Tracking Copilot Usage Without an API (Raycast + Month Progress)

#githubcopilot #productivity #github #devtools

GitHub Copilot shows usage only in the UI. No API, no programmatic access, just a bar chart buried in settings. Easy to burn through your monthly quota by day 13 when you can't quickly check where you stand.

I needed a fast, low-friction way to sanity-check my usage without opening browsers or scraping brittle HTML. Here's how I solved it with Raycast Script Commands and a mental model based on calendar progress.

The Problem

GitHub Copilot's limitations:

Usage data lives only in the UI at github.com/settings/copilot/features
No public API for remaining credits or usage percentage
Easy to burn quota early in the month without realizing it
Checking requires: open browser → navigate to settings → find Copilot → read chart

What I needed:

Fast feedback (1-2 keystrokes)
Zero maintenance (no scraping, no auth tokens)
Mental model: "I'm 42% through the month → usage bar should roughly match"

Solution: Raycast Script Commands

Raycast is a macOS launcher (like Spotlight or Alfred). Script Commands let you run bash scripts with hotkeys.

My approach:

Calculate % through the current month (calendar days)
Show a macOS notification with the percentage
Auto-open the Copilot usage page in the browser
Quick visual sanity check: "42% through month → usage should be ~40-45%"

Why Raycast instead of a CLI alias?

Always available (global hotkey)
Notifications > terminal output
Easy to trigger once configured correctly

Implementation

The script is available on GitHub: copilot-month-%-check.sh

Important Raycast setup details (this is where things can feel broken):

In Raycast, set your Script Directory in Raycast Settings → Extensions → Script Commands → Script Directory
Use Raycast's Create Script Command action
Open the file Raycast creates and paste in the script content
Save and run Reload Script Directory

Raycast is supposed to discover scripts from your Script Directory, and Reload Script Directory should refresh them. In practice, manually copying a script file into the folder often does not get picked up reliably. Creating the command via Raycast first, then pasting content into that generated file, consistently works.