You installed Copilot, you press Tab a lot, and you occasionally open Chat. But there’s a whole layer of Copilot functionality that most developers never touch. Here are 10 tips that will noticeably change how productive you are with it.
1. Accept Word by Word, Not Line by Line
Most developers either accept a full suggestion with Tab or reject it with Esc. But Ctrl+→ (or Cmd+→ on Mac) lets you accept one word at a time. This is incredibly useful when Copilot gets the first half of a line right but drifts on the second half. Accept what’s good, then type the rest yourself.
2. Use Copilot Chat Slash Commands
Copilot Chat has built-in slash commands that trigger specific behaviors:
/explain— breaks down selected code line by line/tests— generates unit tests for selected code/fix— analyzes and fixes bugs in selected code/doc— generates documentation comments/optimize— suggests performance improvements
These are faster than typing out full prompts because they’re tuned for specific tasks.
3. Create Per-Repo Custom Instructions
The .github/copilot-instructions.md file is Copilot’s equivalent of Cursor’s Rules. Most developers don’t know it exists. Create one in your repo root:
## Project Context
This is a Next.js 14 app using App Router, TypeScript strict mode,
and Supabase for auth and database.
## Code Style
- Use server components by default
- Validate all inputs with Zod
- Error responses follow: { error: string, code: string }
- Use named exports, not default exports
Every Copilot suggestion in that repo now follows your conventions. The quality improvement is dramatic.
4. Cycle Through Alternative Suggestions
When Copilot shows a suggestion, Alt+] and Alt+[ cycle through alternative completions. The first suggestion isn’t always the best — sometimes the third or fourth option is exactly what you need. Most developers never see these alternatives.
5. Use Chat Participants
Copilot Chat supports @workspace to give it full project context, and @vscode for editor-specific questions. Instead of just asking a question in chat, prefix it:
@workspace How is authentication handled in this project?
This makes Copilot search your entire project for relevant files rather than guessing from the current file alone.
6. Disable Copilot for Specific File Types
Copilot suggestions in markdown, JSON configs, and plain text files are usually noise. Disable it selectively in your VS Code settings:
"github.copilot.enable": {
"*": true,
"markdown": false,
"plaintext": false,
"yaml": false,
"json": false
}
This keeps Copilot focused where it actually helps and reduces distracting suggestions elsewhere.
7. Write Comments Before Code (Seriously)
This is the single most effective way to improve Copilot’s suggestions. Instead of writing a function signature and hoping Copilot fills it in correctly, write a detailed comment first:
// Calculate shipping cost based on:
// - Package weight in kg
// - Destination zone (1-5, where 5 is international)
// - Express flag adds 50% surcharge
// - Free shipping for orders over $100 in zones 1-3
// Returns cost in cents to avoid floating point issues
function calculateShipping(
Copilot with context produces dramatically better code than Copilot guessing from a function name.
8. Use Copilot for Code Review in PRs
On GitHub, Copilot can review your Pull Requests. In any PR, click the Copilot icon to request a review. It catches common issues: potential null references, missing error handling, security concerns, and logic bugs. It’s not a replacement for human review, but it’s a solid first pass.
9. Copilot in the Terminal
If you have Copilot Chat installed, you also get terminal suggestions. In VS Code’s integrated terminal, type a comment describing what you want:
# find all TypeScript files modified in the last 7 days
Copilot suggests the command. This is surprisingly useful for complex find, grep, awk, and git commands that you’d otherwise have to look up.
10. Inline Chat for Targeted Edits
Instead of opening the full Chat panel, use inline chat (Ctrl+I or Cmd+I) directly in your code. Select a block of code, trigger inline chat, and describe the change: “add error handling” or “convert to async/await”. The edit happens in place without context-switching to a sidebar.
Bonus: Know When NOT to Use Copilot
Copilot is weakest on:
- Complex business logic that depends on domain knowledge it doesn’t have
- Security-critical code (auth, encryption, input sanitization) — always review manually
- Database migrations — one wrong suggestion can cause data loss
- Anything involving your proprietary APIs without custom instructions
Knowing when to turn it off is as important as knowing how to use it well.
What’s your favorite Copilot trick that most people don’t know about? Drop it below. 