Claude Sonnet 4 Not Available in VS Code GitHub Copilot Despite Free Trial Access

[gourish1008]

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I am currently using GitHub Copilot's free trial but cannot access Claude Sonnet 4 in VS Code, despite it being officially announced as available for Copilot users. I only see GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, and Claude 3.5 Sonnet in my model selector. When I click on model selector, then manage models, then anthropic, it asks me for an api key. I have the sonnet 4 enabled under "https://github.com/settings/copilot/features" and I am able to access that model in copilot chat but not in vs code.

[gourish1008]

1. I have checked all versions and everything you mentioned.
2. Regarding using directly with API key, the whole point of this is that copilot offers sonnet 4 with its plan, If I were to use an api key why wouldn't I use the $20 plan from anthropic which offers claude code?

[gourish1008]

they should have made it clear, thanks anyways

[AlexFilippov-it]

Hi,

I’ve encountered a similar issue before. Although Claude Sonnet 4 works in Copilot Chat, it might not appear in the VS Code extension due to a few reasons:

1. API Key Requirement:

Claude models from Anthropic sometimes require a manual API key setup. The Sonnet 4 model you enabled via GitHub settings might currently be supported only in Copilot Chat, and not fully integrated for inline completions or editing within VS Code.

2. Check for Updates:

Make sure you’re running the latest versions of both VS Code and the Copilot extension, as model support is often added in updates.

3. Model Availability:

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is generally more widely supported. Claude Sonnet 4 could still be in a phased rollout and might not be available in all environments yet.

4. Browser vs VS Code:

Enabling Sonnet 4 at “https://github.com/settings/copilot/features” might enable it only for browser-based Copilot experiences, not necessarily for VS Code.

What you can try:

• Double-check the “Manage Models” section in Copilot’s settings inside VS Code to see if Claude Sonnet 4 is selectable.
• If it’s not available or requires an API key, you might need to wait for full integration or reach out to GitHub Copilot support via their GitHub repo.
• Alternatively, you can access Claude Sonnet 4 directly via Anthropic’s console using your API key, but this won’t be integrated with Copilot.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, that actually helped clarify things. I was confused about why Sonnet 4 wasn’t showing up in the inline completions in VS Code, even though it was enabled in my Copilot settings. Now I get that it’s limited to browser-based usage for now.

Enabling Sonnet 4 at github.com/settings/copilot/features might enable it only for browser-based Copilot experiences, not necessarily for VS Code — that explains it well.

Appreciate the detailed response!

[jagarrison]

This is my entire issue with paying for AI today, we have no idea what is we get and what is we don't. This article clearly states that free users have access to all models:

https://docs.github.com/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/github-models

So you're just making crap up as you go and changing the rules as you want. Meanwhile, we're stuck trying to get onboarded because everything changes every month. I'm an IT engineer and have been working professionally in the industry for over 30 years. I love change, I really do but this isn't change, this is a complete refactoring of how we all do business. These shifting usage policies have made it extremely difficult to understand how to cost effectively use products like GitHub Copilot in an effort to learn this new tech. We have always had access to test and play with new tech to get used to it and figure out how to get it implemented, this is not like anything else we have done in the past 30 years. Give us access and we'll figure out how to get our companies to buy it but if you can't even show us how this works without knowing how much it will cost... I don't know how to make an informed decision about using your product so I can't recommend that our company uses it. That's my stance today and while I'll continue to use products like Phind and others, I'm less likely to use these copilot products.