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 lives inside an editor, and this table is its VS Code surface: the completion keys, the chat entry points with their slash commands and context references, and the accept-or-reject keys for multi-file edits. JetBrains and Visual Studio host the same features on different keys. On macOS read Cmd for Ctrl and Option for Alt.
Search all GitHub Copilot shortcuts interactively
Open Interactive Shortcut Finder| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tab | Accept Suggestion | Accept Copilot's code suggestion. |
| Esc | Dismiss Suggestion | Dismiss Copilot suggestion. |
| Alt + ] | Next Suggestion | View next alternative Copilot suggestion. |
| Alt + [ | Previous Suggestion | View previous alternative Copilot suggestion. |
| Ctrl + Enter | Open Suggestions List | View 10 Copilot suggestions in a new tab. |
| Alt + \ | Manual Trigger | Manually trigger Copilot when autocomplete doesn't appear. |
| Ctrl + Right | Accept Word by Word | Partially accept suggestion word by word. |
| 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's suggested edit. |
| Ctrl + Backspace | Reject Edit | Reject Copilot's suggested edit. |
| 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.
Yes — use My Stack to combine GitHub Copilot shortcuts with any other platform on this site into one printable reference, which is useful if your daily workflow spans several tools.
Ghost text appears as you type; Tab accepts it and Esc dismisses it. When the first suggestion is half right, Ctrl + Right accepts one word at a time, and the alternatives are reachable with Alt + ] (next) and Alt + [ (previous). Ctrl + Enter opens a panel with up to ten full suggestions side by side, and Alt + \ asks for a suggestion when none appeared — the key to press after a comment describing what the next function should do.
Ctrl + Shift + I opens the Chat view and Ctrl + I opens inline chat where the cursor is, for a change that stays within the surrounding code. Inside either, the slash commands set intent: /explain, /fix, /tests and /doc apply to the selection or the current file. Context is added with references: @workspace lets Copilot search the whole project, #file attaches a specific file and #selection the highlighted code. Being explicit with these produces measurably better answers than a bare question.
Copilot Edits (the agent mode) proposes changes to several files and shows each as a diff. Ctrl + Shift + Enter accepts the edit under review and Ctrl + Backspace rejects it; Ctrl + Shift + Alt + Enter accepts everything when you have read it all. Review before accepting — the diffs are applied to the working tree, and git is the only undo beyond the editor's.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"