GitHub Copilot not working? Fixes by error message

When GitHub Copilot is not working, check githubstatus.com for an incident first, then open the Copilot log (View > Output, then GitHub Copilot or GitHub Copilot Chat) and read the real error. Most failures come down to one of five causes: the wrong GitHub account or no active plan, an outdated editor, a rate limit or used-up AI credits, a proxy or certificate problem, or a file your organization has excluded.

The fixes below come from GitHub's Troubleshooting common issues with GitHub Copilot, VS Code's Copilot troubleshooting guide and its FAQ, plus GitHub's own issue tracker, all checked on 28 October 2026.

Where should you start when GitHub Copilot isn't working?

Find the message or symptom you see:

Before anything else, run VS Code's basic checks:

1. Run Code: Check for Updates from the Command Palette. GitHub says Copilot Chat supports only the latest VS Code release, while older versions still get inline suggestions.
2. Confirm how you access Copilot: a GitHub account with a Copilot plan, or a bring-your-own-key model.
3. Open the Copilot status dashboard in the Status Bar to see your allowance. VS Code notes that a temporary rate limit is separate from your monthly allowance.
4. Check whether a workspace setting or organization policy turns the feature off.
5. Reproduce the problem in a new chat session, keeping the prompt, model and tools the same.

Update the Copilot extension on every machine where you use it, too. GitHub warns that older clients can't reach Copilot servers.

How do you fix "Language model unavailable" in VS Code?

Language model unavailable is a generic message. GitHub's docs have no page for it, so the real cause is in the log. Turn on detailed logging, reproduce the error, and read it:

1. Open the Command Palette and run Developer: Set Log Level.
2. Pick GitHub Copilot Chat, then Trace.
3. Send a chat message again, then open View > Output and select GitHub Copilot Chat.
4. Set the level back to Info when you're done.

What the log usually points to:

• The wrong account or no detected plan. VS Code's FAQ says you "must be signed into Visual Studio Code with the GitHub account that has access to the plan." Check your plan is active at github.com/settings/copilot.
• A trial or billing state. In microsoft/vscode issue #309829 (April 2026), the log read: "Copilot Pro trials have been temporarily paused. Please upgrade your account or revert to Copilot Free." The issue was closed as a duplicate, and later commenters said upgrading alone did not clear it for them.
• A model you can't use. The FAQ says "Not all models are available in the language model picker," and organizations can restrict models. Pick another model, or ask your admin. See the Copilot models guide for what each plan includes.
• A network failure. Run the Chat Diagnostics command (see the network section) to rule this out.

One community report, not an official fix: in GitHub community discussion #188977, the poster traced the error, which their log showed as TypeError: e is not iterable, to skill files from other AI tools in .claude and .agents folders in their home directory, some with duplicate names or unsupported formatting. They wrote: "Renaming or removing the following directories fixed the problem." GitHub staff did not confirm it, but it's worth checking if your log shows the same error. Rename a folder temporarily rather than deleting it: ~/.claude also holds Claude Code's own settings. The Copilot agent skills guide explains where Copilot looks for skills.

Why did inline suggestions stop while Copilot Chat still works?

Inline suggestions and chat use separate allowances, so one can fail while the other works. VS Code's FAQ gives this order of checks:

1. Confirm GitHub Copilot isn't turned off globally or for the current language. The settings are github.copilot.enable and github.copilot.nextEditSuggestions.enabled.
2. Confirm your subscription is active and detected.
3. Confirm your network allows connections to Copilot.
4. Confirm you haven't reached the monthly inline suggestions limit on Copilot Free. Paid plans have an unlimited quota for inline suggestions.
5. If all of that passes, read the GitHub Copilot logs.

Diagonal line on the Copilot icon. On Business or Enterprise, this means the file is covered by a content exclusion that an admin set. Hover over the icon to see which setting applies. GitHub says exclusion changes can take up to 30 minutes to reach an IDE that already loaded its settings.

Using your own model key. Inline suggestions, semantic search and embeddings need the GitHub Copilot service, so the FAQ says they "aren't available through bring-your-own-key models."

Only one line at a time. GitHub lists "Copilot not suggesting multiple lines of code" as a known issue with a fix in progress.

What does a rate limit or "out of AI credits" message mean?

These are two different limits.

You've hit a rate limit. A temporary cap on how many requests you can send in a short window, mostly on select models during limited capacity. GitHub's usage limits page says rate limits are temporary and that waiting a short period and trying again often resolves the issue. What to do:

• Wait a few minutes and retry at the time the message suggests.
• Cut down rapid-fire or automated requests, such as large batch jobs.
• On an individual plan, upgrade for more usage. If it keeps happening, contact GitHub Support.

VS Code's FAQ adds: "A rate limit can occur even when your monthly AI credits allowance is not exhausted."

AI credits used up. Every plan includes a monthly allowance of AI credits for chat and agents. When it runs out, you can upgrade, set a budget for additional usage, or wait for the monthly reset. The GitHub Copilot pricing guide explains allowances, budgets and how Business and Enterprise pools work.

How do you fix sign-in, proxy and network problems?

Reset your sign-in in VS Code. GitHub's steps:

1. Click the Accounts icon at the bottom left, hover over your GitHub username and select Sign out.
2. Press F1 and run Developer: Reload Window.
3. Sign back in to GitHub when prompted.

GitHub Copilot could not connect to server. Extension activation failed. GitHub says you either have no Copilot plan or a token request to the GitHub API failed. Sign out of Copilot in the IDE and sign back in.

Run the network diagnostics. In VS Code, type Chat Diagnostics in the Command Palette. VS Code's docs list the command as GitHub Copilot: Chat Diagnostics and GitHub's docs as Developer: Chat Diagnostics, so the prefix may differ in your build. GitHub says to check the report's Reachability section. VS Code notes that a clean report only rules out the connections it tests. You can also test from a terminal, as GitHub's network errors guide shows:

curl --verbose https://copilot-proxy.githubusercontent.com/_ping
curl --verbose https://api.githubcopilot.com/_ping

Both should return HTTP 200. The second one checks Copilot Chat.

Proxy errors (read ETIMEDOUT, read ECONNRESET). GitHub lists these causes:

• The proxy URL starts with https://, which Copilot doesn't support.
• The proxy needs authentication. Copilot supports basic authentication and Kerberos.
• The proxy uses a custom certificate that Copilot rejects.

Certificate errors. Messages like unable to verify the first certificate mean a proxy or security tool is intercepting TLS. Install the custom certificate in your operating system's trust store, or ask IT to exempt Copilot's traffic. Turning off certificate checks (Proxy Strict SSL in VS Code) works, but GitHub calls it a security risk and doesn't recommend it.

Firewalls. Your network must allow the hosts in GitHub's Copilot allowlist reference, including https://copilot-proxy.githubusercontent.com, https://*.githubcopilot.com/* and https://api.github.com/copilot_internal/*.

Why is Copilot not working in JetBrains or Visual Studio?

JetBrains IDEs. Copilot logs to idea.log. Open it from Help > Show Log in Finder, and search for Copilot errors. GitHub's logs guide adds three tools:

• Tools > GitHub Copilot > Log Diagnostics writes a network report to idea.log. Check its Reachability section.
• Tools > GitHub Copilot > Log CA Certificates lists the certificates Copilot trusts, so you can confirm your custom certificate is there.
• For debug logs, go to Help > Diagnostic Tools > Debug Log Settings..., add #com.github.copilot:trace, reproduce the problem, then remove the line.

The Copilot in JetBrains guide covers install, sign-in and supported IDEs.

Visual Studio. GitHub's steps for sign-in problems:

1. Confirm the GitHub account signed in to Visual Studio is the one with Copilot access.
2. Check whether your credentials need refreshing.
3. Remove and re-add your GitHub account, then restart Visual Studio.
4. If that fails, use Share feedback > Report a problem.

Logs are in View > Output, with GitHub Copilot selected in the dropdown.

Xcode. Logs are in ~/Library/Logs/GitHubCopilot/. In the GitHub Copilot for Xcode app, Advanced > Open Copilot Log Folder opens it, and the Verbose Logging toggle adds detail.

How do you collect logs and report a Copilot bug?

1. Set the Copilot log level to Trace, reproduce the problem, and save the Output panel text.
2. In VS Code, run Developer: Open Extension Logs Folder to grab the log files.
3. In a chat session, VS Code's /troubleshoot command helps inspect what happened. For local sessions, turn on github.copilot.chat.agentDebugLog.fileLogging.enabled and reload the window first.
4. Remove secrets and private code from the logs.
5. Report it: in VS Code, use Help > Report Issue and choose the GitHub Copilot Chat extension. You can also post in the Copilot community discussions or contact GitHub Support with the model you used, a request ID if you have one, a screenshot and the date and time.

Once Copilot works again, keep the prompts you rely on somewhere other than chat history. Kipt keeps prompts and Agent Skills as Markdown in a private GitHub repo you own, which also gives you one tidy place for skill files instead of copies scattered across tool folders.