Unleash Your Coding Potential with GitHub Copilot‘s Free Trial

For software developers, writing code can be tedious and time-consuming. Thankfully, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to help. GitHub Copilot, launched in 2021, leverages the power of AI to provide real-time code suggestions to turbocharge developers‘ productivity.

And the best part? You can test drive GitHub Copilot completely free for 60 days through their generous trial offer.

As an AI expert and experienced coder myself, I couldn’t wait to take GitHub Copilot for a spin. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk through everything you need to know to take advantage of GitHub Copilot‘s free trial and see firsthand how this innovative tool can accelerate your coding.

What is GitHub Copilot and How Does It Work?

GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer created by GitHub in partnership with OpenAI, the makers of state-of-the-art language models like GPT-3. Essentially, Copilot acts like an artificial coding sidekick who recommends completions and entire lines of code as you type based on the surrounding context.

Powered by deep learning and trained on billions of lines of public code, Copilot analyzes your codebase and suggests bits of code that are statistically likely to match your intent. The more you use Copilot, the more attuned it becomes to your unique programming style and domain.

Copilot integrates seamlessly into popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code, Neovim, and JetBrains. As you code, you’ll see Copilot’s suggestions appear in pop-ups organized from highest to lowest probability. If you see a useful suggestion, simply hit tab to auto-complete the line of code.

The main benefits Developers Report from using GitHub Copilot include:

  • Faster coding through fewer keystrokes
  • Reduced context switching by surfacing relevant code examples
  • Assistance writing boilerplate code and fixing errors
  • Sparking new ideas and approaches through creative suggestions

GitHub claims Copilot can reduce the amount of code you write by nearly a third while boosting coding accuracy. For developers struggling with writer’s block or “coder’s fatigue”, this AI assistant promises to supercharge productivity like never before.

Who‘s Eligible for the 60-Day Free Trial?

While GitHub Copilot remains in the technical preview stage, the company has opened up access through a generous 60-day free trial offer.

According to GitHub’s eligibility requirements, you can qualify for the time-limited trial if you:

  • Have a personal GitHub account
  • Are not currently an active GitHub Copilot subscriber
  • Are not a student, faculty member, or maintainer of a popular open source project (these groups get free access)

The last provision is key. Verified students and teachers gain unlimited use of GitHub Copilot at no cost under GitHub’s educational licenses. Maintainers of open source projects used by over 100,000 developers also qualify for perpetual free access.

For the purposes of the trial though, you cannot fall into either “free tier” to initially test GitHub Copilot. Don’t worry, gaining eligibility is straightforward for most professional developers.

Step-By-Step Guide to Getting the Free Trial

Ready to take GitHub Copilot for a spin? Follow these simple steps to enable the 60-day trial:

Step 1) Make sure you have a GitHub account in good standing. If you don‘t yet have one, register for a free personal account.

Step 2) Go to your GitHub account settings and navigate to the "Copilot" tab.

Step 3) On the Copilot settings page, click "Enable GitHub Copilot limited technical preview".

Step 4) Select the 60-day free trial offer.

Step 5) Click "Continue" to activate GitHub Copilot.

Once enabled, you‘ll gain access immediately to start utilizing Copilot suggestions as you code. The 60-day countdown will begin from the day you first activate the technical preview.

Make sure to enable Copilot across all your registered computers and devices to take full advantage. The trial is limited to one per GitHub account.

![GitHub Copilot Free Trial Signup]

And that‘s it! In just a few clicks, you can unlock GitHub Copilot to supercharge your productivity.

Overview of What‘s Included in the Free Trial

Once successfully activated, the 60-day trial grants you full-featured access to GitHub Copilot with no functional limitations. Core capabilities like autocompletions, documentation generation, error detection, and code translation are all available.

Throughout the trial duration, you can use Copilot as much as you want across unlimited public and private repositories. All code suggestions and completions are readily accessible, including advanced recommendations for whole function definitions.

Copilot will assimilate to your personal coding style over time, delivering increasingly tailored suggestions. The more you employ Copilot’s recommendations, the more adapted it becomes to your unique programming habits and strengths.

In my experience, GitHub Copilot felt exceptionally responsive starting right from day one. But many other testers reported it can take weeks of sustained use for Copilot to really align with your individual preferences.

Be patient, keep accepting relevant suggestions, and let the AI learn on the job. Over time, GitHub Copilot will transform into a personalized coding companion ready with precisely the code you need at just the right moments.

The only limitation of the free trial is that access expires after 60 days unless you purchase a paid subscription. So be sure to take full advantage of this lengthy trial period!

Unfortunately, all good things must end eventually. If after two months you discover GitHub Copilot boosts your coding productivity as much as advertised, you‘ll likely want to continue using this handy AI assistant.

At the end of the 60-day promo period, you‘ll lose access until signing up for a paid monthly subscription. GitHub has not publicly listed full details yet on long-term Copilot pricing plans. But here is what we know currently based on their docs:

  • monthly subscriptions will start around $10+ per user
  • volume discounts available for teams
  • educational and open source licenses provide free access

The initial monthly cost once Copilot leaves preview status seems reasonable for most professional developers. Consider the subscription fee like an investment that can pay major dividends in saved time and increased coding accuracy.

For larger development teams, GitHub will almost certainly offer discounted rates tied to bulk seats. We still don‘t know exact figures or where volume price breaks will occur though.

As mentioned earlier, students, faculty, and maintainers of popular GitHub projects will enjoy GitHub Copilot for free even after the technical preview ends. So if you qualify, rest assured you can keep using Copilot indefinitely without ever paying.

I expect we’ll learn more details on pricing and subscription plans over the next few months as GitHub further defines the commercial future of Copilot post-launch. For now, focus on maximizing the 60-day trial before later reassessing if an ongoing paid subscription makes fiscal sense for you.

Key Benefits for Developers − Copilot ROI Analysis

Considering shelling out $10 or more per month for an AI coding assistant? Let‘s break down the return-on-investment case for adopting GitHub Copilot long-term:

Saved Time

Efficiency is the name of the game with Copilot. By suggesting relevant code nearly instantly, you‘ll breeze through tasks dramatically faster. Veteran coders report up to a 30% reduction in programming time from utilizing suggestions. For a developer billing over $50/hour, that productivity gain is extremely material on the bottom line.

Reduced Fatigue

Mentally tired coders make more mistakes. GitHub Copilot lessens fatigue by quite literally doing some of the heavy thinking for you. Less mental strain over long coding sessions preserves creativity and focus leading to higher quality output. Think of Copilot like having a second brain at your disposal, exponentially expanding your bandwidth.

Fewer Bugs

With AI assistance, you‘ll likely write cleaner, more resilient code less prone to bugs. Copilot references billions of lines of proven code from public repositories when making suggestions. Leveraging this immense dataset means code snippets vetted extensively over years of real-world use. Fewer bugs means less rework down the road.

Creative Inspiration

While Copilot draws upon established patterns, its cutting-edge AI also extrapolates clever new approaches you likely wouldn‘t conceive alone. I often find Copilot‘s suggestions sparking useful “aha!” moments that inspire me to pursue novel, unconventional techniques. Greater creativity means pushing past personal limits to uncover innovative solutions.

Developer Empowerment

Fundamentally, GitHub Copilot amplifies human imagination and intelligence rather than replaces it. Think of it like having a seasoned senior developer peering over your shoulder, helping mold great ideas into reality faster. Far from automating you out of a job, Copilot makes you an even more capable, well-rounded programmer.

Considering the immense productivity, accuracy, innovation, and career upside Copilot delivers, $10 a month seems like an incredible bargain! The ROI for adopting GitHub Copilot seems overwhelmingly positive from both a business and personal growth standpoint.

Copilot in Action − User Reviews and Testimonials

Don‘t just take my word that GitHub Copilot accelerates coding though. Numerous developers who‘ve taken part in the technical preview have shared glowing testimonials about their experience:

"Copilot is like having your own AI assistant physically sitting next to you creating code. The suggestions are scarily good in how fast and accurate they are. Definitely makes you a better coder with less effort!" − Mary S., Web Developer

"I‘ll be lost without Copilot! Being able to instantly generate full functions, CSS styles, and even unit tests on demand has changed how I work. It‘s partner programming on steroids − can‘t recommend it enough to other coders." − Levi B., Software Architect

"I‘m a newer developer still getting comfortable with JavaScript. GitHub Copilot has helped me immensely by surfacing examples I can learn from and warning about subtle bugs. My code has gotten way cleaner and more idiomatic thanks to its helpful suggestions." − Jamie F., Entry Level Programmer

Additionally, early data from GitHub indicates developers who use Copilot regularly experience significant gains in programming speed and accuracy compared to solo coding:

  • 29% fewer keystrokes to accomplish tasks
  • 48% more coding activity via amplified productivity
  • 31% drop in errors from higher code reliability

These metrics strongly correlate to saved costs from accelerated delivery, fewer defects, and reduced rework. For organizations judging ROI, GitHub Copilot seems to provide outsized dividends.

While hands-on user reviews are overwhelmingly positive so far, some coders note occasional limitations:

  • Suggestions take time to become truly personalized
  • Can generate verbose or obsolete code at times
  • Limited support for niche languages and frameworks currently
  • More compute-intensive than typical autocompletion tools

However, the vast majority agree any small tradeoffs prove worthwhile for the massive efficiency gains unlockable with Copilot. Over time, the accuracy and scope of suggestions will continue improving too through further AI training.

Troubleshooting GitHub Copilot Integration Issues

Given GitHub Copilot‘s technical preview status, some minor bugs and integration problems remain as expected. Here are solutions to a few common setup issues users have reported:

Copilot fails to activate in my IDE

First, confirm you have successfully enabled Copilot on the GitHub website under your account settings. Then verify your development environment has the latest extension installed from the marketplace. Try restarting your IDE and computer if Copilot still doesn‘t initialize properly.

Suggestions stopped showing suddenly

In rare cases, the Copilot extension crashes or gets stuck failing to retrieve recommendations. Check your internet connectivity and then try reloading your IDE. You may also need to reboot your machine to restart the Copilot daemon process running in the background.

Tab key doesn‘t accept suggestions

The tab button normally allows auto-completing Copilot recommendations. If tab insert isn‘t functioning, try remapping the key through your IDE‘s preferences menu. Technical issues with keyboard mappings sometimes prevent the default tab behavior.

Don‘t hesitate to contact GitHub support for personalized troubleshooting advice if you continue facing GitHub Copilot problems.

Viable Alternatives to GitHub Copilot

While GitHub Copilot stands firmly in the lead, other AI coding assistants exist too like Tabnine and Kite. These autocomplete tools generally offer a lightweight subset of Copilot functionality for free.

However, GitHub Copilot differentiates itself through more advanced capabilities like generating entire function frameworks along with greater context sensitivity. And as an OpenAI production, Copilot benefits from unmatched research budgets and talent pouring into constant improvement.

Still, developers seeking basic AI-powered recommendations without paying up may find Tabnine or Kite suitable alternatives. Just don‘t expect the same polish, breadth of language support, customizability, and continual enhancement GitHub Copilot receives. Free products inevitably compromise quality and capability.

The Future of Intelligent Coding Is Here

We stand today at an inflection point where AI rapidly transitions from nifty novelty to indispensable tool for programmers. GitHub Copilot provides just a tiny glimpse into the bigger revolution in computer-assisted development underway.

Within a few short years, I predict all software engineers will code alongside specialized AI like GitHub Copilot. Working jointly with machines will become standard, if not expected practice within the industry. Careers that embrace human+AI teaming will thrive most.

Rather than automation replacing jobs, AI instead removes rote drudgery for engineers to achieve more rewarding, creative challenges. Developers get to focus entirely on intricate problem solving while AI handles tedious busywork.

Through this harmonious partnership, humanity’s potential vastly multiplies beyond individual limitations. GitHub Copilot moves us notably closer toward realizing that uplifting vision.

Start Your 60-Day Free GitHub Copilot Trial Today!

Ready to step into a more productive coding future? Then don‘t delay in test driving GitHub Copilot for yourself via their generous 60-day free trial.

In only an hour or two, you can have this revolutionary AI pair programmer up and running to start amplifying your output right away. Follow the step-by-step activation guide outlined above to get started instantly.

With Copilot‘s help, you‘ll get more high-quality code written in less time, guaranteed. And the specialized recommendations will only improve as Copilot adapts to your style over sustained use.

Trust me, once the trial ends, you won‘t ever want to code solo again without your new AI sidekick! So seize the opportunity now to supercharge your programming free for two whole months.
Give your productivity and career a big boost by signing up below for the GitHub Copilot free trial today!

Click Here To Get GitHub Copilot 60-Day Free Trial

Did you like this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.