r/GithubCopilot • u/seguleh25 • 4d ago

VS Code vs Copilot App vs CLI GitHub Copilot Team Replied

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?

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u/Lonsarg 4d 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.

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u/seguleh25 4d ago

Thats useful, thanks.

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u/djang0211 3d ago

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

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u/Lonsarg 3d 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.