# Setting up GitHub Copilot for yourself

Follow these steps to start using Copilot.

## 1. Get access to GitHub Copilot

There are a few ways that you can get access to GitHub Copilot:

* **Use Copilot Free**. Get a limited experience of Copilot with up to 2,000 inline suggestion requests and limited chat and agent usage-no paid plan required. See [Plans for GitHub Copilot](/en/copilot/concepts/billing/individual-plans).

* **Sign up for a paid plan**. You can subscribe to one of these plans:

  * **Copilot Pro**, which includes access to premium models and a monthly allowance of AI credits. [Subscribe to Copilot Pro](https://github.com/github-copilot/signup?ref_product=copilot\&ref_type=purchase\&ref_style=text\&ref_plan=pro).
  * **Copilot Pro+**, which includes a higher monthly allowance of AI credits and access to all available models. [Subscribe to Copilot Pro+](https://github.com/github-copilot/signup?ref_product=copilot\&ref_type=purchase\&ref_style=text\&ref_plan=pro).
  * **Copilot Max**, which includes advanced AI models and our highest individual monthly allowance of AI credits. [Subscribe to Copilot Max](https://github.com/settings/billing/licensing?ref_product=copilot\&ref_type=purchase\&ref_style=text\&ref_plan=max).

* **Use Copilot through your organization or enterprise**. If you're part of an organization or enterprise with a Copilot plan, you can request access at <https://github.com/settings/copilot> under "Get Copilot from an organization."

* **Verified students** can sign up to Copilot Student to access Copilot for free. See [Access GitHub Copilot for free as a student](/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-on-github/set-up-copilot/enable-copilot/set-up-for-students).

* **Verified teachers or open source maintainers** may be eligible to use Copilot for free. See [Access Copilot Pro for free as a teacher or open source maintainer](/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-on-github/set-up-copilot/enable-copilot/set-up-for-teachers-and-os-maintainers).

## 2. Install the Copilot extension for your IDE

If you want to use Copilot in your IDE, install the Copilot extension for your IDE. See [Installing the GitHub Copilot extension in your environment](/en/copilot/how-tos/set-up/install-copilot-extension).

## 3. Install the Copilot extension for the command line

If you want to use Copilot in the command line, install the Copilot extension for the GitHub CLI. See [Installing GitHub Copilot CLI](/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-cli/set-up-copilot-cli/install-copilot-cli).

## 4. Use Copilot in Windows Terminal

If you want to chat with Copilot in Windows Terminal, connect Copilot with Terminal Chat in Windows Terminal Canary. See [Quickstart for GitHub Copilot](/en/copilot/get-started/quickstart?tool=windowsterminal).

## 5. Set up networking (if necessary)

If you connect through an HTTP proxy server or firewall, ensure that key URLs are added to the allowlist for the proxy server or firewall. See [Copilot allowlist reference](/en/copilot/reference/copilot-allowlist-reference).

You may also need to install a custom SSL certificate on your machine. See [Configuring network settings for GitHub Copilot](/en/copilot/how-tos/configure-personal-settings/configure-network-settings#installing-custom-certificates).

## 6. Configure settings (optional)

All users can configure Copilot settings in their IDE. See [Configuring GitHub Copilot in your environment](/en/copilot/how-tos/configure-personal-settings/configure-in-ide).

If you have your own Copilot plan (instead of using your organization or enterprise's plan), you can:

* **Install Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers** to integrate with Copilot Chat. See [Extending GitHub Copilot Chat with Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers](/en/copilot/how-tos/provide-context/use-mcp-in-your-ide/extend-copilot-chat-with-mcp).
* **Manage policies**. See [Managing GitHub Copilot policies as an individual subscriber](/en/copilot/how-tos/manage-your-account/manage-policies).
* **Enable Copilot Memory**, which allows Copilot to generate and store useful information about your repositories. See [About GitHub Copilot Memory](/en/copilot/concepts/agents/copilot-memory).

## 7. Start using Copilot

Start using Copilot to help you write code faster and more efficiently. For all the ways you can use Copilot, see [How-tos for GitHub Copilot](/en/copilot/how-tos). Copilot code suggestions, Copilot Chat in GitHub, and Copilot Chat in your IDE are a great place to start.

To get started with agent-driven development in the GitHub Copilot app, see [Getting started with the GitHub Copilot app](/en/copilot/how-tos/github-copilot-app/getting-started).

To learn how to best use Copilot, see [Best practices for using GitHub Copilot](/en/copilot/get-started/best-practices) and [Prompt engineering for GitHub Copilot Chat](/en/copilot/concepts/prompting/prompt-engineering).