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GitHub Copilot Free Tier Setup

This guide covers setting up GitHub Copilot Free tier for development on this project.

Enabling Copilot Free Tier

  1. Go to GitHub Copilot Settings
  2. Select Copilot Free plan
  3. Accept the terms and enable

Reference: GitHub Copilot Plans

Free Tier Limits

Feature Monthly Limit
Code completions 2,000
Chat messages 50
Model GPT-4o
Editors supported VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim

Tips to stay within limits:

  • Use chat for complex questions, completions for boilerplate
  • Disable Copilot in non-code files (markdown, config)
  • Focus usage on implementation, not exploration

VS Code Setup

Required Extensions

  1. GitHub Copilot (GitHub.copilot)

  2. Core completion engine

  3. GitHub Copilot Chat (GitHub.copilot-chat)

  4. Chat interface for questions
  • Python (ms-python.python) - Python IntelliSense
  • Pylance (ms-python.vscode-pylance) - Python type checking
  • ESLint (dbaeumer.vscode-eslint) - TypeScript linting
  • Tailwind CSS IntelliSense (bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss) - Tailwind autocomplete
  • Prettier (esbenp.prettier-vscode) - Code formatting

VS Code Settings

Add to .vscode/settings.json (user or workspace):

{
  "github.copilot.enable": {
    "*": true,
    "markdown": false,
    "yaml": false,
    "json": false
  }
}

Project-Specific Context

This project includes a Copilot instructions file at: .github/copilot-instructions.md

This file provides Copilot with:

  • Tech stack information (FastAPI, React, YOLO26, Nemotron)
  • Coding conventions and patterns
  • Domain-specific terminology
  • What NOT to suggest

Best Practices

Effective Prompting

# Good: Specific context in comment
# Create SQLAlchemy query to get events for camera with risk_score > 50
async def get_high_risk_events(db: AsyncSession, camera_id: str):
    ...

# Bad: Vague request
# Get events
def get_events():
    ...

When to Use Chat vs Completions

Use Chat (50/month) for:

  • Explaining existing code
  • Architecture questions
  • Debugging complex issues
  • Learning unfamiliar APIs

Use Completions (2,000/month) for:

  • Function implementations
  • Test case generation
  • Boilerplate code
  • Repetitive patterns

Context Awareness

Copilot works best when it can see related code:

  1. Keep relevant files open in editor tabs
  2. Write descriptive function/variable names
  3. Add type hints (Python) or interfaces (TypeScript)
  4. Include docstrings for complex functions

Review All Suggestions

Always review Copilot suggestions for:

  • Security: SQL injection, path traversal, XSS
  • Correctness: Edge cases, error handling
  • Performance: Async patterns, N+1 queries
  • Style: Match project conventions

Troubleshooting

Copilot Not Suggesting

  1. Check Copilot status in VS Code status bar
  2. Verify you're signed in: GitHub Copilot: Sign In
  3. Check file type is enabled in settings
  4. Restart VS Code

Poor Quality Suggestions

  1. Add more context via comments
  2. Open related files in editor
  3. Check .github/copilot-instructions.md is present
  4. Use more specific variable/function names

Rate Limit Reached

If you hit the monthly limit:

  1. Disable Copilot: GitHub Copilot: Disable
  2. Use Claude Code or other alternatives
  3. Wait for monthly reset
  4. Consider upgrading to Copilot Pro