AI coding tools for VS Code

Copilot

  • VS Code's native companion chat
  • Default model is Github Copilot, has free tier, can be upgraded
  • Supports OpenAI ChatGPT and Anthropic Claude up to a level
  • Higher levels can be added
  • Other models can be added, ie
    • Chat GPT
    • Claude

ChatGPT

  • OpenAI (the provider)
  • Chat GPT for general knowledge
  • Chat GPT Codex is the version for development
  • Has web version
  • Has desktop version
  • Has VS Code plugin
  • Has terminal version (Codex CLI)
  • Models: GPT 5.1 Codex, GPT 5.1 Codex Max

Claude

  • Anthropic (the provider)
  • Claude for general knowledge
  • Claude Code is the version for development
  • Has web version
  • Has desktop version
  • Has VS Code plugin
  • Has terminal version (Code Terminal)
  • Models: Opus, Sonnet, Haiku

Cursor, Warp: standalone apps, wrapper AI tools for development, support many models. 

Gemini only has web version, can be used in VS Code via the Gemini Code Assist extension. 

Usual modes

  • Agent
  • Plan
  • Ask
  • Edit