GitHub’s new AI coding agent can fix bugs for you

GitHub is launching an AI coding agent that can do things like fix bugs, add features, and improve documentation — all on a developer’s behalf. The agent is embedded directly into GitHub Copilot, and it will start working once a user assigns it a task, according to an announcement at Microsoft Build.

To complete its work, GitHub says the AI coding agent will automatically boot a virtual machine, clone the repository, and analyze the codebase. It also saves its changes as it works, while providing a rundown of its reasoning in session logs. When it’s finished, GitHub says the agent will tag you for review. Developers can then leave comments that the agent will automatically address.

Aside from GitHub, other AI companies have revealed AI coding agents of their own. Google took the wraps off Jules in December, while OpenAI showed off ChatGPT’s coding agent, called Codex, last week.

“The agent also incorporates context from related issue or PR (pull request) discussions and follows any custom repository instructions, allowing it to understand both the intent behind the task and the coding standards of the project,” GitHub says. The new coding agent is available to Copilot Enterprise and Copilot Plus through GitHub’s site, its mobile app, and the GitHub Command Line Interface tool.

Microsoft also announced that it’s open-sourcing GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code, which means developers will be able to build upon the tool’s AI capabilities.