Why GitHub Copilot Stops Working
Copilot is an extension that connects your editor to GitHub's AI backend. Issues can occur in the editor layer, the authentication layer, or the network layer.
- Subscription not active — Free trial ended, seat not assigned by organization, or payment issue
- Authentication expired — GitHub token needs to be refreshed by signing out and back in
- Network/firewall block — Corporate proxies and firewalls frequently block Copilot's endpoints
- Extension out of date — Old extension versions can stop working after GitHub updates the API
- Editor or OS conflict — Version incompatibilities between the extension and the IDE
Step-by-Step Fix
1. Check Your Copilot Subscription
Go to github.com/settings/copilot and confirm:
- Your subscription shows as Active
- If on an organization plan, confirm a seat has been assigned to your account
- If using a free trial, confirm it has not expired
This is the most common reason Copilot suddenly stops working. If your subscription is inactive, no other fix will restore suggestions.
2. Sign Out and Sign Back In (VS Code)
- Open the Command Palette: Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
- Type GitHub Copilot: Sign Out and run it
- Wait for sign-out to complete
- Run GitHub Copilot: Sign In from the command palette
- Complete the browser-based GitHub authorization
- Return to VS Code and wait for Copilot to reconnect
This refreshes your authentication token, which is the fix for most persistent failures.
3. Update the Copilot Extension
Outdated extension versions lose compatibility when GitHub updates their API:
- Open the Extensions panel in VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search for GitHub Copilot
- Click Update if available
- Also update GitHub Copilot Chat if installed
- Reload VS Code after updating
4. Check the Copilot Status Bar Icon
In VS Code, look at the bottom status bar for the Copilot icon (looks like two overlapping circles or a GitHub mark). Click it to see detailed status and recent error messages. This often shows exactly what is wrong.
Common status messages and what they mean:
- "Copilot is disabled for this file type" → enable it in settings for this language
- "Not signed in" → sign in via command palette
- "Quota exceeded" → you have hit usage limits, wait or upgrade
5. Fix Network and Proxy Issues
If you are on a corporate network:
- VS Code settings → search for proxy
- Set HTTP Proxy to your corporate proxy address (ask your IT team)
- Set Proxy Strict SSL to false if your company uses certificate inspection
You can also try setting the proxy directly: "http.proxy": "http://yourproxy:port" in VS Code settings.
To test if the network is the issue, switch to a phone hotspot and check if Copilot works. If it does, your corporate network is the problem.
6. Disable Conflicting Extensions
Some extensions conflict with Copilot's suggestion system, especially other autocomplete tools. Disable competing autocomplete extensions and test:
- Tabnine
- Kite
- IntelliCode
- Any other AI completion extension
Only one AI completion extension should be active at a time.
7. Reinstall the Extension
If all else fails:
- Uninstall GitHub Copilot and GitHub Copilot Chat from Extensions
- Reload VS Code
- Reinstall both extensions from the VS Code Marketplace
- Sign in again
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not checking the subscription first — If your trial ended or your org admin did not assign you a seat, no amount of reinstalling will fix it.
- Running multiple AI autocomplete extensions simultaneously — They interfere with each other. Disable all but Copilot.
- Forgetting to update after a major VS Code release — Major VS Code updates sometimes require extension updates that lag by a few days.
- Not configuring VS Code's proxy settings on corporate networks — VS Code does not automatically use system proxy settings for extension traffic. Configure it explicitly.
Copilot Usage Limits
GitHub Copilot has usage limits depending on your plan:
- Free tier (if available): Limited completions and chat interactions per month
- Individual: Generally high limits with no hard daily cap for normal use
- Business/Enterprise: Controlled by organization policy, may have restrictions per repository or file type
If suggestions suddenly slow down or stop mid-session, you may have hit a rate limit. Wait a few minutes and try again. Unlike some AI tools, Copilot does not always show an explicit rate limit message — suggestions simply stop appearing.
Why This Happens
GitHub Copilot requires three systems to be healthy simultaneously: your GitHub subscription must be active and your account must have a seat assigned, the Copilot extension must have a valid authentication token from GitHub, and outbound HTTPS requests to copilot-proxy.githubusercontent.com must succeed. Corporate networks are the most common failure point — many enterprise proxies inspect or block HTTPS traffic to unknown domains, and Copilot's AI endpoint is often in this category. The sign-out and sign-in step fixes authentication failures; configuring VS Code's HTTP proxy setting fixes corporate network failures.
FAQ
Q: Does GitHub Copilot have a free tier in 2026?
GitHub introduced a free Copilot tier for individual accounts with limited completions per month. The free tier includes approximately 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month. When these limits are reached, Copilot stops providing suggestions until the next month. If you have a free tier account and Copilot suddenly stops mid-month, check your usage at github.com/settings/copilot to see if you have hit the monthly limit.
Q: Copilot works in VS Code but not in JetBrains. Do they use the same subscription?
Yes, one GitHub Copilot subscription covers all supported editors — VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, and others. If it works in VS Code but not JetBrains, the issue is the JetBrains plugin specifically. Update the plugin via JetBrains Marketplace, sign out and back in from within the JetBrains plugin settings, and ensure the plugin is enabled in the IDE's status bar. The underlying subscription is fine if VS Code is working.
Q: Can my organization's admin disable Copilot for specific files or repositories?
Yes. GitHub Copilot for Business and Enterprise allows administrators to set content exclusion policies that prevent Copilot from making suggestions in specific repositories, file types, or files matching certain patterns. If Copilot works in most of your repos but stops in a particular one, check with your GitHub organization admin whether a content exclusion policy is applied to that repository.