7 Easy Hacks to Supercharge Coding with GitHub Copilot & Sublime

7 min readAug 14, 2023

As a developer, you’re always looking for tools and technologies that can help you streamline your coding process and deliver better results. Two such tools that have garnered attention in the coding community are GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text.

What is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant that seamlessly integrates with your development environment to help you write better code. Think of it as a pair programmer who can understand your code context, predict your needs, and provide you with real-time suggestions. GitHub Copilot learns from billions of lines of public code and leverages that knowledge to enhance your coding experience.

What is Sublime Text?

Sublime Text, on the other hand, is a sophisticated text editor for code, markup, and prose. Developers love it for its fast, efficient, and highly customizable nature. Sublime Text offers a smooth and distraction-free coding environment with many keyboard shortcuts, a minimap for quick navigation, and the ability to edit multiple areas of your codebase simultaneously.

Integration of GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text

You create a powerhouse coding setup when you combine the predictive and assistive capabilities of GitHub Copilot with the efficient and customizable environment provided by Sublime Text. Integrating these two tools makes coding more streamlined and enhances the final output’s quality.

Using GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text together can enhance productivity, automate repetitive tasks, boost your learning curve, and align your code with the latest standards. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a beginner, this combination can make coding more straightforward, efficient, and enjoyable.

Now that we’ve understood these tools’ basic functionalities and benefits let’s dive into seven easy hacks to supercharge your coding experience with GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text.

3 Hacks to supercharge your workflow with Copilot and Sublime

Here we will explore leveraging the integration of GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text to enhance your productivity and collaboration skills.

1. Use Copilot to generate code snippets

One of the most significant advantages of GitHub Copilot is its ability to generate code snippets based on the context of your code. This feature is a time-saver, especially when working with complex code structures, such as loops or conditional statements.

GitHub Copilot’s code generation shines when dealing with more advanced logic. Let’s say you’re implementing a sorting algorithm in Java. If you start typing ‘merge sort,’ GitHub Copilot could generate a snippet like this:

This is a typical merge sort implementation in Java. It breaks down the array into two halves, recursively sorts them, and finally merges them. This could save you significant time, especially when dealing with complex algorithms you might not fully remember.

2. Use Copilot to automate repetitive tasks

Repetitive tasks such as code formatting or linting can be time-consuming. However, you can automate these tasks with GitHub Copilot, freeing up your time to focus on more complex coding challenges.

For example, if you’re working on a Python project in Sublime Text and need to write a unit test for a specific function, GitHub Copilot might suggest something like this:

Here, GitHub Copilot generates a standard unittest structure in Python. It creates a test case class ‘TestMyFunction’ from ‘unittest.’ TestCase’ defines a test method ‘test_function’ and checks if the function output matches the expected result. This example can save you time and ensure your tests are consistent and complete.

3. Use Copilot to collaborate with others

Collaboration is critical to most software projects. Maintaining code style and structure consistency is crucial when working in a team. GitHub Copilot shines by suggesting code that aligns with your team’s coding style.

Suppose your team follows the Singleton design pattern in Python; GitHub Copilot will recognize this pattern and suggest code in the same style:

In this example, GitHub Copilot generates a Singleton pattern in Python, ensuring that only a single instance of the ‘Singleton’ class can exist. This pattern can be complex to remember, especially for new developers, so having GitHub Copilot generate it can help maintain consistency and accuracy in your team’s code.

4 Hacks to improve your code quality with Copilot and Sublime

According to developers, here are the four most useful hacks for developers to improve the code quality with Copilot and sublime Text.

1. Use Copilot to help you write better code

GitHub Copilot is fantastic for suggesting efficient, well-formatted, and bug-free code. For instance, suppose you’re trying to create a Java method that calculates the factorial of a number. As you start typing, GitHub Copilot might provide a suggestion:

Here, GitHub Copilot suggests an iterative approach to calculate the factorial of a number. This code is well-formatted, efficient (O(n) time complexity), and likely bug-free, saving you debugging time and ensuring your code is performant.

2. Use Copilot to help you find and fix bugs

GitHub Copilot can be instrumental in debugging, especially when dealing with more complex bugs. For example, suppose you’re dealing with a null pointer exception in your Java code but can’t seem to locate the source. As you’re typing out your error message in a comment, GitHub Copilot may suggest a potential fix:

GitHub Copilot can identify that you need to check if the object is null before calling a method. This simple suggestion can help you quickly resolve null pointer exceptions, one of the most common bugs in Java.

3. Use Copilot to help you learn new programming concepts

GitHub Copilot can be a great learning tool as well. For instance, suppose you’re learning about asynchronous programming in JavaScript and are unsure how to use Promises. As you start typing a function with a Promise, GitHub Copilot might suggest something like:

In this example, GitHub Copilot generates a simple asynchronous function using JavaScript Promises. It demonstrates creating a new Promise that simulates an asynchronous operation with ‘setTimeout.’ After the operation, the Promise is resolved with a ‘Resolved!’ value. This example could help you understand how Promises work in JavaScript.

4. Use Copilot to stay up-to-date with coding standards

GitHub Copilot can suggest code that aligns with the latest coding standards. For example, if you’re writing Python code and you start defining a function using the older % formatting, GitHub Copilot might suggest you use f-strings, a newer and more preferred method of formatting:

In this example, GitHub Copilot identifies the outdated string formatting and suggests a version using Python’s f-strings, generally considered more readable and efficient. This helps ensure your code stays modern and in line with current best practices.

A final rundown

This article covers seven critical strategies for integrating GitHub Copilot with Sublime Text to supercharge your coding efficiency and effectiveness. We have seen how GitHub Copilot can help generate code, automate repetitive tasks, facilitate collaboration, enhance code quality, assist in debugging, support learning new programming concepts, and keep up-to-date with coding standards.

Each of these hacks offers unique benefits, and when combined, they greatly enhance your coding productivity and code quality. Using GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text together helps you write better, cleaner, and more efficient code while saving time on debugging and learning new concepts.

It also keeps you abreast of the latest coding practices, helping to ensure that your work is always on the cutting edge of technology.

The integration of GitHub Copilot with Sublime Text will only improve. With ongoing advancements in AI and machine learning, we can expect even more sophisticated code suggestions, greater automation capabilities, and new features that we can’t anticipate yet.

So, why wait? Start exploring these tips and tricks today, and take your Java development to the next level with GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text. The future of coding is here, and it’s more powerful and efficient than ever.

Frequently Asked Questions. (FAQs)

After exploring the FAQ, you’ll be well-equipped to unleash the full potential of your coding endeavors with the dynamic duo of GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text.

Q1. Can I customize GitHub Copilot and Sublime Text for my preferences?

Yes, both Copilot and Sublime Text offer customization options. You can configure Copilot’s settings, such as enabling or disabling specific types of suggestions, adjusting confidence levels, and providing feedback to improve its suggestions. Sublime Text allows customization of various aspects, including themes, keybindings, and plugins.

Q2. What is the difference between Copilot X and the original Copilot?

Copilot X is an enhanced version of the original Copilot. It incorporates advancements and improvements based on user feedback and further training. Copilot X may offer additional features, improved accuracy, and enhanced code suggestions compared to the original Copilot.

Q3. Are there any security considerations when using GitHub Copilot?

While Copilot strives to generate helpful and reliable code suggestions, reviewing and validating the suggestions it provides is essential. As with any code, it’s important to consider security best practices and thoroughly test the generated code for potential vulnerabilities.