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UI Tour

Where everything lives in VS Code

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title: "UI Tour" description: "Where everything lives in VS Code" section: "Copilot" readTime: "4 min" badge: "NEW"

GitHub Copilot: UI Tour

Before you type a single prompt, here's how to read the cockpit.

The Chat View (Ctrl+Alt+I)

Your main control center for agents and tasks. Open it with Ctrl+Alt+I (Ctrl+Cmd+I on macOS). By default it lives in the Secondary Side Bar. It has two layouts: compact, which embeds the sessions list, and side-by-side, which shows the list next to the conversation. Use the toggle in the top-right corner to switch.

What you'll see:

  • The sessions list (local, Copilot CLI, cloud) with status and change statistics
  • In the chat input: the agent picker, the language model picker, the permissions dropdown, and the context window indicator
  • Message history with file references and inline diffs

The Status Bar

Hover over the Copilot icon in the Status Bar to open the Copilot menu and status dashboard:

  • Sign in or Use AI Features
  • See your inline suggestions and AI credit usage
  • Enable or disable inline suggestions, or Snooze them

Inline Chat (Ctrl+I)

In-editor floating prompt bar.

Use for:

  • Quick edits without opening the Chat view
  • Targeted changes to the current file
  • Questions about selected code

Inline Suggestions

Grey ghost text appearing as you type.

Press Tab to accept. Escape to reject. Open related files to give Copilot more context.

Smart Actions

Select code, then right-click:

  • Generate Code → Fix, Generate Docs, Generate Tests, Review
  • Explain

Other smart actions: the sparkle icon in Source Control for commit messages, Fix Test Failure in Test Explorer, and a sparkle in the terminal gutter after a failed command.

Sessions List

The sessions list shows your sessions with their status and file-change statistics. In the Agents window it spans all your workspaces, with grouping, pinning, and a side-by-side grid.

Click any session to review its file changes and messages.

Model Picker

Use the language model picker in the chat input to switch models. Select Auto to let Copilot choose, and use Optimize for (Efficiency, Balance, Intelligence) to steer it. The models available depend on your plan and organization policy, see the model comparison for a current overview.

Tips

  • Customizations → Select the gear icon (Configure Chat) in the Chat view, or run Chat: Open Customizations from the Command Palette
  • Slash commands → Type /help in chat to list what your session supports
  • Manage models and BYOK → Chat: Manage Language Models from the Command Palette

Next: Try the Quickstart or read about Agents.