[GUIDE] 2026 How to run Copilot in VSCodium (without VSCode)

[ustas-eth]

New!

VSIX were finally released in the official repo, download them and install manually in the tab, it seems there may only be issues with the latest version due to a lag in VSCodium updates so you may need to install some of the older ones.

https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-copilot-chat/releases

See these comments and give merit to the good people who keep the guide updated:

#1487 (comment)
#1487 (comment)

Old!

the prev shaman way

The instruction

1. Install VSCodium
2. Download the Copilot extensions:
   a) you can try to download the vsix files here: Copilot and Copilot Chat
   b) or, if not available, by the direct links:

Copilot:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/GitHub/vsextensions/copilot/1.257.1316/vspackage
Copilot Chat:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/GitHub/vsextensions/copilot-chat/0.23.2024120501/vspackage

These links can be outdated, check the marketplace and replace 1.257.1316 and 0.23.2024120501 in them if you want to download newer versions.

3. Install them in the Extensions menu -> three dots -> Install from VSIX...

4. Edit VSCODIUM_FOLDER/resources/app/product.json. Find the GitHub.copilot and insert the following permission:

["inlineCompletions","inlineCompletionsNew","inlineCompletionsAdditions","textDocumentNotebook","interactive","terminalDataWriteEvent"]

5. Authorize in both extensions. To find Copilot Chat authorization, open the chat through the copilot icon here and click the sign in button:

6. Optional. To have the chat as previously in the left panel, just drag this icon to the panel:

7. Check it out!

Troubleshooting

Check this post where I set it up myself: #1487 (comment)

The old way to authorize in previous versions of VSCodium:

spoiler

1. Open a terminal and send a request to begin the Github authorization

curl https://github.com/login/device/code -X POST -d 'client_id=01ab8ac9400c4e429b23&scope=user:email'

2. You'll see device_code and user_code in the response
3. Go to https://github.com/login/device/ in any browser and enter the user_code
4. Return to the terminal and send this (replace YOUR_DEVICE_CODE with the device_code you got in step 2):

curl https://github.com/login/oauth/access_token -X POST -d 'client_id=01ab8ac9400c4e429b23&scope=user:email&device_code=YOUR_DEVICE_CODE&grant_type=urn:ietf:params:oauth:grant-type:device_code'

5. You'll see your access_token in the response (gho_...). Paste it in VSCodium when the Copilot extension requires authorization.
6. Enjoy your freedom!

Possible paths for the product.json:

• /opt/vscodium-bin/resources/app/product.json
• /usr/share/codium/resources/app/product.json
• /Applications/VSCodium.app/Contents/Resources/app/
• /snap/codium/current/usr/share/codium/resources/app/product.json
• Flatpack: [GUIDE] 2026 How to run Copilot in VSCodium (without VSCode) #1487 (comment)

[Aspyryan]

Why do we have to use that specific client_id? I found it a big sketchy, but it did work!

[ustas-eth]

It's the VSCode's id. I've found it in one of the issues. There was part of the instruction above but with the wrong scope. I had to reverse the extension a little because it reverted without a clear error log 🥲

[Aspyryan]

Ah okay awesome work!

[psipherious]

This is great, and works perfectly for connecting VS Codium without the need to do anything in VS Code.

I did this on Windows myself and initially had an issue in both Command Prompt & Powershell with curl errors.

Ended up resolving that problem by simply using the MINGW64 based Git Bash as part of the Git Windows package found at:
https://git-scm.com

[ckep1]

I needed to use Git Bash on Windows for curl to work, as @psipherious said. Thanks for the guide!

[binerbin]

You can replace the single quotes ' with double quotes " and it should work on windows cmd

[qyurila]

Works like a charm on Powershell v7 without any hassle. Thank you!

[subcidr]

Heck yeah! Thanks for that dude 🔥
(also had to use Git Bash for it to work)

[miclgael]

Flatpak users

Still working for me as of 2024-08-01

I installed VSCodium on PoP!_OS using Flatpak. To find VSCODIUM_FOLDER I did these steps:

1. flatpak info --show-location com.vscodium.codium
2. cd ~/.local/share/flatpak/app/com.vscodium.codium/current/active/files/share/codium/resources/app (some paths are aliases and won't show if Codium isn't open.)
3. ls in this directory will reveal the product.json mentioned in step 2 of OP's guide.

Thanks, @ustas-eth !

[francoism90]

Just for reference, if anyone uses this as global/system install: cd /var/lib/flatpak/app/com.vscodium.codium/current/active/files/share/codium/resources/app.

[ntluong95]

Hi did you try it successfully? Can you share steps @francoism90

[francoism90]

I did the same steps as @miclgael. I will share when it needs more. :)

[icarito]

I'm having trouble activating Github Copilot Labs with this trick. Can it be done? Thanks in advance.

[ustas-eth]

Can't say anything without the actual error. You can try to debug VSCodium though (run it with the --inspect-extension flag and use chrome://inspect)

[icarito]

Thanks so much for your reply.
I ran codium from the command line with the --inspect-extension option, and then opened "Developer Tools" from the Codium menu. Here is the output from that console:

The gho api key is the one that successfully allowed copilot to work.
I've confirmed my account has Copilot Labs enabled too.
Thanks in advance!

[sonel73]

Github Copilot Labs uses a different scope to authenticate.
Repeat every step but replace scope=user:email with scope=read:user on both curl commands.

curl https://github.com/login/device/code -X POST -d 'client_id=01ab8ac9400c4e429b23&scope=read:user'

curl https://github.com/login/oauth/access_token -X POST -d 'client_id=01ab8ac9400c4e429b23&scope=read:user&device_code=YOUR_DEVICE_CODE&grant_type=urn:ietf:params:oauth:grant-type:device_code'

[tapz]

Warning: 'inspect-extension' is not in the list of known options, but still passed to Electron/Chromium.

[cwiggs]

How do we find out where VSCODIUM_FOLDER is? I'm on Linux (Debian) and haven't beeen able to find the it.

[miclgael]

It depends how you installed it.

Can you try which codium or see my steps for flatpak above? ↑

[cwiggs]

which codium helped. I installed via apt on debian linux. The file was in /usr/share/codium/resources/app/product.json

[moritztim]

I installed it on arch linux with the aur/vscodium package and found it in /usr/share/vscodium/

[moritztim]

Update: It's now at /opt/vscodium-bin/resources/app. Pretty sure I installed using yay this time too.

[moritztim]

Also try looking in /usr/lib/vscodium-electron if you installed the aur version which uses the native electron

[baconsplit]

This worked on my Linux laptop, much love.

I was just wondering why on the Windows Binary for VSCodium the "official" login for GitHub Copilot works on my end? Is there some f*ckery because it is a Windows machine and Windows authenticates me anyway like that?

[miclgael]

Interesting!
It might be good if another windows user could test this and then we update OP.

[yogeshdofficial]

as of Jun 22 this still works thank you so much

[an4s911]

This is just amazing. Thanks a lot.

The only issue I have right now is that I have to keep logging in to GitHub on VSCodium each time I open it. Any way to fix this problem?

[miclgael]

Curious, have you got SSH set up for your GitHub account?

[StitiFatah]

Yeah it unfortunately makes it very cumbersome, even if you get the access token in one command via a script it's still annoying

Edit : That's probably on me, I'm on i3 and din't have a keychain installed, using gnome-keyring it stays logged in even when restarting.

[an4s911]

Curious, have you got SSH set up for your GitHub account?

Yes, I have, through github-cli

[lalishansh]

Umm, Where should i paste my access token ? (Step 7)

[miclgael]

AFAIR - Log out and Log back in to Copilot and it should prompt you - that's where you put the access token.

[lalishansh]

thanks

[harmtemolder]

On Manjaro Linux (so should work for Arch as well) I found product.json with:

$ sudo pacman -Ql vscodium | grep product.json
vscodium-bin /opt/vscodium-bin/resources/app/product.json

[Petermhen]

Works on Linux Mint, using VSCodium installed from the Ubuntu repository. Thanks @ustas-eth !
The product.json location when installed from the Ubuntu repo is /usr/share/codium/resources/app/product.json.

Snap

In case anyone installed VSCodium using Snap, you'll need to use a workaround like described here, to edit product.json.

Rather than doing that I just reinstalled from the VSCodium Ubuntu repository instead.

Possible edits to original post

@ustas-eth perhaps to clarify step 6 a bit further, YOUR_DEVICE_ID could be changed to YOUR_DEVICE_CODE, and the following added: "Replace YOUR_DEVICE_CODE with the device_code you got in step 4."

As below:

6. Return to the terminal and send curl https://github.com/login/oauth/access_token -X POST -d 'client_id=01ab8ac9400c4e429b23&scope=user:email&device_code=YOUR_DEVICE_CODE&grant_type=urn:ietf:params:oauth:grant-type:device_code'. Replace YOUR_DEVICE_CODE with the device_code you got in step 4.

[ustas-eth]

Done!

[Petermhen]

I forgot to mention a tiny typo at step 7. Missing the "e" on "Paste". Thanks a mil again for these instructions!

[flodef]

If you already installed copilot and want to use this wonderful trick, you will first have to sign out from Github using the Sign out option on the bottom left corner (the person button below the setting button).
Thanks a lot for this great "how to". It works great

[yellowhat]

Hi,
I would like to use Copilot with vscodium via flatpak.

I have run the following:

flatpak --user install -y flathub com.vscodium.codium
flatpak --user override --socket=wayland com.vscodium.codium
flatpak run com.vscodium.codium --install-extension ~/Downloads/GitHub.copilot-1.95.246.vsix

cd ~/.local/share/flatpak/app/com.vscodium.codium/current/active/files/share/codium/resources/app

sed -e 's|"GitHub.copilot":.*|"GitHub.copilot": ["inlineCompletions","inlineCompletionsNew","inlineCompletionsAdditions","textDocumentNotebook","interactive","terminalDataWriteEvent"],|' \
    -i.bak product.json

I had to copy the following libraries in order for the "Sign in with Github to use Github Copilot" to appear:

• libgssapi_krb5.so.2
• libk5crypto.so.3
• libkrb5.so.3
• libkrb5support.so.0
• libkeyutils.so.1

in ~/.local/share/flatpak/app/com.vscodium.codium/current/active/files/lib/

If I click on "Sign in with Github to use Github Copilot", I can generate the PAT, copy it to but I get the following error in the Developer console:

workbench.desktop.main.js:97 [Extension Host] [ERROR] [default] [2023-07-09T14:39:57.595Z] GitHub Copilot could not connect to server. Extension activation failed: "Cancelled"
I @ workbench.desktop.main.js:97
$logExtensionHostMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_doInvokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_invokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveRequest @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveOneMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
(anonymous) @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
invoke @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
deliver @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:564
ee.onmessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1642
workbench.desktop.main.js:759 Writing login information to the keychain failed with error 'GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name is not activatable'.
onDidChangeNotification @ workbench.desktop.main.js:759
(anonymous) @ workbench.desktop.main.js:759
invoke @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
deliver @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
addNotification @ workbench.desktop.main.js:759
notify @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1644
prompt @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1644
(anonymous) @ workbench.desktop.main.js:2526
emit @ VM4 sandbox_bundle:2
onMessage @ VM4 sandbox_bundle:2
workbench.desktop.main.js:97 [Extension Host] rejected promise not handled within 1 second: Error: User not authorized
I @ workbench.desktop.main.js:97
$logExtensionHostMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_doInvokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_invokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveRequest @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveOneMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
(anonymous) @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
invoke @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
deliver @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:564
ee.onmessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1642
workbench.desktop.main.js:97 [Extension Host] stack trace: Error: User not authorized
    at /home/user/.var/app/com.vscodium.codium/data/codium/extensions/github.copilot-1.95.246/extension/src/auth.ts:52:15
    at process.copilotToken (node:internal/process/task_queues:96:5)
    at forceNormal [as getCopilotToken] (/home/user/.var/app/com.vscodium.codium/data/codium/extensions/github.copilot-1.95.246/extension/src/auth.ts:92:18)
    at event (/home/user/.var/app/com.vscodium.codium/data/codium/extensions/github.copilot-1.95.246/extension/src/session.ts:53:28)
    at /home/user/.var/app/com.vscodium.codium/data/codium/extensions/github.copilot-1.95.246/extension/src/extension.ts:162:46
I @ workbench.desktop.main.js:97
$logExtensionHostMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_doInvokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_invokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveRequest @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveOneMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
(anonymous) @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
invoke @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
deliver @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:564
ee.onmessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1642
workbench.desktop.main.js:1978 [GitHub.copilot]User not authorized
$onExtensionRuntimeError @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1978
_doInvokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_invokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveRequest @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveOneMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
(anonymous) @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
invoke @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
deliver @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:564
ee.onmessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1642
workbench.desktop.main.js:1978 Error: User not authorized
    at /home/user/.var/app/com.vscodium.codium/data/codium/extensions/github.copilot-1.95.246/extension/src/auth.ts:52:15
    at process.copilotToken (node:internal/process/task_queues:96:5)
    at forceNormal [as getCopilotToken] (/home/user/.var/app/com.vscodium.codium/data/codium/extensions/github.copilot-1.95.246/extension/src/auth.ts:92:18)
    at event (/home/user/.var/app/com.vscodium.codium/data/codium/extensions/github.copilot-1.95.246/extension/src/session.ts:53:28)
    at /home/user/.var/app/com.vscodium.codium/data/codium/extensions/github.copilot-1.95.246/extension/src/extension.ts:162:46
$onExtensionRuntimeError @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1978
_doInvokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_invokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveRequest @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
_receiveOneMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
(anonymous) @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1541
invoke @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
deliver @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:93
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:564
ee.onmessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:1642

Is an older version required?

Thanks

[TiMESPLiNTER]

tl;dr: Latest VSCodium + latest copilot-chat (non-pre) release may work always together?

Maybe I was just lucky, but I simply chose the latest official release and not a pre-release (0.39 are only pre-releases) and that worked for me. The latest official release is https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-copilot-chat/releases/tag/v0.38.2.

VSIX download: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/GitHub/vsextensions/copilot-chat/0.38.2/vspackage

And it worked to install the VSIX with the latest version of VSCodium (1.110.11607).

After the successful installation of the extension I signed out of all my GH accounts by clicking on the "person" icon in the bottom left corner of VSCodium. Then I restarted VSCodum, signed in again through the copilot icon in the bottom right corner. After that it tells me that it failed to find the copilot-chat extension and install it, I clicked twice on "cancel" and now everything works fine.

[MiguVT]

0.39.0 is now out but not working with vscodium yet, v0.38.2 is working

[TiMESPLiNTER]

Guess we need to wait for VSCodium 1.111 release in order for 0.39.* to work. VSCode 1.111 is already out. VSCodium is just lagging behind a bit.

Then maybe 1.112 will be compatible with 0.40.*, 1.113 with 0.41.*, etc, etc

[TiMESPLiNTER]

Just updated to 1.112 and now copilot chat 0.40.1 works: marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/GitHub/vsextensions/copilot-chat/0.40.1/vspackage

So you can see the pattern:

VSCodium	Co-Pilot Chat
1.110.*	0.38.*
1.111.*	0.39.*
1.112.*	0.40.*
1.113.*	0.41.*
...	...

[MiguVT]

Finally now vsix is oficially release on their github repo :D
https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-copilot-chat/releases

Also latest ver is working on insider :b

[nicolajkl]

EDIT:

Had initially missed this comment. My VSCodium version is 1.112.x so I tried with V0.40.2 instead as per his list, and voilá! It works!

---

---

Still not working for me. Currently on a fresh install of Fedora Workstation with VSCodium installed via dnf/vscodium repo as per the install guide from their website.

I've tried downloading the latest non-pre-release (V0.42.2), V0.41.2 and V0.42.2026032501 without success.
This is the error message I get no matter which version I try with:

codium --install-extension /home/nkl/Downloads/GitHub.copilot-chat.0.41.2026032403.universal.vsix
Installing extensions...
ScanningExtension: Cannot read the extension from /home/nkl/.vscode-oss/extensions/github.copilot-chat-0.41.2026032403
    at Pl.scanLocalExtension (file:///usr/share/codium/resources/app/out/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.js:56:56754)
    at async Il.doRun (file:///usr/share/codium/resources/app/out/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.js:56:62787) {
  code: 'ScanningExtension'
}
Failed Installing Extensions: file:///home/nkl/Downloads/GitHub.copilot-chat.0.41.2026032403.universal.vsix

Note: I get the same error when trying directly from the Codium GUI (three dots -> install from vsix).
How did you guys solve it? Is it because I'm not on the flatpak version?

codium --version
1.112.01907
e2b23bbd5646cc28aaa6f26ee53b257c290b6be1
x64

[brunny95]

Hi @ustas-eth,
can you update the guide with the latest infos from @TiMESPLiNTER and @MiguVT?
Your post is the first result, so it has a lot of visibility.
On top of that, from what I've seen, now it is only required to have installed copilot chat, copilot is deprecated.
Thank you!

[ustas-eth]

Done, please verify if the instructions are correct now, is it true that no config changes are necessary anymore?
I don't use copilot myself anymore (switched to CLIs completely).

[brunny95]

Being on the flatpack version of codium (v1.113.0), I simply downloaded from the website the latest 0.41.x version (0.41.1). After having logged in with Github, everything is working fine.

Thank you!

[kazenshi]

Do I have to sign into Github in order to use copilot? I just want to use my own local model and not rely on any external models.

[MiguVT]

Not sure but I think yes, you need, but you can use local models, I'm using my own.
Also there is other good alternatives, like opencode, It works better for me, or if more agentic hermes works well too but a little more slow and less code-focused

[kazenshi]

Yeah for me I want to have inline code completions but I don't want to have to sign into copilot for it. Also in order to bring your own model (BYOM) you have to use the insiders vscodium which is silly. For now I use Cline or Roo Code, but this is a pain point I have with vscodium for now.

Hopefully they open the inline completions API to third party extensions and or allow copilot with BYOM and not have to sign into GitHub to use it...

[MiguVT]

You donnt need insiders, you can patch the extension with a few lines, dont remember how but I made it work without need of that

[rue-a]

I used the strategy from here #1487 (reply in thread). This worked well for 1.112, but failed for the new Codium release 1.116. I didn´t find the correct matching VSIX. I then found out that you can enable Codium to find extensions from VSCode Marketplace, which simply let me install the correct CoPilotChat version via the UI:

tldr

In Linux, create ~/.config/VSCodium/product.json and fill with (I think this extends the default, since I am able to find extensions from both marketplaces):

{
	"extensionsGallery": {
		"serviceUrl": "https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery",
		"cacheUrl": "https://vscode.blob.core.windows.net/gallery/index",
		"itemUrl": "https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items"
	}
}

this allows using the VSCode Marketplace

product.jsonplaces by OS

• Windows: %APPDATA%\VSCodium or %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\VSCodium
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/VSCodium
• Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/VSCodium or ~/.config/VSCodium

[ranisalt]

0.43 (latest) is working with VSCodium 1.116

[R3ality]

For those using a portable variant the file path is .\data\user-data\product.json inside the VSCodium directory

[dealenx]

How to disable Github auth? I enable own models via vscode extenstions, i don't need Github Copilot models

[dealenx]

:000

[dealenx]

For that case I tried to use github copilot and it seems to not work as well as OpenCode

I understand that Opencode can be used, but I have an AI harness that requires vscode-copilot-chat

[MiguVT]

:000

[dealenx]

:000

Interesting, thank you for the info

[daiyam]

The builtin copilot is being removed from VSCodium due to proprietary blob and CLI licensing. Please read for more info: #2796

[dealenx]

I tried to remove Github auth from latest version of vscode-copilot-chat archived

My fork: https://github.com/dealenx/vscode-copilot-chat-oss

Demo:

[malev-v]

@dealenx, I'm using llama.cpp.
Since “vendor”: ‘customoai’ only works in the Insiders build of VS Code (0.44.0-oss.1 didn't launch in the Insiders build of Codium), I decided to try “ollama” -> LiteLLM -> llama.cpp.

    {
        “name”: “Ollama”,
        “vendor”: “ollama”,
        “url”: “http://localhost:11434”
    }   

However, since the plugin at “/api/show” requires actual information about the model...
I provided it at this address, but the plugin didn’t like something.

[daiyam]

I've been pondering to make a VSCodiumAI with the non-FOSS dependencies used for AI...

[malev-v]

@dealenx

Vsix extension to expend ai models i used in my case:
https://github.com/dealenx/oai-compatible-copilot-mod

Yeah, it worked - thanks for the tip! 👍
However, there are errors in the output (though they do not affect functionality):

[error] Error: Failed to fetch models (5504d6f0-4f37-4e59-a666-e0f5db8de1a4): bad request: Authorization header is badly formatted
...
[error] Failed to get all sessions: Error: Directory import '/home/user/.vscode-oss/extensions/github.copilot-chat-0.44.0-oss.1/node_modules/@github/copilot/sdk' is not supported resolving ES modules imported from /home/user/.vscode-oss/extensions/github.copilot-chat-0.44.0-oss.1/dist/extension.js

_
I also tried "liliangshan / openapi-compatible-copilot" - it accesses the local llama.cpp model as well.

[MiguVT]

I've been pondering to make a VSCodiumAI with the non-FOSS dependencies used for AI...

Whats that exact non-FOSS dependencies? and are they auditable or open source (open source if not free obv, if free its FOSS but I think im explaining well)?

[daiyam]

#2796 Homebrew/homebrew-core#277146

• https://www.npmjs.com/package/@github/copilot
• https://www.npmjs.com/package/@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk

@github/copilot does download binary blob which isn't open-sourced

[MalteFlender]

Sorry if I missed something obvious, the whole topic is a bit confusing for me. In the last days I was using vscodium 1.116 with copilot 42.3 manual installed as described here, worked fine all good. Today I updated to 121 and its broken.

Microsoft ships vscode now with the copilot plugin preinstalled and as such stopped the release of the standalone plugin, thus there is no compatible copilot version available for 121 and thus the problem. That's how I understood it.
Is that correct?

Is there a solution for that?

Also since the 01.06.2026 pricing change maybe it is time to cancel GitHub copilot altogether and find a bring-your-own-key alternative, since the cost is the same anyways. Is there an alternative with ghost-text that can use or recycle the GitHub infrastructure (skills/agents/promts/instructions)?

[MalteFlender]

I am trying out kilo-code now and as of now its doing all I want.

[MiguVT]

Because copilot is shipped in vscode core, vscodium should provide it.
Im not a fan of copilot and personally like more to use OpenCode + manual docs research but copilot was the first thing I used for repetitive trash things and autocomplete.

[dealenx]

It would be cool if they developed Copilot Chat similar to how Zed devs create ACP protocol in Zed chat and it would be possible to run Opencode in Copilot Chat

[TiMESPLiNTER]

I just played around a bit and I was able to build the copilot extension from vscode repo and install it into vscodium and it seems to work.

So maybe we could set up a GH project with a periodic action checking for new VSCode versions and then building the Copilot extension for it and pack the resulting vsix into a GH release to download it.

For those who want to do that as well:

The VSCodium version number maps directly to the VS Code git tag — just drop the last segment (1.121.03429 → tag 1.121.0).

1. Clone the VS Code repo at the exact tag

git clone --depth 1 --branch 1.121.0 https://github.com/microsoft/vscode.git
cd vscode/extensions/copilot

2. Install dependencies (requires Node >= 22.14.0)

npm install

3. Build

npm run build

4. Package as VSIX (uses vsce from the project's node_modules)

npx @vscode/vsce package --no-dependencies

5. Install into VSCodium

codium --install-extension copilot-chat-0.49.0.vsix

For future VSCodium updates, replace 1.121.0 in the clone command with the matching tag (e.g. VSCodium 1.99.02345 → tag 1.99.0). You can list available tags first if unsure:

git ls-remote --tags https://github.com/microsoft/vscode.git | grep "refs/tags/[0-9]" | tail -20

[daiyam]

I've been pondering to make a VSCodiumAI with the non-FOSS dependencies used for AI...

Originally posted by @daiyam in #1487 (reply in thread)

This is why I strongly thinking to do it. But I have to close https://github.com/VSCodium/vscodium/milestone/2 before working on it.

In the meantime, you can use https://github.com/VSCodium/vscodium/blob/master/upstream/stable.json which store the vscode's commit id used to create the VSCodium release.

Also, there isn't a clean separation between copilot-chat extension and vscode. Some copilot-chat codes had being added directly to vscode which are removed from VSCodium. (https://github.com/VSCodium/vscodium/blob/master/patches/51-ext-copilot-remove-it.json, https://github.com/VSCodium/vscodium/blob/master/patches/52-ext-copilot-remove-it.patch)

[TiMESPLiNTER]

Thanks for the hints. Let's see for how long this still works when they start mixing concerns and don't keep the extension stand-alone.

I made a quick prototype nonetheless: https://github.com/TiMESPLiNTER/vscodium-copilot-vsix-releases/releases

[MalteFlender]

Thanks for the hints. Let's see for how long this still works when they start mixing concerns and don't keep the extension stand-alone.

I made a quick prototype nonetheless: https://github.com/TiMESPLiNTER/vscodium-copilot-vsix-releases/releases

On Version: 1.121.03429 OS: Linux x64 6.17.8-300.fc43.x86_64 it works for me, thank you!!

[mariaczi]

VSCodium:

Commit: 824c4c46a288b839f13b24022655329c2aeb9f81
Date: 2026-05-19T23:32:58Z
Electron: 39.8.8
ElectronBuildId: undefined
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.19045

Github Copilot extension installed from: https://github.com/TiMESPLiNTER/vscodium-copilot-vsix-releases/releases/download/v1.121.0/copilot-chat-0.49.0.vsix

When I try 'Sign in'

I catch:

What is wrong and how to fix it?

[s-h-a-d-o-w]

Since people have only mentioned the error message so far... I hope that you have tried just using it anyway?
Because I can't sign in either, getting the same error message. But things work just fine:

[rcruzgar]

vscodium 1.126.X on Ubuntu.
I've tried installing 0.42.3 and 0.43.0 vsix versions.

Same error:

@s-h-a-d-o-w The problem is that can't access models from the enterprise account, of course basic free model works.

[s-h-a-d-o-w]

@rcruzgar 1.126 needs 0.54.0. @TiMESPLiNTER even lists the releases accordingly: https://github.com/TiMESPLiNTER/vscodium-copilot-vsix-releases/releases/tag/v1.126.0

Also, I've used about 1000 credits in vscodium so far this month.

[rcruzgar]

Thank you @s-h-a-d-o-w . I installed it as you said but the error persists. I guess we will have to wait for the PR.

[Shikakiben]

@rcruzgar it should work even with the error.

of course basic free model works

Since jun the free account can not choose the free model its only on "auto" so if you can choose between free model, you are not link to a free account and probably your are link to your enterprise account and the problem is somewhere else...what im trying to say it's if the extension wasn't working you would probably not see the free models...

[awdemos]

Thanks for keeping this guide updated — the manual VSIX install path is much cleaner than the old product.json edits.

One thing to add for anyone doing this because they want to escape the VSCode/Copilot bundle: Copilot’s usage-based billing still applies inside VSCodium. You get the open editor, but the meter follows the extension. If the goal is a fixed monthly cost for an agentic workflow, you may want to pair VSCodium with a BYOK extension (Continue.dev, Cline, Roo Code) or a flat-rate GPU-backed agent. We built UltraWork (https://vibecodingagency.com/gpu-cloud/) for the flat-rate case — one monthly GPU rental, no per-request meter, open-weights models.

Not a replacement for this guide, but a useful next step if cost predictability is why you left VSCode.

[mariaczi]

@TiMESPLiNTER , after a small investigation for error:

Failed to resolve sessions for provider copilotcli Error: Directory import 'c:\Users\user\.vscode-oss\extensions\github.copilot-chat-0.54.0\node_modules\@github\copilot\sdk' is not supported resolving ES modules imported from c:\Users\user\.vscode-oss\extensions\github.copilot-chat-0.54.0\dist\extension.js
    at finalizeResolution (node:internal/modules/esm/resolve:263:11)
    at moduleResolve (node:internal/modules/esm/resolve:873:10)
    at defaultResolve (node:internal/modules/esm/resolve:1000:11)
    at nextResolve (node:internal/modules/esm/hooks:785:28)
    at resolve (data:text/javascript;base64,CglleHBvcnQgYXN5bmMgZnVuY3Rpb24gcmVzb2x2ZShzcGV…ZGVyLgoJCXJldHVybiBuZXh0UmVzb2x2ZShzcGVjaWZpZXIsIGNvbnRleHQpOwoJfQ==:13:10)
    at nextResolve (node:internal/modules/esm/hooks:785:28)
    at AsyncLoaderHooksOnLoaderHookWorker.resolve (node:internal/modules/esm/hooks:269:30)
    at MessagePort.handleMessage (node:internal/modules/esm/worker:251:24)
    at [nodejs.internal.kHybridDispatch] (node:internal/event_target:843:20)
    at MessagePort.<anonymous> (node:internal/per_context/messageport:23:28)
workbench.desktop.main.js:38

(I'm not sure if I put full output for them)
I found, that the shared vsix files may by incompleted or maybe you known about tahat, and this part is not important and is not required for the extension to function properly.
After replacing content in node_module@github directory from the same VSCode version as we use VSCodium - for example 1.126 at this moment (http://update.code.visualstudio.com/1.126.0/win32-x64-archive/stable) - the error about problem with ES modules go away ;)

Regards and thanks for you job and answer, what do you think about that.

[TiMESPLiNTER]

It's weird. I installed the VSIX from disk (0.54.0) and it worked just fine. Not sure what's the reason for this error. Maybe it's not the same on Mac and Windows? I'm on a Mac.

[kas5986]

Installed VSCodium problem is that it doenst have copilot and after checking all the documentaions i have downlaoded Install from VSIX which was downlaod from vscode marketplace now the problem when i authorized from github it doenst work any guide?

[TiMESPLiNTER]

The VSCode Marketplace extension is abandoned and doesn't get updated anymore. They moved the extension into VSCode's core. You need to either compile the extension yourself from the VSCode source code at the right version tag matching the one of your VSCodium. Or download the prebuilt version from my repository linked further up in this discussion.

[ghost]

I tried to remove Github auth from latest version of vscode-copilot-chat archived
My fork: https://github.com/dealenx/vscode-copilot-chat-oss

Bringing ai into coding community kinda produces stuff like this icl

the only current issue with the whole ecosystem of vscodium are slow updates, therefore copilot chat extensions fixes will land too late, a great example is the quoted message

for example in 124 we've got

which has finally been brought into the sight from alpha/insider releases to stable branch after harassment in comments in vscode repo

but, in https://github.com/dealenx/vscode-copilot-chat-oss we see much more going on and to me, all that seems irrelevant at least since april/march even maybe, its all been inside insiders (i tested and it worked, long time ago)

i started checking what can be causing issues and found that i don't even need patches or anything anymore (same as in insiders back in april or march or maybe even earlier)
however, in skills.md they still got things useless thing that breaks the entire "no github auth" thingy

removing that and recompiling brought me into this state:

checked code again, and it was the same patched function from @dealenx, so i temporarily put return true on top and checked again, this time it worked

therefore its simply a bug, i had to log out of old github accounts in order to reset its "hasGithubSessions" (they do not check whether you're logged out or not, they only check whether you even have any github accounts logged possibly or not and if you do skipping that condition)

so make sure to log out

then we come to the next very funny step,

how to add models without logging in?
the thing is, the part that controls these pop ups isnt even inside copilot extension but inside of vscode itself since during the insiders testing they also moved parts that control "models providers" list into vscode somehow

while going thru the chain you're going end up with this function and this one as well

since i already had a copy of vscode itself with custom endpoint it took me less time to realize what to do, in insiders back in days they separated language models and allowed people to add custom ones via a new interface, and, matter fact, added a new command, that seems to bypass any restrictions

and once you add any model that's not copilot chat will start working
i also reverted removal of skills.md line and tested again just in case

steps are simple, ask the maintainer of vscodium update the codebase finally
then:
just download it off @TiMESPLiNTER's repo since its simply a github workflow that autobuilds extension and publishes it

once its done and #2944 (comment) is merged there should be no need for additional patches even

[ghost]

p.s i was testing all this inside of vscode itself due to the same described by @TiMESPLiNTER restriction of slow updates of

Not a replacement for this guide, but a useful next step if cost predictability is why you left VSCode.

its really got nothing to do with vscode/copilot codependency, its shipped byok a long time ago, not sure what was the point here other than inability to search up stuff in vscode repo issues

matter fact you even can replace the vscode extension if you need without bundling it

/usr/share/code/resources/app/extensions/copilot/dist/
/usr/share/code-insiders/resources/app/extensions/copilot/dist/

the only thing i didn't understand is why @TiMESPLiNTER not using "package": "vsce package", and has to https://github.com/TiMESPLiNTER/vscodium-copilot-vsix-releases/blob/main/.github/workflows/build.yml#L98, just like the other guy, assuming command didn't exist in old releases (unlikely)?

[dealenx]

New version https://github.com/dealenx/vscode-copilot-chat-oss/releases/tag/v0.63.0-oss.1 for https://github.com/VSCodium/vscodium-insiders/releases/tag/1.135.05870-insider

Change the settings chat.byokUtilityModelDefault vscodium-insiders://settings/chat.byokUtilityModelDefault

Important: VSCodium "built-in extension" conflict

Some VSCodium-insiders builds ship a product.json with:

"builtInExtensionsEnabledWithAutoUpdates": ["GitHub.copilot-chat"]

VS Code treats every ID in this list as a built-in, product-shipped extension. The extension scanner applies the rule "this ID is already part of the product → ignore the user-installed copy". Consequence: the VSIX extracts fine into data/extensions, but on every scan the installed copy is silently dropped from the extension list, and both the CLI and the UI fail with:

ScanningExtension: Cannot read the extension from <extension-folder>

Fix: remove "GitHub.copilot-chat" from that list in <VSCodium>\resources\app\product.json:

"builtInExtensionsEnabledWithAutoUpdates": []

Demo

[ghost]

worth checking out this issue as well in case if you need BYOK/Complete lack of github authorization for autcomplete/inline suggestions feature as well

microsoft/vscode#318545 (comment) (read comments below this one)