g:copilot_chat_syntax_debounce_ms = 500

" Longer cache timeout for large projects (reduces system calls)
let g:copilot_chat_file_cache_timeout = 10

The following error message means the logged in account does not have Copilot activated:

Resource not accessible by integration

Please see the contribution guide for more information.