# GitHub Copilot for Eclipse GitHub Copilot for Eclipse brings AI-assisted coding to the Eclipse IDE with these core capabilities: - **Code completions** for in-editor suggestions from code context or natural-language comments. - **Next Edit Suggestions** provide context-aware suggestions for your next code edits. - **Agent Mode** for conversational help and more autonomous, project-aware assistance. - **Model Context Protocol (MCP)** integration to connect Copilot with external tools and services. - **Advanced Agentic Capabilities** include Custom Agents, Isolated Subagents, and Plan Agent, with more agentic capabilities coming soon. ## Usage-based billing support Starting from version **0.18.0**, we have added internal support for the upcoming [usage-based billing experience](https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/github-copilot-is-moving-to-usage-based-billing/), including experience updates to the usage panel, usage notifications, and model picker. These changes will become visible once usage-based billing is rolled out. To ensure compatibility with the new billing experience, we strongly recommend upgrading the plugin to **0.18.0 or later** as soon as possible. Clients using older plugin versions will continue to function. However, the billing and usage experience may not be optimal and may not accurately reflect the latest usage-based billing experience. ## Getting access to GitHub Copilot Sign up for [GitHub Copilot Free](https://github.com/settings/copilot?utm_source=vscode-chat-readme&utm_medium=second&utm_campaign=2025mar-em-MSFT-signup), or request access from your enterprise admin. To use GitHub Copilot, an active subscription is required. Learn more about business and individual plans at [github.com/features/copilot](https://github.com/features/copilot?utm_source=vscode-chat&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=2025mar-em-MSFT-signup). ## Prerequisites - [Eclipse IDE](https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/) - An active [GitHub Copilot subscription](https://github.com/features/copilot) ## Install and set up ### Option 1: Eclipse Marketplace 1. Open [Eclipse Marketplace](https://marketplace.eclipse.org/) and go to the [GitHub Copilot plugin page](https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/github-copilot). 2. Drag **Install** to your running Eclipse workspace. 3. Restart Eclipse. 4. Sign in to GitHub Copilot from Eclipse. ### Option 2: Install from update site 1. In Eclipse, open **Help → Install New Software…** 2. Add this update site URL: `https://azuredownloads-g3ahgwb5b8bkbxhd.b01.azurefd.net/github-copilot/` 3. Select **GitHub Copilot** and complete installation. 4. Restart Eclipse and sign in. ## Core capabilities ### Code completions Inline suggestions (ghost text) appear as you type in the editor. Suggestions can range from small edits to multi-line changes. ### Next Edit Suggestions Next Edit Suggestions predict your next edit location and propose the next change based on your recent edits and context. ### Agent and Ask Mode **Ask Mode** provides conversational AI assistance for explaining code, generating code from requirements, suggesting refactors, and providing debugging guidance. **Agent Mode** works autonomously across your project context to identify and fix issues, propose implementation steps, and support larger coding tasks with iterative guidance. ### Model Context Protocol (MCP) MCP support enables integrating external tools and services into Copilot workflows where configured. ### Advanced Agentic Capabilities - **Custom Agents** allow users to create personalized agents with specific instructions and behaviors. - **Isolated Subagents** can be spawned by the main agent to handle specific tasks or contexts independently. - **Plan Agent** can generate multi-step plans to accomplish complex tasks, breaking them down into manageable actions. - **Skills** are reusable, specialized AI assistant templates that enrich chat context in Agent Mode. Skills are defined as `SKILL.md` files and can be scoped to a workspace or shared globally. - Creating Skills Place a `SKILL.md` file in any of these directories: - **Project-scoped:** `.github/skills//`, `.claude/skills//`, `.agents/skills//` - **User-scoped (global):** `~/.copilot/skills//`, `~/.claude/skills//`, `~/.agents/skills//` Each `SKILL.md` file can include YAML front matter with metadata (name, description) followed by Markdown content that provides domain knowledge, workflows, or instructions for the AI assistant. Skills are automatically discovered and available in Agent Mode. You can enable or disable skills in **Window → Preferences → Copilot → Chat → Enable Skills**. For other available features in Eclipse, see the [Copilot feature matrix](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-feature-matrix?tool=eclipse). ## Privacy and responsible use We follow responsible practices in accordance with our [Privacy Statement](https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/privacy-policies/github-privacy-statement). To get the latest security fixes, please use the latest version of GitHub Copilot for Eclipse. ## Data and telemetry The GitHub Copilot for Eclipse plugin collects usage data and sends it to Microsoft to help improve our products and services. Read our [privacy statement](https://privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement) to learn more. ## Security Please do not report security vulnerabilities in public issues. See [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) for vulnerability reporting instructions. ## Support For bug reports and feature requests, use this repository’s Issues. For support guidance, see [SUPPORT.md](SUPPORT.md). ## Contributing This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Please see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for details on how to get started, build the project, submit pull requests, and follow our code style guidelines. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit [Contributor License Agreements](https://cla.opensource.microsoft.com). ## Trademarks This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow [Microsoft's Trademark & Brand Guidelines](https://www.microsoft.com/legal/intellectualproperty/trademarks/usage/general). Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party's policies. ## License Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This project is licensed under the MIT License. See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.