What is GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is the newest tool developed by GitHub to autocomplete code with the help of OpenAI.

Copilot generates smart code suggestions with context, such as docstrings, code comments, function names, or even file names. It then uses all this information to suggest code snippets that developers can easily accept by pressing the Tab key on a keyboard.

It understands Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, and Go, as well as dozens of other languages because it’s “trained on billions of lines of public code,” per the Copilot website. And while it’s currently still in its limited technical preview, those interested can sign up to join a waitlist to try it out.

In this article, we’ll explore Copilot’s main functionalities, how to build a simple application using only Copilot, and its pros and cons.

Copilot’s main features

Copilot’s main feature is its autocomplete function. When typing a function description, for example, Copilot completes the whole function before a user finishes. While this autocomplete is similar to other general autocomplete functionalities, Copilot goes a step beyond.

When continuing to write code and adding more comments, Copilot begins to understand the whole context of the code through its AI capabilities. With the context, it autocompletes comments mid-sentence.

For example, by adding a function, it generates a whole comment and a function; in this case, it figured out the last function should be a multiply function, as seen below.

Read more on the GitHub Copilot page . The number of spots for the technical preview is limited, so sign up today!