I Built a VS Code Extension That Turns GitHub Copilot Into a Full OpenAI-Compatible API

The Problem

I was paying for too many AI services.

• GitHub Copilot: $10/month
• OpenAI API: $50-100/month
• ChatGPT Plus: $20/month

One day I realized something obvious: Copilot uses GPT-4. I'm already paying for access to one of the best language models. I just couldn't use it outside of VS Code's autocomplete.

So I fixed that.

What I Built

GitHub Copilot API Gateway — a VS Code extension that exposes your Copilot subscription as a local HTTP server.

It implements three API formats:

• OpenAI (/v1/chat/completions)
• Anthropic (/v1/messages)
• Google Gemini (/v1beta/models/:model:generateContent)

Any tool that works with these APIs now works with your Copilot subscription.

Why This Matters

For Individual Developers

You no longer need to:

• Pay for OpenAI API credits to test LangChain
• Set up Ollama and download 40GB models
• Configure local inference with LM Studio
• Manage API keys across different services

Just point your code at http://127.0.0.1:3030/v1 and it works.

For Teams and Enterprises

The math is simple:

Without This	With This
$10 Copilot + $50-200 API costs	$10 Copilot
Per developer, per month	Per developer, per month

For a team of 50, that's potentially $2,500-10,000/month in savings.

How It Works

Installation

# Install from VS Code Marketplace
ext install suhaibbinyounis.github-copilot-api-vscode

Or search "GitHub Copilot API Gateway" in VS Code.

Start the Server

1. Open the Copilot API sidebar
2. Click "Start Server"
3. Server runs at http://127.0.0.1:3030

Use It

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="http://127.0.0.1:3030/v1",
    api_key="not-needed"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

That's it. Your existing OpenAI code works unchanged.

Framework Integrations

LangChain

from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI

llm = ChatOpenAI(
    base_url="http://127.0.0.1:3030/v1",
    api_key="not-needed"
)

response = llm.invoke("Explain recursion")

LlamaIndex

from llama_index.llms.openai import OpenAI

llm = OpenAI(
    api_base="http://127.0.0.1:3030/v1",
    api_key="not-needed"
)

AutoGPT / CrewAI / Any Agent

export OPENAI_API_BASE=http://127.0.0.1:3030/v1
export OPENAI_API_KEY=not-needed

# Now run your agent
python agent.py

Built-in AI Apps

The extension also includes purpose-built AI applications:

• Playwright Test Generator — Describe tests in English, get complete projects
• Code Review Assistant — AI feedback on your diffs
• Commit Message Generator — Semantic commits from staged changes
• Documentation Generator — Auto-docs for any codebase

These run directly in VS Code. No external tools needed.

Security Features

This isn't a toy. It includes production-ready security:

• IP allowlisting
• Bearer token authentication
• Rate limiting
• Request payload limits
• Automatic data redaction in logs

Configure via VS Code settings:

{
  "githubCopilotApi.server.apiKey": "your-secret",
  "githubCopilotApi.server.ipAllowlist": ["192.168.1.0/24"],
  "githubCopilotApi.server.rateLimitPerMinute": 60
}

API Documentation

Full Swagger UI included at /docs:

Source Code

Everything is open source:

suhaibbinyounis / github-copilot-api-vscode

VS Code extension that exposes the GitHub Copilot API for custom integrations and developer workflows.

GitHub Copilot API Gateway

Transform your GitHub Copilot subscription into a complete AI development platform.

Apps Hub • API Gateway • Getting Started • Configuration • Integrations

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Why This Extension?

GitHub Copilot API Gateway is more than just an HTTP server—it's a complete AI development platform that maximizes your Copilot subscription:

What You Get	Without This Extension	With This Extension
AI Apps	None	6 enterprise-grade apps built into VS Code
API Access	None	Full OpenAI, Anthropic, Google API compatibility
External Tools	Limited	LangChain, AutoGPT, CrewAI, and 50+ frameworks
MCP Support	None	Connect any Model Context Protocol server
Cost	$10/month (Copilot only)	$10/month (everything included)

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🎯 Enterprise Apps Hub

Access powerful AI apps directly in VS Code—no external tools needed.

Click 📦 Open Apps Hub in the Copilot API sidebar to launch:

Available Apps

App	What It Does
🎭 Playwright Script Generator	Generate complete Playwright test projects from natural language descriptions

…

View on GitHub

Try It

ext install suhaibbinyounis.github-copilot-api-vscode

Or visit the VS Code Marketplace.

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If this is useful, consider starring the repo. Questions or feedback? Drop a comment below.