IDE ↔ CLI Switching

Why This is Copilot-Exclusive

GitHub Copilot exists in both VS Code and the terminal under a single subscription and unified platform. You can start a conversation in VS Code's Copilot Chat, switch to the CLI for batch automation, and return to VS Code for visual debugging — all with the same model access, same MCP servers, and same GitHub integration. Claude Code is terminal-only with no IDE counterpart; switching contexts means losing your AI assistant entirely.

When to Use

• Visual tasks (diffing, debugging UI, extension-based tooling) → VS Code
• Batch operations, automation, scripting → CLI
• Large refactors that benefit from both visual review and automated execution
• When VS Code's Copilot Chat lacks a tool you need (SQL, fleet agents, MCP)
• Pair programming where one person uses IDE, another uses CLI

Workflow