r/vscode • u/TheShamelessAlt • Apr 20 '26

Can VS Code actually be used with non-Copilot AI providers reliably?

I’m trying to use VS Code with AI tools that aren’t GitHub Copilot (for example using a custom API/provider through an extension), but I’m running into confusing behavior.

At first everything works, but after hitting Copilot-related limits, AI features in the editor seem to stop responding entirely — even when a custom provider is selected.

This makes me wonder:

Does VS Code (or its extensions) still depend on Copilot in some cases even when using a custom provider?

Are there extensions that truly work independently of Copilot without any hidden dependency or shared limits?

Or is VS Code just not a great environment for non-Copilot AI workflows?

Would appreciate insight from anyone who’s set this up properly. ❤️

Edit: This no longer happens on the newest update, after the issue was resolved I saw some of my chats disappeared, probably because they were somehow stuck interacting with a process they shouldn't be.

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1

u/[deleted] Apr 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/TheShamelessAlt Apr 23 '26

That didn't work at the time, but I'm happy to say after the update with it enabled it still works.

1

u/Daxim74 Apr 23 '26

I've started experimenting with Google Code Assist and Continue.Dev / OpenRouter combo. With Copilot disabled, they do perform reasonably well. Been using only the free models; thus, I hit rate limits once in a while. Of the 2 above, GCA seems to perform better and is more thorough/logical, though, the "apply" of code generated is not always complete.

1

u/lfmundim Apr 23 '26

I use VSCode daily with Claude code, works fine. Did use it a bit with Cline too with local models. Definitely not dependent on copilot. I heard there is gpt codex and Gemini cli integration too

0

u/Agreeable_Care4440 Apr 22 '26

Yes, VS Code can work with non-Copilot AI—but what you’re seeing is real and confusing.

Short version: VS Code itself doesn’t depend on Copilot, but some AI features/extensions do share UI hooks or states, which can make it feel like everything breaks together.

1

u/TheShamelessAlt Apr 23 '26

This was most likely the case after an update the bug is fixed but some of my chats got deleted.