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TOPICS Workspace Context

IN THIS ARTICLE What sources does `@workspace` use for context?

(https://vscode.dev/github/microsoft/vscode-docs/blob/main/docs/copilot/workspace-context.md)

Making Copilot Chat an expert in your workspace

Referencing @workspace in Copilot Chat lets you ask questions about your entire codebase. Based on the
question, Copilot intelligently retrieves relevant files and symbols, which it then references in its answer as
links and code examples. Grounded in @workspace references, Copilot Chat becomes a domain expert for
tasks like:

• Finding existing code in your codebase:

◦ "@workspace where is database connecting string configured?" - Explains where and
how the database connection is configured
◦ "@workspace how can I validate a date?" - Finds existing date validation helpers in the
codebase
◦ "@workspace where are tests defined?" - Provides the location of test suites, cases, and
related references and configurations
• Making plans for complex code edits:
◦ "@workspace how can I add a rich tooltip to a button?" - Provides a plan for using
the existing tooltip component with button elements
◦ "@workspace add date validation to #selection" - Plans how to apply the existing date
validation to the selected code
◦ "@workspace add a new API route for the forgot password form" - Outlines where to
add the new route and how to connect it to the existing code
• Explaining higher-level concepts in a codebase:
◦ "@workspace how is authentication implemented?" - Overview of the authentication flow
and references to the relevant code
◦ "@workspace which API routes depend on this service?" - Lists the routes that use the
service in the selected code
◦ "How do I build this #codebase?" - List the steps to build the project based on
documentation, scripts, and configurations

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What sources does @workspace use for context?

To answer your question, @workspace searches through the same sources a developer would use when
navigating a codebase in VS Code:

• All indexable files in the workspace, except for files that are ignored by a .gitignore file
• Directory structure with nested folder and file names
• GitHub's code search index, if the workspace is a GitHub repository and indexed by code search
(https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/copilot/github-copilot-enterprise/copilot-chat-
in-github/using-github-copilot-chat-in-githubcom#asking-a-question-about-a-specific-repository-
file-or-symbol)
• Symbols and definitions in the workspace
• Currently selected text or visible text in the active editor

Note
.gitignore is bypassed if you have a file open or have text selected within an ignored file.

How does @workspace find the most relevant context

Your full VS Code workspace can be too large to pass entirely to GitHub Copilot for responding to your
chat prompt. Instead, @workspace extracts the most relevant information from the different context
sources to ground Copilot's answer.

First, @workspace determines which information is needed to answer your question, also including the
conversation history, workspace structure, and currently selected code.

Next, it collects the context using different approaches, such as finding relevant code snippets by
searching locally or by using GitHub's code search (https://github.blog/2023-02-06-the-technology-
behind-githubs-new-code-search), and using VS Code's language IntelliSense to add details like function
signatures, parameters, and more.

Finally, this context is used by GitHub Copilot to answer your question. If the context is too large, only the
most relevant parts of the context are used. The response is marked up with references to files, file
ranges, and symbols. This enables you to link directly from the chat response to the corresponding
information in your codebase. The code snippets that were provided to Copilot are listed as references in
the response.

Context for @workspace slash commands

@workspace provides several slash commands as shorthand for commonly used tasks, saving you time

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and typing effort. Each command defines its own optimized context, often eliminating the need for
additional prompting or chat variables. Here are the available slash commands and their contexts:

Command Context

/explain • Starts with the text selection in the active editor ( #selection ). To optimize the
Copilot chat responses, make sure to expand the text selection to include any
relevant information to help Copilot provide a useful response.
• Looks up the implementations of referenced symbols such as functions and
classes, leading to more accurate and useful explanations.

/tests • Current text selection in the active editor. If no text is selected, use the contents
of the currently active file.
• Related existing test files, to understand existing tests and best practices.

/fix • Current text selection in the active editor. If no text is selected, use the currently
visible text in the editor.
• Errors and referenced symbols to understand what needs to be fixed and how.

/new • Only the chat prompt is used as context.

/ • Only the chat prompt is used as context.

newNotebook

You can explicitly expand the context by using chat variables, such as #editor , #selection , or #file
in your chat prompt. For example, to fix an error in the current file based on a pattern from another file,
use this chat prompt: @workspace /fix linting error in the style of #file:form.ts .

Managing the workspace index

Copilot uses an index to quickly and accurately search your codebase for relevant code snippets. This
index can either be maintained by GitHub or stored locally on your machine. This section covers the
different types of indices that Copilot can use (remote, local, and basic), and explains when each one is
used and how you can switch between them.

To see the type of index that Copilot is currently using, check the language status UI by selecting the {}
icon in the Status Bar. The Copilot workspace index entry shows both the index type along with any
relevant information about this index, such as the number of files being reindexed.

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Remote index
For GitHub repositories, Copilot can use GitHub code search (https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-
cloud@latest/copilot/using-github-copilot/asking-github-copilot-questions-in-github#asking-exploratory-
questions-about-a-repository) to build a remote index of your codebase. This allows Copilot to search
your entire codebase very quickly, even if the codebase is very large.

To use a remote index:

• Sign in with your GitHub account in VS Code.

• Open a project with a GitHub git remote. Make sure that you have pushed your code to GitHub too.

The remote index works best if GitHub has a relatively up-to-date version of your code, so make
sure to push your code to GitHub regularly.

• Build the remote index by running the Build remote workspace index command or by selecting the
Build Index button in the workspace index status UI.

It may take some time for the remote index to be built, especially for large codebases. You can
monitor the status of the remote index in the workspace index status UI.

Once the remote index has been built, GitHub automatically keeps it up-to-date whenever you push
code changes. You only need to run the Build remote workspace index command once per
repository.

Local index
For cases where you can't use a remote index, Copilot can instead use an advanced semantic index that is
stored on your local machine. This index can also provide fast, high quality search results. However it is
currently limited to 2500 indexable files. Unlike the remote index, the local index must be built once per
user per machine. With the remote index, all users of a given repo can all use the same index.

Copilot automatically builds an advanced local index if your project has under 750 indexable files. For
projects with between 750 and 2500 files, you can run the Build local workspace index command to start
indexing. This command only needs to be run once.

It may take some time to build the initial local index or update the index if many files have changed (such
as when switching git branches). You can monitor the current local index status in the workspace index
status UI.

Basic index
If your project does not have a remote index and also has more than 2500 indexable files, Copilot falls
back to using a basic index to search your codebase. This index uses simpler algorithms to search your

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codebase and has been optimized to work locally for larger codebases.

The basic index should work just fine for many questions. However, if you find that Copilot is struggling to
answer questions about your codebase, try upgrading to a remote index.

What content is included in the workspace index

Copilot indexes relevant text files that are part of your current project. This is not limited to specific file
types or programming languages, however Copilot automatically skips over some common file types that
are typically not relevant to @workspace questions, such as .tmp or .out files. Copilot also excludes
any files that are excluded from VS Code using the ! (vscode://settings/files.exclude)files.exclude
setting or that are part of the .gitignore file.

Copilot also currently does not index binary files, such as images or PDFs.

Tips for using @workspace

The way you phrase your question can significantly influence the quality of the references @workspace
provides and the accuracy of the response. To optimize results, consider the following tips:

• Be specific and detailed in your question, avoiding vague or ambiguous terms like "what does this
do" (where "this" could be interpreted as the last answer, current file, or whole project, etc.).
• Incorporate terms and concepts in your prompt that are likely to appear in your code or its
documentation.
• Review the used references in the response to ensure that the files are relevant. Iterate on your
question if necessary.
• Explicitly include relevant context by selecting code or mentioning chat variables such as #editor ,
#selection , or #file .
• Responses can draw from multiple references, such as "find exceptions without a catch block" or
"provide examples of how handleError is called". However, don't anticipate a comprehensive code
analysis across your codebase, such as "how many times is this function invoked?" or "rectify all
bugs in this project".
• Avoid assuming information beyond the code (for now), such as "who contributed to this file?" or
"summarize review comments for this folder".

Related resources

• Get started with the Copilot Chat tutorial (/docs/copilot/getting-started-chat)

• Use the Chat Participant API to build a chat extension (/api/extension-guides/chat)

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