GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot Keyboard Shortcuts

Every GitHub Copilot keyboard shortcut for 2026 in one cheat sheet — inline suggestions (Tab to accept, Alt + ] to cycle), Inline Chat (Ctrl + I / Cmd + I), Chat view (Ctrl + Alt + I), Quick Chat, multi-file Edits, Agent mode, voice chat, slash commands, and 100+ power-user keys for VS Code, JetBrains, and Visual Studio. Pair this with our VS Code shortcuts, Cursor shortcuts, Windsurf shortcuts, and Claude Code shortcuts for your complete AI coding toolkit.

What this GitHub Copilot shortcut guide covers

GitHub Copilot lives inside your IDE rather than as a standalone web app, which means its shortcuts are spread across several surfaces. The most important ones — the ones you will use dozens of times every day — are Tab to accept and Ctrl + I to open Inline Chat. But there is a whole layer beyond that: the Chat view for multi-turn conversations, Quick Chat for fast questions, Edits mode for coordinated multi-file changes, and Agent mode for fully autonomous tasks. This page covers every single surface in one place.

  • Inline code completions — accept, dismiss, cycle, accept word-by-word, trigger manually
  • Inline Chat in the editor and terminal — start, submit, accept/discard changes
  • Chat view — open, new session, attach context, switch agents, model picker
  • Quick Chat — instant floating panel without leaving your current task
  • Copilot Edits — multi-file change mode, navigation and review shortcuts
  • Agent mode — autonomous task execution with tool approvals
  • Voice chat — dictate prompts hands-free
  • Slash commands reference — /explain, /fix, /tests, /doc and more
  • Context variables — #file, #selection, #editor, @workspace, @vscode, @terminal
  • JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, Rider)
  • Visual Studio (Windows) shortcuts
  • GitHub.com browser shortcuts for Copilot in pull requests and code review

A quick note on remapping: every Copilot shortcut can be changed in VS Code via the Keyboard Shortcuts editor (Ctrl + K, Ctrl + S on Windows / Cmd + K, Cmd + S on Mac). Search for "copilot" or the command ID shown in parentheses throughout this guide to find and rebind any key.

Inline completions — accept & dismiss

Accept the full inline suggestion
Tab
Dismiss the current suggestion
Esc
Accept next word of the suggestion
Ctrl→
Accept next line of the suggestion
CtrlAlt→
Accept suggestion and move to next edit location
TabTab

Inline completions — cycle & trigger

Show next alternative suggestion
Alt]
Show previous alternative suggestion
Alt[
Trigger an inline suggestion manually
Alt\
Open suggestions panel (up to 10 alternatives)
CtrlEnter
Toggle Copilot completions on / off
CtrlKCtrlS→ search "copilot toggle"

Inline Chat (in-editor & terminal)

Open Inline Chat at cursor position
CtrlI
Start Inline Voice Chat (hold key)
CtrlIhold
Open Inline Chat in terminal
CtrlI
Submit prompt in Inline Chat
Enter
New line without submitting
ShiftEnter
Accept the AI changes in Inline Chat
CtrlEnter
Discard the AI changes in Inline Chat
CtrlBackspace
Close Inline Chat without changes
Esc
Rerun last Inline Chat request
CtrlShiftI
Accept diff hunk in inline review
CtrlShift.

Chat view (multi-turn conversations)

Open the Chat view (Secondary Side Bar)
CtrlAltI
Open Chat in Agent mode
CtrlShiftI
Start a new chat session
CtrlN
Submit prompt in Chat
Enter
New line without submitting
ShiftEnter
Cancel generation mid-stream
Esc
Open Agent / mode picker
Ctrl.
Open language model picker
CtrlAlt.
Clear context / Add context
Ctrl/
Attach file as context (#file)
#
Reference a chat participant (@)
@
Open slash command menu
/
Open keyboard shortcuts editor for Copilot
CtrlKCtrlS

Quick Chat

Toggle Quick Chat panel
CtrlShiftAltL
Submit a Quick Chat message
Enter
New line in Quick Chat
ShiftEnter
Close Quick Chat
Esc
Open Quick Chat and promote to Chat view
CtrlShiftAltLthen expand icon

Copilot Edits (multi-file changes)

Open Copilot Edits panel
CtrlShiftI
Accept suggestion in Edits (Tab navigation)
Tab
Navigate to next edit suggestion
AltF5
Navigate to previous edit suggestion
AltShiftF5
Accept all pending edit suggestions
CtrlShiftEnter
Discard all pending edit suggestions
CtrlShiftBackspace
Undo last accepted edit suggestion
CtrlZ
Add files to working set in Edits
#
Send a follow-up while agent is running
Enter
Stop agent mid-run
Esc

Agent mode & tool approvals

Open Chat in Agent mode
CtrlShiftI
Open mode picker (Chat / Edit / Agent)
Ctrl.
Approve tool call in agent task
Enter
Reject tool call in agent task
Esc
Interrupt agent execution
Esc
Send steering message while agent runs
ShiftEnter
Toggle tool use permissions (settings)
CtrlKCtrlS→ "copilot agent"

Voice chat

Start voice chat in the Chat view
CtrlAltIthen mic icon
Start inline voice chat (hold key)
CtrlIhold
Stop voice recording and submit
Enter
Cancel voice recording without submitting
Esc
Toggle response read-aloud
CtrlAltR

Slash commands (Chat & Inline Chat)

Open slash command menu
/
Explain selected code
/explain
Fix bugs in selected code
/fix
Generate unit tests
/tests
Add or improve documentation
/doc
Clear chat history
/clear
Show available commands and help
/help
Scaffold a new project
/new
Create a new Jupyter notebook
/newNotebook
Run terminal command suggested by Copilot
/runInTerminal
Fix terminal error in context
/fixTestFailure
Review and comment on selection
/review

Context variables & participants

Attach specific file as context
#file
Reference current selection
#selection
Reference entire active editor
#editor
Reference terminal selection
#terminalSelection
Reference terminal last command output
#terminalLastCommand
Ask about the whole workspace/codebase
@workspace
Ask about VS Code commands and settings
@vscode
Ask about terminal commands
@terminal
Ask about GitHub issues, PRs, repos
@github
Attach a web URL as context
#URL
Attach Git diff / changes as context
#changes
Attach entire codebase index
#codebase

VS Code editor shortcuts (boost Copilot)

Open Command Palette
CtrlShiftP
Open Keyboard Shortcuts editor
CtrlKCtrlS
Quick open file
CtrlP
Toggle terminal panel
Ctrl`
Rename symbol (triggers Copilot AI rename)
F2
Go to definition
F12
Peek definition inline
AltF12
Show all references
ShiftF12
Select current line
CtrlL
Move line up / down
Alt↑Alt↓

GitHub Copilot in JetBrains IDEs

Accept inline suggestion
Tab
Accept suggestion (alternative)
→
Dismiss the suggestion
Esc
Accept next word of suggestion
Ctrl→
Show next inline suggestion
Alt]
Show previous inline suggestion
Alt[
Trigger suggestion manually
Alt\
Open Copilot Chat panel
CtrlAltI
Submit chat message
Enter
Clear chat history
CtrlL
Open Copilot status and settings
CtrlShiftP

GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio (Windows)

Accept inline suggestion
Tab
Dismiss inline suggestion
Esc
Show next inline suggestion
Alt.
Show previous inline suggestion
Alt,
Trigger suggestion manually
Alt\
Open Copilot Chat panel
CtrlAltI
Start Inline Chat in editor
CtrlI
Submit message in Copilot Chat
Enter

GitHub.com — Copilot in browser

Open Copilot Chat on any repo page
.opens github.dev thenCtrlAltI
Ask Copilot about a PR diff
/in PR comment box
Accept code suggestion in PR review
AltEnter
Open github.dev web editor for repo
.
Trigger code search on GitHub
S
Open command palette on GitHub
CtrlK
Go to a file in a repository
T
Focus search bar
/

Copilot settings & customization in VS Code

Open VS Code Settings
Ctrl,
Open Keyboard Shortcuts editor
CtrlKCtrlS
Search Copilot keybindings
CtrlKCtrlS→ type "copilot"
Open User Settings JSON
CtrlShiftP→ "Open User Settings JSON"
Open Copilot instructions file
CtrlShiftP→ "Copilot: Open Instructions"
Enable / disable Copilot for language
CtrlShiftP→ "Copilot: Enable / Disable"

Inline completions — accept & dismiss

Accept the full inline suggestion
Tab
Dismiss the current suggestion
Esc
Accept next word of the suggestion
⌘→
Accept next line of the suggestion
⌘⌥→
Accept suggestion and move to next edit location
TabTab

Inline completions — cycle & trigger

Show next alternative suggestion
⌥]
Show previous alternative suggestion
⌥[
Trigger an inline suggestion manually
⌥\
Open suggestions panel (up to 10 alternatives)
⌃Return
Toggle Copilot completions on / off
⌘K⌘S→ search "copilot toggle"

Inline Chat (in-editor & terminal)

Open Inline Chat at cursor position
⌘I
Start Inline Voice Chat (hold key)
⌘Ihold
Open Inline Chat in terminal
⌘I
Submit prompt in Inline Chat
Return
New line without submitting
⇧Return
Accept the AI changes in Inline Chat
⌘Return
Discard the AI changes in Inline Chat
⌘⌫
Close Inline Chat without changes
Esc
Rerun last Inline Chat request
⌘⇧I
Accept diff hunk in inline review
⌘⇧.

Chat view (multi-turn conversations)

Open the Chat view (Secondary Side Bar)
⌃⌘I
Open Chat in Agent mode
⌘⇧I
Start a new chat session
⌘N
Submit prompt in Chat
Return
New line without submitting
⇧Return
Cancel generation mid-stream
Esc
Open Agent / mode picker
⌘.
Open language model picker
⌥⌘.
Clear context / Add context
⌘/
Attach file as context (#file)
#
Reference a chat participant (@)
@
Open slash command menu
/
Open keyboard shortcuts editor for Copilot
⌘K⌘S

Quick Chat

Toggle Quick Chat panel
⇧⌥⌘L
Submit a Quick Chat message
Return
New line in Quick Chat
⇧Return
Close Quick Chat
Esc
Open Quick Chat and promote to Chat view
⇧⌥⌘Lthen expand icon

Copilot Edits (multi-file changes)

Open Copilot Edits panel
⌘⇧I
Accept suggestion in Edits (Tab navigation)
Tab
Navigate to next edit suggestion
⌥F5
Navigate to previous edit suggestion
⌥⇧F5
Accept all pending edit suggestions
⌘⇧Return
Discard all pending edit suggestions
⌘⇧⌫
Undo last accepted edit suggestion
⌘Z
Add files to working set in Edits
#
Send a follow-up while agent is running
Return
Stop agent mid-run
Esc

Agent mode & tool approvals

Open Chat in Agent mode
⌘⇧I
Open mode picker (Chat / Edit / Agent)
⌘.
Approve tool call in agent task
Return
Reject tool call in agent task
Esc
Interrupt agent execution
Esc
Send steering message while agent runs
⇧Return
Toggle tool use permissions (settings)
⌘K⌘S→ "copilot agent"

Voice chat

Start voice chat in the Chat view
⌃⌘Ithen mic icon
Start inline voice chat (hold key)
⌘Ihold
Stop voice recording and submit
Return
Cancel voice recording without submitting
Esc
Toggle response read-aloud
⌃⌥R

Slash commands (Chat & Inline Chat)

Open slash command menu
/
Explain selected code
/explain
Fix bugs in selected code
/fix
Generate unit tests
/tests
Add or improve documentation
/doc
Clear chat history
/clear
Show available commands and help
/help
Scaffold a new project
/new
Create a new Jupyter notebook
/newNotebook
Run terminal command suggested by Copilot
/runInTerminal
Fix terminal error in context
/fixTestFailure
Review and comment on selection
/review

Context variables & participants

Attach specific file as context
#file
Reference current selection
#selection
Reference entire active editor
#editor
Reference terminal selection
#terminalSelection
Reference terminal last command output
#terminalLastCommand
Ask about the whole workspace/codebase
@workspace
Ask about VS Code commands and settings
@vscode
Ask about terminal commands
@terminal
Ask about GitHub issues, PRs, repos
@github
Attach a web URL as context
#URL
Attach Git diff / changes as context
#changes
Attach entire codebase index
#codebase

VS Code editor shortcuts (boost Copilot)

Open Command Palette
⌘⇧P
Open Keyboard Shortcuts editor
⌘K⌘S
Quick open file
⌘P
Toggle terminal panel
⌃`
Rename symbol (triggers Copilot AI rename)
F2
Go to definition
F12
Peek definition inline
⌥F12
Show all references
⇧F12
Select current line
⌘L
Move line up / down
⌥↑⌥↓

GitHub Copilot in JetBrains IDEs

Accept inline suggestion
Tab
Accept suggestion (alternative)
→
Dismiss the suggestion
Esc
Accept next word of suggestion
⌘→
Show next inline suggestion
⌥]
Show previous inline suggestion
⌥[
Trigger suggestion manually
⌥\
Open Copilot Chat panel
⌃⌘I
Submit chat message
Return
Clear chat history
⌘L
Open Copilot status and settings
⌘⇧P

GitHub.com — Copilot in browser

Open Copilot Chat on any repo page
.opens github.dev then⌃⌘I
Ask Copilot about a PR diff
/in PR comment box
Accept code suggestion in PR review
⌥Return
Open github.dev web editor for repo
.
Trigger code search on GitHub
S
Open command palette on GitHub
⌘K
Go to a file in a repository
T
Focus search bar
/

Copilot settings & customization in VS Code

Open VS Code Settings
⌘,
Open Keyboard Shortcuts editor
⌘K⌘S
Search Copilot keybindings
⌘K⌘S→ type "copilot"
Open User Settings JSON
⌘⇧P→ "Open User Settings JSON"
Open Copilot instructions file
⌘⇧P→ "Copilot: Open Instructions"
Enable / disable Copilot for language
⌘⇧P→ "Copilot: Enable / Disable"

Also see: VS Code • Cursor • Windsurf • Claude Code • IntelliJ IDEA

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