How to Actually Get GitHub Copilot Working in JetBrains IDEs

Let's cut through GitHub's marketing department's fever dreams. GitHub made Copilot "free" in early 2025, which sounds great until you realize the limits. You get 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests per month. That sounds like a lot until you hit it on day 3 of actual development.

System Requirements: Any JetBrains IDE version 2024.1+ with an active internet connection and sufficient memory allocation.

The Account Situation

Just need a GitHub account to get started. No credit card, no trial period nonsense. Go to github.com/settings/copilot and click the button. Done.

If the free plan pisses you off (it will):

• Individual plan - $10/month for unlimited basic features. Worth it if you code more than hobby projects.
• Business plan - $19/month per user. Your company probably won't approve it.
• Enterprise - $39/month per user. Good luck navigating procurement purgatory.

June 2025 Update: GitHub now enforces premium request limits on paid plans. Your Pro plan includes unlimited GPT-4.1/GPT-4o usage, but advanced models cost extra and count toward your monthly premium allowance.

August 26, 2025 Update: GitHub just announced Grok Code Fast 1 in public preview for paid Copilot plans. It's free to try until September 2nd, then it'll count as premium requests. Only available in VS Code for now - JetBrains support coming later.

JetBrains IDE Compatibility

Works with basically everything JetBrains makes. If you're using IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, or PhpStorm, you're good. Even works with the free Community editions, which is actually nice of them.

Version reality check: Stick to 2024.1+ versions. Earlier versions have buggy chat integration that'll make you want to throw your laptop. IntelliJ 2024.1.1 specifically has a memory leak with Copilot chat - upgrade to 2024.1.2+ immediately.

Performance warning: Expect your IDE to use an extra 500MB+ RAM with Copilot running. If you're on an 8GB machine, prepare for some swapping. Fair warning.

Corporate Network Pain

If you're on a corporate network, Copilot might not work out of the box. Common blockers:

• Firewall blocking GitHub domains (needs *.github.com and *.githubusercontent.com)
• Proxy settings that break authentication
• VPN interference with the OAuth flow
• IT departments that hate AI tools (expect a 3-week approval process)

Pro tip: Test authentication on your home network first to verify your account works before fighting with corporate IT.

Skip the marketplace website bullshit. Just use your IDE's built-in plugin manager - it's faster and less likely to break.

Plugin Installation: The GitHub Copilot plugin is officially published by GitHub and supports all major JetBrains IDEs including IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and Rider.

Step 1: Install the Plugin (The Easy Way)

Don't overthink this:

1. Open your IDE (IntelliJ, PyCharm, whatever)
2. Hit Ctrl+Shift+A (or Cmd+Shift+A on Mac) and type "plugins"
3. Click on Plugins settings
4. Search for "GitHub Copilot" in the Marketplace tab
5. Click Install on the one published by GitHub (not some knockoff)
6. Restart when it asks. Don't be that person who skips the restart.

If you're on corporate Wi-Fi and it fails: Your network probably blocks plugin downloads. Try from home or bug your IT team about marketplace access.

Step 2: Authentication (Where Things Get Annoying)

After restarting, you'll get a notification to sign in. Or go to Tools → GitHub Copilot → Login.

Authentication Process Overview: GitHub uses device flow authentication - you get a code in your IDE, enter it on GitHub.com, authorize the app, then return to complete the setup.

The device code dance:

1. Click "Copy and Open" - this gives you a device code and opens GitHub in your browser
2. Paste the code in GitHub's device page
3. Click authorize
4. Go back to your IDE and click OK

When this inevitably breaks:

• Device code expired? Start over, but type faster this time
• OAuth error? Sign out completely: Tools → GitHub Copilot → Sign Out, then try again
• Still broken? Clear your IDE's auth cache: delete ~/.config/JetBrains/[IDE]/auth/ and restart

Corporate/Enterprise users: If you're on a managed GitHub account, change the server URL first: Settings → Tools → GitHub Copilot and update the server URL before authenticating.

Step 3: Test That It's Working

Quick smoke test:

1. Create a new .js or .py file
2. Type function calculateT and wait
3. You should see grayed-out suggestions appear
4. Hit Tab to accept or Esc to dismiss

If nothing happens: Check the Copilot icon in your status bar (bottom right). If it's red/crossed out, authentication failed. If it's grayed out, you're probably over your free limits already.

Test the chat: Right sidebar should have a chat icon. Click it and ask "how do I reverse a string in python". If you get a response, chat works.

Step 4: Settings That Actually Matter

Go to Settings → Tools → GitHub Copilot. Most defaults are fine, but:

• Auto-trigger: Keep enabled unless you want to manually hit Ctrl+Space every time
• Telemetry: Turn off if you care about privacy (you should)
• Content exclusion: Add patterns for files you don't want Copilot analyzing (.env, secrets/, etc.)

Don't bother with: Language-specific settings, keymap customization, or other advanced crap unless you have specific issues.

Step 5: When It Breaks (It Will)

Memory Management Tip: Copilot will significantly increase your IDE's memory usage. Monitor your system resources and increase heap size if needed.

Common problems and nuclear options:

Completions stopped working: Sign out and back in. 80% fix rate.

Chat is dead: Restart IDE. If still broken, disable and re-enable the plugin.

Performance is trash: If Copilot is eating your RAM, disable it on large files: Settings → Editor → Copilot → Disable for files over 1000 lines.

Hit your free limits: You'll get a notification. Either wait until next month or pony up $10 for unlimited.

Authentication randomly fails: Delete ~/.config/JetBrains/[IDE]/auth/ directory, restart IDE, authenticate again. This fixes authentication corruption issues that happen for no good reason.

That's it. If you followed this and it's still broken, the problem is probably your corporate network, not you.