Jessie Houghton discusses a new Visual Studio preview feature: attaching images in GitHub Copilot Chat. This enhancement allows developers to visually illustrate designs or issues, enabling Copilot to provide more precise and useful responses and code suggestions.

Leverage Image Attachments in GitHub Copilot Chat for Visual Studio Preview

Author: Jessie Houghton

Overview

Developers using Visual Studio’s preview channel can now attach images directly within GitHub Copilot chat, aiming to support more effective collaboration and generate contextually relevant responses from Copilot. This capability is particularly valuable when conveying design concepts or debugging complex UI or state-related issues, where text alone is insufficient.

How It Works

  • Supported Channels: The image attachment feature is available in the 17.13 Preview channels of Visual Studio.
  • Image Attachment Options:
    • Paste images directly from the clipboard.
    • Upload images using the paperclip icon in the chat window, selecting files from the explorer.
  • File Types Supported: PNG, JPG, and GIF (GIFs are limited to a single frame).
  • Attachment Limits: Up to three images can be added per message.

Once attached, Copilot analyzes the supplied visual content—such as screenshots or mockups—in combination with the user’s prompt, project files, and open documents in the IDE to craft a response or generate useful code.

Example Use Cases

  • UI Design Communication: Share a screenshot or design mockup when text can’t fully convey requirements.
  • Debugging: Attach error messages or problematic states for detailed troubleshooting.

A provided example demonstrated how Copilot recognized an uploaded image as a breakout game mockup, then generated a project scaffolding plan to create a working version of the game, drawing from the open file and the overall project context. Combined with Copilot edits, developers can rapidly evolve existing codebases based on the visual and textual cues provided.

Technical Notes

  • Model Support: Currently, image attachments are supported on the GPT-4o model in preview.
  • Limitations: Only the first frame of animated GIFs is used for analysis.

Feedback Invitation

Microsoft encourages users to provide feedback to help guide future improvements to Copilot’s capabilities within Visual Studio. Submit feedback via this survey.

As Visual Studio evolves, user feedback continues to drive innovation. Microsoft appreciates community contributions and is excited to extend this feature to enhance developer productivity and collaboration.

References:

This post appeared first on “Microsoft DevBlog”. Read the entire article here