Why is Visual Studio Copilot Inferior to VS Code Copilot?

[TroyCoderBoy]

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Product Feedback

Copilot Feature Area

Copilot Agent Mode

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I have used both VS Code and Visual Studio and Copilot in Visual Studio has been a buggy mess from day one, erroring out in almost every chat thread in Agent Mode. It has been months, and the same bugs keep happening and GitHub are either unable or unwilling to fix them. On the other hand, I find the VS Code version of Copilot very stable. Does anyone know what the hell is going on with the Visual Studio version, which btw is supposed to be the premium Microsoft development product.

[github-actions[bot]]

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[SchmidtJoaoPedro]

This mode (Agent Mode), which allows Copilot to edit code, use the workspace context, and perform other tasks, is an evolving feature and still subject to implementation bugs. Documentation shows that some functionalities are still optional or depend on specific feature flags.

https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-pt/visualstudio/ide/copilot-agent-mode?view=vs-2022

What might work!

1. Keep everything up to date - Make sure Visual Studio, the Copilot extension, and all dependencies are on the latest version. Sometimes the bug has already been fixed.
2. Reinstall extensions / clear cache - Uninstall the Copilot extension and clear related data (folders like %LocalAppData%\GitHubCopilot), then reinstall it.
3. Adjust Agent Mode settings - For example, check whether Agent Mode is properly enabled under Tools → Options → GitHub → Copilot Chat; alternatively, try using “Ask mode” instead of “Agent mode” to avoid auto-editing bugs.

[TroyCoderBoy]

I don't mean to be rude but none of those tips have ever worked (and I've tried them all), and why would I use ASK Mode. Seriously? If a function is advertised and available in a supposedly "premium" product like Visual Studio Professional, how about they get it to actually work? That is not a lot to ask, is it? These are not just transient issues; they have been occurring for months and continue to not be addressed while my Github account continues to be charged full price.

[SchmidtJoaoPedro]

You're right, it's a system that should really work because it's "premium". This is a critical problem.