News
Claude Opus 4.5 Lands in GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio and VS Code
GitHub has added Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.5 to the set of models available in GitHub Copilot Chat, and the model is now selectable directly inside Microsoft developers' primary tools: Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio.
The company says Claude Opus 4.5 is available in public preview for Copilot Enterprise, Copilot Business, Copilot Pro, and Copilot Pro+ customers. Users in those tiers can pick the model from the chat model picker while using Copilot Chat in agent, ask, and edit modes. Availability spans multiple Copilot surfaces, including github.com, GitHub Mobile, and the supported IDE integrations.
Microsoft earlier announced the new model was being made available as a
preview in Microsoft Foundry.
For VS Code users, this means Claude Opus 4.5 appears as an option in the Copilot Chat model picker within the editor, allowing teams to switch between models depending on task and preference. Visual Studio users likewise get Claude Opus 4.5 in the same model picker workflow inside the IDE. GitHub frames the change as broadening the model choices available in Copilot Chat, with the selection experience consistent across supported clients. If a user does not see the model yet, GitHub notes that access is rolling out and advises checking again later.
Admin control is part of the rollout. GitHub says Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise administrators must explicitly opt in to enable access by turning on the Claude Opus 4.5 policy in Copilot settings. Once that policy is enabled, users within the organization should see the model in their picker. This indicates the preview is governed at the organization level for managed Copilot plans, giving IT and engineering leadership a gate before the model becomes selectable in Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code.
GitHub also lists additional IDEs and editors where the same option is available. Claude Opus 4.5 can be selected in Copilot Chat in JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, and Eclipse, alongside the existing availability on github.com and GitHub Mobile. In other words, Copilot's model picker is becoming a cross-editor feature for subscribers, with Claude Opus 4.5 joining the lineup wherever Copilot Chat runs.
The announcement is short and does not add performance claims, benchmarks, or task-specific guidance beyond where the model can be used and who can access it. Still, the placement inside VS Code and Visual Studio is notable for Microsoft-focused developers because it brings another high-end model choice into the daily Copilot workflow without requiring any separate extension or tool. The preview status means GitHub is still collecting feedback, and the company points users to its usual Copilot channels for model-related documentation and community input.
About the Author
David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.