• GitHub’s Copilot now offers a choice of large language models, including Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 versions.
  • GitHub Spark allows developers to build web apps using plain English, powered by GitHub Actions and Azure CosmosDB.

GitHub today introduced several significant upgrades to its Copilot platform, including new multi-model support, an integration with Apple’s Xcode, and the launch of GitHub Spark for web app development through natural language.

Firstly, GitHub’s Copilot Chat now supports multiple large language models, giving developers a choice between Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 versions. Previously, Copilot Chat relied solely on OpenAI’s GPT-4. Anthropic’s Claude will launch first, with Google’s Gemini following soon after.

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke emphasized the importance of giving developers flexibility:

“We, at GitHub, believe in developer choice and that developers...prefer one of the competing models.”

By partnering with Anthropic and Google, GitHub aims to enhance task-specific functionality across languages and programming needs.

Additionally, GitHub is bringing Copilot to Apple’s Xcode, Apple’s primary development environment. Now available in public preview, Copilot will assist with code completion in Swift and Objective-C, Apple’s preferred languages, with plans to expand its features over time. Developers can access this feature immediately by installing the Copilot extension for Xcode, offering Apple developers the same AI-driven coding assistance already available on other platforms.

Lastly, GitHub unveiled Spark, a new experimental tool that allows developers to create small web apps using plain English prompts. Ideal for prototyping, Spark leverages GitHub Actions and Microsoft’s Azure CosmosDB for storage, providing a quick and accessible way to build functional prototypes without extensive coding.

“We truly believe this is the next step of personal software creation,” said Dohmke.

With no set complexity limits, Spark encourages developers to experiment with software creation through an intuitive, chat-based interface.

These upgrades reflect GitHub’s ongoing mission to make development more accessible, customizable, and user-centric across platforms.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah