GitHub Copilot Major Refresh - Multi-Model Support and Agent Features

GitHub Copilot Evolution

From late 2024 to early 2025, GitHub Copilot announced significant feature enhancements. With multi-model support, Copilot Workspace, and autonomous agent capabilities, features that dramatically improve developer productivity have been added.

Reference: GitHub Copilot

Multi-Model Support

Available Models

GitHub Copilot now allows selection of multiple AI models.

Switching Models

# Switch model in VS Code
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P → "Copilot: Select Model"

# Specify in CLI
gh copilot suggest --model claude-3.5-sonnet "Optimize sort function"

Reference: GitHub Copilot Documentation

Copilot Workspace

Concept

A new feature that automates from Issue to Pull Request.

1. Analyze Issue
2. Create implementation plan
3. Propose code changes
4. Auto-generate PR

Usage Example

# Issue: Dark Mode Support

## Copilot Workspace Analysis Results

### Affected Files
- src/styles/theme.css
- src/components/ThemeToggle.tsx
- src/contexts/ThemeContext.tsx

### Proposed Changes
1. Define color scheme with CSS variables
2. Manage theme state in ThemeContext
3. Create toggle button component

[Review Changes] [Create PR]

Reference: Copilot Workspace Preview

Copilot Extensions

Third-Party Integrations

External tools can be integrated with Copilot.

// Copilot Extension example: Docker integration
@docker build --optimize

// Copilot Extension example: Azure integration
@azure deploy to production

// Copilot Extension example: Sentry integration
@sentry analyze recent errors

Major Extensions

Enhanced Copilot Chat

Questions About Entire Codebase

@workspace Explain the authentication flow of this project

@workspace Identify security issues

@workspace Find performance bottlenecks

Terminal Integration

# Command explanation
gh copilot explain "git rebase -i HEAD~5"

# Command suggestion
gh copilot suggest "I want to squash commits from the past week"

Reference: GitHub CLI - Copilot Extension

GitHub Copilot Autofix

Automatic Security Vulnerability Fixes

Automatically fixes vulnerabilities detected by Code Scanning.

// Before fix (SQL Injection vulnerability)
const query = `SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ${userId}`;

// After Copilot Autofix
const query = 'SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?';
const result = await db.query(query, [userId]);

Supported Vulnerabilities

• SQL Injection
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
• Path Traversal
• Command Injection
• Other CWE Top 25

Pricing Plans

Reference: GitHub Copilot Pricing

VS Code Integration Improvements

Inline Chat

1. Select code
2. Open inline chat with Cmd/Ctrl + I
3. Type "Optimize this code"
4. Preview diff
5. Approve or modify

Improved Code Completion Accuracy

// More accurate context understanding
function calculateTax(income: number, region: string) {
    // Copilot auto-completes region-specific tax rate table
    const taxRates = {
        tokyo: 0.10,
        osaka: 0.08,
        // ... region-based completion
    };
}

Summary

GitHub Copilot has evolved from a mere code completion tool to an AI partner that supports the entire development workflow.

• Multi-Model: AI selection based on use case
• Workspace: Automation from Issue to PR
• Extensions: Third-party integrations
• Autofix: Automatic security fixes

These features allow developers to focus on more creative work.