GitHub Copilot Suggestions Not Showing: Fixes

Updated June 2026

GitHub Copilot is a powerful AI assistant, but sometimes its suggestions fail to appear, leaving you without its helpful code completions. This guide provides direct, actionable solutions to get your Copilot back on track when GitHub Copilot suggestions not showing .

What this problem means

GitHub Copilot is a powerful AI assistant, but sometimes its suggestions fail to appear, leaving you without its helpful code completions. This guide provides direct, actionable solutions to get your Copilot back on track when GitHub Copilot suggestions not showing.

Check GitHub Copilot Extension Status and Settings

Often, Copilot issues stem from the extension itself not being active or correctly configured within your integrated development environment (IDE). This can happen if the extension is disabled, outdated, or conflicts with other extensions.

Why This Happens

The Copilot extension needs to be enabled globally or for specific languages. If it’s disabled, or if an update introduced a bug, suggestions won’t appear. Sometimes, cached data can also interfere with its operation.

1. Ensure Copilot Extension is Enabled:
   • VS Code: Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X). Search for “GitHub Copilot”. Make sure it is enabled. If the button says “Disable”, it’s enabled. If it says “Enable”, click it.
   • JetBrains IDEs (e.g., IntelliJ, PyCharm): Go to Settings/Preferences > Plugins. Search for “GitHub Copilot”. Ensure the checkbox next to it is checked.
2. Update the Extension:
   • VS Code: In the Extensions view, look for available updates. If an update is pending for Copilot, install it and reload VS Code.
   • JetBrains IDEs: In the Plugins section, check for updates for the Copilot plugin and install them.
3. Reload or Restart Your IDE: Sometimes a simple restart can resolve temporary glitches. Close and reopen your IDE.
4. Check Copilot Output Log (VS Code):
   • In VS Code, open the Output panel (Ctrl+Shift+U or Cmd+Shift+U).
   • Select “GitHub Copilot” from the dropdown menu. Look for any error messages or connection issues reported there.
5. Disable and Re-enable Copilot for Specific Languages (VS Code):
   • Go to Settings (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,). Search for “Copilot enable”.
   • Ensure the languages you’re working with (e.g., JavaScript, Python) are enabled. You might see a setting like "github.copilot.advanced": { "enabled": true } or language-specific overrides. Set it to true for relevant languages, or temporarily toggle the global github.copilot.enable setting off and then on again.

Verify Your GitHub Copilot Subscription and Authentication

GitHub Copilot requires an active subscription and proper authentication with your GitHub account. If your subscription has expired or your IDE isn’t correctly logged in, Copilot won’t function.

Why This Happens

An expired subscription, a revoked authentication token, or simply not being logged into GitHub in your IDE will prevent Copilot from accessing its AI services on GitHub’s servers.

1. Confirm Active GitHub Copilot Subscription:
   • Go to your GitHub account settings on the web: github.com/settings/copilot.
   • Verify that your subscription is active and has not expired.
2. Re-authenticate Your GitHub Account in Your IDE:
   • VS Code: Click on the “Account” icon (bottom-left gear or person icon) > “Sign in to GitHub”. If already signed in, try “Sign Out” and then “Sign In” again to refresh authentication tokens. You might also see a prompt from Copilot directly asking you to sign in.
   • JetBrains IDEs: Go to Settings/Preferences > Tools > GitHub Copilot. Ensure you are signed in. If not, click “Login to GitHub”. If you are, try “Logout” and “Login” again.
3. Check GitHub Status Page:
   • Visit www.githubstatus.com to see if there are any ongoing outages or performance issues with GitHub services, including Copilot.

Address Network and Firewall Issues

GitHub Copilot needs an active internet connection to communicate with GitHub’s servers and retrieve suggestions. Network restrictions, firewalls, or proxy settings can block this communication.

Diagnostic checklist before you escalate

Agent and coding-assistant failures span model access, repository context, permissions, tool execution, terminal state, and usage limits. Start with a bounded task and a clean workspace. Review every proposed command and diff, especially when the agent can modify files or call external services.

1. Confirm the selected model and plan support agent or tool use.
2. Open the correct project and refresh its index or repository context.
3. Check pending permission prompts, terminal errors, and ignored files.
4. Retry with a small task that names the file, desired behavior, and acceptance check.
5. Review diffs and tests before accepting changes or allowing destructive commands.

Verify the agent with a bounded, reversible task

Test GitHub Copilot Suggestions Not Showing: Fixes on a small task that has an obvious expected result, such as changing one label, explaining one function, or adding a focused validation check. Give the agent the relevant file and acceptance condition. A healthy run should read the right context, request necessary permission, make only the intended change, and report how it verified the result.

Inspect the complete diff before accepting it. Then run the repository’s formatter, type checker, and focused tests yourself. If the agent claims success without a diff or test evidence, treat the task as incomplete. Only after this bounded test should you allow broader edits, terminal commands, package changes, or access to external services.

• The agent uses the intended repository and files.
• Permission prompts appear before consequential actions.
• The diff is limited to the requested behavior.
• Tests and type checks pass independently.
• Reverting the test change is straightforward.

Keep a short note of the working configuration and the date of the test. Products, models, browser versions, limits, and safety policies change over time, so a previously successful workaround may later become obsolete. Prefer current official documentation over old forum instructions, and reverse temporary diagnostic changes once testing is complete. This gives you a reliable baseline without leaving extensions disabled, security controls weakened, or experimental settings enabled indefinitely. Recheck the baseline after major updates before assuming an older failure has returned for the same reason. When possible, save a screenshot or sanitized log from the successful test so you can compare future behavior without relying on memory alone during later troubleshooting.

When none of the fixes work

Repeat the smallest failing action once and record the exact local time and time zone. Note the product, model or feature, account plan, browser or app version, operating system, and whether the same action works in a private window, on another device, or on another network. This evidence is much more useful than saying the tool is “still broken.”

Use the provider’s official support channel. Include a screenshot with sensitive information removed and list the steps already tested. For developer tools, add sanitized request and response details, correlation IDs, and SDK versions. Never send passwords, one-time codes, API keys, session cookies, private repository contents, or complete payment information.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: Why did my Copilot stop working suddenly?

  A: Sudden issues often point to a temporary network blip, an expired authentication token requiring re-login, a recently released extension update with a bug, or a conflict with another newly installed extension. Check your internet, re-authenticate GitHub, and restart your IDE first.

• Q: Does Copilot work with all programming languages?

  A: GitHub Copilot is primarily trained on publicly available code, supporting a wide range of languages, with stronger support for popular ones like Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, C#, and Java. While it may offer suggestions in less common languages, its performance might vary.

• Q: How do I know if my Copilot subscription is active?

  A: You can verify your subscription status by visiting github.com/settings/copilot in your web browser. This page will display whether your subscription is active, its renewal date, or if it has expired.

To fix GitHub Copilot suggestions not showing, systematically check your extension’s status, verify your GitHub authentication and subscription, ensure stable network connectivity, and review editor-specific configurations.

Bottom line: Work from the least disruptive test to the most specific one. Confirm service health, isolate session and network variables, then escalate with clean evidence instead of repeating the same failing action.