GitHub Copilot keyboard shortcuts in VS Code

Copilot's shortcuts in VS Code fall into two groups: the inline suggestion keys, which have been stable for a long time, and the chat keys, which have moved between releases as the feature was rebuilt. This page gives the stable ones plainly and shows you how to look up the rest on your own install, which is the only way to be certain. The hardware note at the end is short, and the device it points at is a small one, the EM Mini Pad.

How do I accept or dismiss an inline suggestion?

Tab accepts the greyed out suggestion. Esc dismisses it. Those two are the same on macOS, Windows and Linux, and between them they cover most of the day.

To see other suggestions for the same spot, cycle with Alt+] and Alt+[ on Windows and Linux, or Option+] and Option+[ on macOS. There is also a command that accepts only the next word of a suggestion, which is the one to reach for when the first half of the line is right and the rest is wrong. Its binding varies by version, so find it by searching for Accept Next Word in the shortcuts editor described below.

What opens Copilot chat?

Inline chat, the prompt box that opens in the editor at your cursor, is Cmd+I on macOS and Ctrl+I on Windows and Linux in current builds. The chat panel, and the various ask, edit and agent modes, have changed bindings more than once. Rather than print a combination that may already be wrong on your machine, look it up. The commands you want all begin with Chat or Copilot.

How do I see every Copilot shortcut on my machine?

Open the keyboard shortcuts editor with Cmd+K then Cmd+S on macOS, or Ctrl+K then Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux, and type copilot into the search box. You get every command the extension registers, the keys each one is currently bound to, and a blank where a command has no binding at all.

Two things follow from that screen. Anything unbound can be given a key right there, which matters if you plan to put it on hardware later, because hardware can only send a key that exists. And when a shortcut has quietly stopped working, this is where the conflict shows up: search the command and VS Code will tell you what else wants the same keys.

What about the Copilot key on newer keyboards?

That is an operating system key on some recent Windows laptops and keyboards. It opens the system assistant, and it has nothing to do with the extension running in your editor, which is why remapping it changes nothing inside VS Code.

Which of these is worth moving onto hardware?

Not Tab, and not Esc. Both are already under a finger you were about to use anyway, and moving them anywhere else would make them slower. That is the test worth applying to every shortcut on this page: the cost is not the keystroke, it is breaking your hand position to reach it.

By that test the candidates are the awkward ones. Cycling alternative suggestions with a modifier and a bracket. Opening inline chat while your right hand is on the mouse. Whatever you have bound for accepting a whole set of edits at once. Three or four keys covers it, which is a smaller device than most people expect to need.

We argued both sides of that here: is a second keyboard just for shortcuts worth it.