GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — May replace

May 2026 introduced sharper tooling for planning, reviewing, and managing your work with GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio 2026.

Highlights

Here’s what’s new for all GitHub Copilot customers in Visual Studio 2026. Check the Insiders channel for the most recent:

• Plan earlier than you construct with the Plan agent: The new Plan agent (labeled Plan within the agent picker) permits you to collaborate with Copilot on an implementation plan earlier than any code is written. Copilot explores your codebase with read-only instruments, asks clarifying questions, and drafts an in depth plan saved as a markdown file at .copilot/plans/plan-{title}.md. When you’re prepared, click on Implement plan handy it off to Agent mode.
• View and handle agent abilities: A brand new Skills panel within the chat window lists each agent talent found out of your workspace and consumer profile. You can edit a talent, open its file location, or search throughout abilities by title or key phrase, all from a single place.
• Multi-file abstract diff for Copilot modifications: After Copilot edits a number of information, click on Open change abstract view within the working set to see all modifications in a single tab. Accept or undo on the all-files, per-file, or per-chunk degree, with controls to break down information or step by means of diff chunks.
• Manage context window utilization: A brand new ring icon on the high proper of the Copilot Chat immediate exhibits how a lot of the context window you’ve used. Click to see an in depth breakdown and use Summarize dialog to compact earlier turns and liberate house.
• Add decide to Copilot Chat: Right-click a commit in Git History, File History, or the Annotate (Blame) view and connect it straight as context in Copilot Chat. Multi-select is supported, so you’ll be able to connect a number of commits directly.
• Commit message directions moved: Commit message customized directions now dwell in your repository’s Copilot customized directions file as an alternative of the outdated GitHub > Copilot > Source Control Integration setting, protecting all Copilot steerage in a single place.
• Improved optimizations for iterative C++ builds: When @BuildPerfCpp detects a regression in full rebuild evaluation, it now reruns a comparable incremental construct. This higher displays the day-to-day good points from optimizations equivalent to precompiled headers and header refactoring, which might look slower in rebuilds.

Download Visual Studio 2026 to expertise all the brand new Copilot options at the moment. To be taught extra about what’s new, try the Visual Studio blog and release notes.

What’s next for Copilot in Visual Studio

Stay updated on the most recent Copilot options by following the Visual Studio blog, the place you’ll discover roadmap updates and alternatives to share suggestions.

For the most recent information, launch notes, movies, and neighborhood conversations, go to the Visual Studio Hub, your central useful resource for all issues Visual Studio.