Q. How do I enable Claude Sonnet in GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code?
A. GitHub Copilot Chat uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model by default. This advanced model excels in various text-generation tasks, such as summarization and knowledge-based conversations. However, you are not restricted to using this model; you can select from other models, each offering unique strengths.
There has been a lot of buzz about Claude Sonnet lately, as many feel it works better for software development. Claude Sonnet 3.5 is a large language model that serves as an alternative to the default model used by Copilot Chat. It excels in coding tasks throughout the entire software development lifecycle, including initial design, bug fixes, maintenance, and optimizations.
Switching to use Claude Sonnet in GitHub CoPilot is done in a few simple steps.
- Log into github.com and go to your profile
- Choose Settings -> Copilot
- In the Copilot policies section, find the setting “Anthropic Claude 3.5 Sonnet in Copilot” and enable it.
- In VS Code, open Copilot Chat
- In the Ask Copilot Chat window, pick “Claude 3.5 Sonnet” as the model
As new models are added to GitHub, try experimenting with them to find which one works best for you.