GitHub Copilot Shortcuts

Learning Shortcuts to rapidly develop your code

Description

GitHub Copilot provides developers with a set of keyboard shortcuts to accelerate the coding process. These shortcuts make the navigation and interaction with GitHub Copilot's AI-driven suggestions more intuitive and efficient. In this pattern, we will explore the keyboard shortcuts that are essential for rapid code development with Copilot.

Example

For example, to accept a suggestion from Copilot, you can simply press the TAB key. Here's a list of some key shortcuts:

• Accept suggestion: TAB key

• Reject suggestion: Esc key

• Show combined suggestions: Ctrl + Enter key

• Accept at word level: Ctrl + Right Arrow key

• See next suggestion: Alt + ] key

• See previous suggestion: Alt + [ key

• Trigger inline suggestion: Alt + / key

• Show Labs feature list: Ctrl + Shift + Alt + e key

• Toggle sidebar: Ctrl + Shift+a key

Exercise

• Exercise 1: Try using the TAB key to accept a Copilot suggestion in your current project. How does it feel?

• Exercise 2: Press Esc key to reject a suggestion. What happens?

• Exercise 3: Use Ctrl + Enter key to see combined suggestions. Explore them and identify a useful one.

• Exercise 4: Navigate through the suggestions using Alt + ] and Alt + [ keys. How does it affect your code selection process?

• Exercise 5: Experiment with the other shortcuts listed above and describe your experience with each of them.

Checklist for Further Learning

• Have I internalized the shortcuts for accepting and rejecting Copilot suggestions?

• Am I comfortable using shortcuts to navigate through multiple suggestions?

• What other shortcuts within VSCode can enhance my coding experience with Copilot?

• How can I customize the shortcuts to suit my personal coding workflow?

• Could the use of these shortcuts help me in other coding environments or only in Visual Studio Code with Copilot?