#github-copilot

#github-copilot

Microsoft announced in August 2025 that support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) is generally available in Visual Studio. MCP enables AI agents within Visual Studio to connect to external tools and services via a consistent protocol. The announcement notes that Visual Studio now provides new means to configure and manage MCP servers. MCP, introduced by Anthropic in 2024, is an open standard that simplifies interactions between AI‑enabled development workflows and external systems such as databases, code search engines and deployment pipelines.

GitHub Copilot app modernization now is generally available via agentic AI tools for Java and .NET, Github said. For both platforms, the intentions are to help modernize applications and move them to the Azure cloud. In a blog post on September 23, GitHub said that developers using Copilot can access applications, apply code transformations, containerize services, and patch builds, all in days rather than months.

Microsoft and GitHub have made AI assistance a key part of their software development tools. Embedded in the latest Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code releases, GitHub Copilot puts a multifaceted pair programmer-combining AI-powered code completion, coding agents, and various Model Context Protocol servers-right inside your editor. The resulting tool kit is especially useful as part of a well-designed application development life cycle. Outside of good software engineering practices, however, it's easy to let vibe coding run away with itself, adding features that aren't needed and making code overly complex.

Code Optimizations is an AI-based service running on Azure Application Insights that uses telemetry gathered by the Application Insights Profiler for .NET to analyse runtime behaviour, find performance bottlenecks down to individual methods, and provide actionable suggestions. Developers can view aggregated data over time (defaulting to a rolling 24‑hour window, with history up to 30 days) for their production and non-production environments.

Microsoft has released its first preview of the Visual Studio 2026 IDE through the company's new Insiders channel, which replaces the old Preview channel for early access to upcoming features. The new IDE offers deeper integration of the GitHub Copilot AI coding assistant, including a profiler agent that analyzes performance and suggests fixes. Visual Studio 2026 Insiders, announced September 9, can be downloaded at visualstudio.microsoft.com/insiders/.

I've been for a while now filing issues in the GitHub Community feedback area when Copilot intrudes on my GitHub usage, I deeply resent that on top of Copilot seemingly training itself on my GitHub-posted code in violation of my licenses, GitHub wants me to look at (effectively) ads for this project I will never touch

"In the GitHub Copilot training program, they're learning how to be experts in GitHub Copilot itself," said Carrol Chang, Andela CEO, in an interview with The Register. "The reason we chose GitHub Copilot after having looked at a bunch of different code editing and code creation tools in the market is that GitHub Copilot is the clear winner across enterprise customers."

Those who pay for GitHub Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business, or Enterprise now have access to Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro model. The question is whether users will be enthusiastic about it. The reason: users can already access Gemini freely and in a larger variety of ways than GitHub Copilot allows for. Despite the fact that Gemini 2.5 Pro is Google's most powerful model, the general consensus seems to be that Claude Sonnet 4 performs faster, smarter, and more consistently when it comes to coding.

Product manager Allie Barrie said that Visual Studio can now connect to local or remote MCP servers, configured using a file called .mcp.json which can be in a user profile, for global use, or in an individual solution. Developers can add MCP servers either by editing this file directly, or using settings in the GitHub Copilot chat window. There is also provision for one-click installation from the web. OAuth authentication is supported, for example to allow the MCP tools to have GitHub access.

The update continues the extension's goal of making SQL development conversational, visual and local by improving Copilot Agent mode, adding colour-coded connections, streamlining local container workflows and polishing the Schema Designer.

Since GitHub Copilot launched as a preview in Summer 2021, we have seen an explosion of coding assistant products. Initially used as code completion on steroids, some products in this space (like Cursor and Windsurf) rapidly moved towards agentic interactions.

Copilot helps me start faster, move smarter, and catch things earlier.

The GitHub Copilot has improved significantly, generating error-free C# code by matching property names from other files, overcoming previous hallucination issues.

What started as a hedgehog-led love story is now a global community powerhouse, and these murals are its loudest statement yet. This transition illustrates how niche projects can evolve into significant movements.