Essential GitHub Copilot keyboard shortcuts for VS Code. Learn how to accept, dismiss, and cycle through AI code suggestions, use inline chat, and maximize your coding productivity with Copilot.
GitHub Copilot is a popular AI tool used by professionals worldwide. Learning keyboard shortcuts can dramatically speed up your workflow — studies show shortcut users save an average of 8 days per year compared to mouse-only users.
This page covers all 19 GitHub Copilot shortcuts across 3 categories: AI Code Completion, Copilot Chat, Copilot Edits. Each shortcut includes a description to help you understand when and how to use it effectively.
Start with the essentials: Learn Tab (Accept Suggestion) and Esc (Dismiss Suggestion) first — these are the most commonly used.
Practice daily: Pick 2–3 new shortcuts each day and consciously use them instead of the mouse. Within a week, they become muscle memory.
Print this cheat sheet: Keep a reference nearby until shortcuts become automatic. Focus on the AI Code Completion category first.
AI workflow tip: Combine keyboard shortcuts with prompt templates to create a fast, repeatable workflow. Save your best prompts and trigger them instantly.
Search all GitHub Copilot shortcuts interactively
Open Interactive Shortcut Finder| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tab | Accept Suggestion | Accept Copilot\ |
| Esc | Dismiss Suggestion | Dismiss Copilot suggestion. |
| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + I | Open Copilot Chat | Open the Copilot Chat panel. |
| Ctrl + I | Inline Chat | Open inline Copilot Chat in the editor. |
| /explain | Explain Code | Request explanation of selected code. |
| /fix | Fix Code | Fix issues in selected code. |
| /tests | Generate Tests | Generate tests for selected code. |
| /doc | Generate Docs | Generate documentation for selected code. |
| @workspace | Workspace Context | Ask questions with entire project as context. |
| #file | File Reference | Add a specific file as context. |
| #selection | Selection Reference | Add currently selected code as context. |
| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Accept Edit | Accept Copilot\ |
| Ctrl + Backspace | Reject Edit | Reject Copilot\ |
| Ctrl + Shift + Alt + Enter | Accept All Edits | Accept all Copilot edits across all files. |
Press Tab to accept the full suggestion, or Ctrl+Right Arrow to accept word by word.
Press Ctrl+I (Cmd+I on Mac) to open inline chat for contextual code editing.
Press Esc to dismiss the current suggestion.
Press Alt+] for the next suggestion and Alt+[ for the previous one.
Press Ctrl+Shift+I (Cmd+Shift+I on Mac) to open the Copilot chat panel.