Build 2025: Big Updates for GitHub Copilot, Open Source Implementation in Visual Studio Code

Microsoft announced during its Build 2025 keynote that it will open source GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code, its lightweight, cross-platform code editor, while adding a plethora of new features to this powerful AI coding assistant.

“15 million developers are already using GitHub Copilot, and features like agent mode and code review are streamlining the way they code, check, deploy and troubleshoot,” Microsoft chief communications officer Frank X. Shaw says.

Here’s what’s new.

Open source GitHub Copilot to be integrated into Visual Studio Code. Today, GitHub Copilot is delivered as an optional extension for Visual Studio Code. But because this AI coding assistant is so central to the VS Code experience, Microsoft will open source GitHub Copilot in VS Code and add it to the VS Code open source repository on GitHub in the next few months. “This type of innovation is best when done in the open, in collaboration with the community,” Microsoft explains. “This reflects our commitment to transparency, community-driven innovation, and to giving developers a greater voice in shaping the future of AI-assisted development.”

PostgreSQL support. The new PostgreSQL extension for VS Code is now available in preview, and it integrates with GitHub Copilot so developers can get Microsoft Copilot AI assistance and database context for PostgreSQL directly in the development environment. They can use natural language to interact with PostgreSQL queries, design database schemas, and implement performance and security best practices.

GitHub Copilot agent mode. Developers will be able to assign multiple development tasks to the GitHub Copilot coding agent, including autonomous code refactoring, test coverage improvements, fixing defects, and implementing new features. The GitHub Copilot coding agent is autonomous and asynchronous. and it can work with other AI agents throughout the development lifecycle as a member of the development team so human developers can focus on more impactful tasks, as Microsoft calls them. This is all in preview now in Visual Studio and VS Code, and Microsoft is bringing GitHub Copilot agent mode to JetBrains, Eclipse, and Xcode soon.

App modernization capabilities. This one is personally interesting: GitHub Copilot is getting Java and .NET app modernization capabilities so developers can “offload complex and time-consuming tasks to rapidly update, upgrade and modernize apps.” This includes code assessment, code remediation, and configurations and dependencies across thousands of files. “Upgrading .NET and Java versions is a common and repetitive task for developers,” Microsoft explains. “GitHub Copilot will be able to streamline this upgrade process by autonomously generating an upgrade plan, executing the plan with full visibility and control in every step and providing a final summary of the process. These capabilities will enable developers to gain app performance efficiencies, address security vulnerabilities and reduce technical debt.”