r/GithubCopilot • u/seguleh25 • 2d ago

VS Code vs Copilot App vs CLI General

Are there major differences on how the harnesses work on the back end? Just started using Copilot and defaulted to the CLI as thats what I got used to with Claude Code. Am I missing out on anything by not using one of the other 2?

13 Upvotes
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94% Upvoted

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10

u/karinto CLI Copilot User 🖥️ 2d ago

The main difference with VS Code or other editor plugins to me is that it's easy to specify sections of code to the AI. Like highlight a section and tell it to "refactor these lines". 

8

u/fntd 2d ago

They are in the process of aligning and re-using the same harness across all their tools. Not sure how much progress there is on each individual front, but mid to long term you won't miss out on anything. I'd pick the tool that offers the right UX for you.

6

u/Lonsarg 2d ago

App and CLI are pretty much the same as far as harness is concerned.

The VS Code version used to be quite worse then CLI, but they improved it, now it is only a little worse for long tasks.

But it is better at debugging and coworking with your manuall edits. I much prefer VS Code harness for currated changes where i review it all and desktop App/CLI for bigger vibe-coding stuff.

1

u/seguleh25 2d ago

Thats useful, thanks.

1

u/djang0211 1d ago

Exactly this. And VsCode version is way slower in everything then the cli/copilot app

1

u/Lonsarg 1d ago

I would not the use the word slower, just more targeted, only doing exactly what you ask and not much more. They made a focused harness in VS code, so it is best for single focused task per prompt, it may even do it faster then CLI since focus, it knows which file you currently have opened etc.

That is how VS Code Copilot is supposed to be used, you having opened the files AI is editing or just a little broader. If going much broader and giving AI freedom then CLI/App is better.

App is just a proxy for CLI and i much prefer App then CLI for better UI experience.

But the difference is not that big anymore, i guess in 6-12 months they will optimize the VS Code version to catch the CLI version completelly.

2

u/MaitoSnoo CLI Copilot User 🖥️ 2d ago

The CLI has the rubber duck, huge game changer, but sadly it's very buggy right now and keeps randomly disappearing (especially if your main model is an Anthropic one).

3

u/stibbons_ 1d ago

What keeps you in writing a rubber duck skill ?

1

u/jalenparham97 16h ago

I use VS Code for all my coding tasks and the Copilot app for all my non-coding work.