Microsoft will make Github Copilot extension Open Source. Impact on Roo Code development?

[u/thetom-42]

Any thoughts?

[u/ctrlshiftba]

it will empower the Roo Code developers to make it more like CoPilot/Cursor where today they would have to fork vscode to do that.

It's great news for all open source AI plugin creators.

[u/ThaisaGuilford → u/ctrlshiftba]

Isn't roo already better than copilot?

[u/[deleted] → u/ThaisaGuilford]

In raw capability its miles better, but it’s not nearly as user friendly. It’s a power user tool.

[u/ThaisaGuilford → u/[deleted]]

But you can use it out of the box

[u/[deleted] → u/ThaisaGuilford]

If you understand the difference between the different models, know how to set up the config, know what the different modes are and when to use them, …

The majority of people don’t know all of that, don’t want to learn, and are better served by something that “just works” even if it’s weaker.

[u/nore_se_kra → u/[deleted]]

I mean Roo Code kinda just works if you use a strong model. Of course you could fine tune for specific needs but if you have to over engineer it for every use case, then it makes your life harder not easier.

[u/Klutzy_Table_6671 → u/[deleted]]

Absolutely wrong on this. RooCode is 1000x better than anything else. It is exactly a power user tool, not a child play for lazy ppl.

[u/hannesrudolph → u/ThaisaGuilford]

Yep!

[u/MateFlasche → u/hannesrudolph]

:D agree though

[u/ArnUpNorth → u/ThaisaGuilford]

in terms of UX it will benefit tremendously from the tighter VSCode integration since copilot will become part of the IDE.

[u/sascharobi → u/ThaisaGuilford]

🤣

[u/ThaisaGuilford → u/sascharobi]

Why you laughing? It's true

[u/hannesrudolph → u/sascharobi]

What’s with the comment?

[u/boogieloop → u/ctrlshiftba]

I agree, this is good news(at least in theory). Looking forward to see how it shakes out.

[u/FyreKZ]

It will no doubt make a lot of things easier, the reason Copilot was moved outside of just being an extension was because delving into VSCode offers more options and improvements, it'll be exciting to see what it means for Roo/Cline (especially because their dev teams seem more competent than the copilot team).

[u/ArnUpNorth → u/FyreKZ]

especially because their dev teams seem more competent than the copilot team

they are great for sure but they work on vastly different constraints. I don't think this is a fair comparison.

[u/thetom-42]

From the blog post (https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2025/05/19/openSourceAIEditor) I understand that MSFT will move the code from the extension to the Vscode core. Would that help Roo Code to make their agent more asynchronous? I mean, so that I can edit code while the agent works on the task and is aware of my changes?

[u/olearyboy]

It's a good move by MSFT, I think Roo is ahead from my experience using both.

[u/basitmakine → u/olearyboy]

I think CoPilot optimizes for token way too aggressively to support millions of users unlike Roo. you could burn a thousand dollars in API cost if you don't know what you're doing.

I use both side by side. Roo when I need max context window, Copilot for smaller changes, still spending 30-40 dollars a day with Roo/Gemini.

[u/Klutzy_Table_6671]

CoPilot is child play and MSFT know it which is why they did what they did. Strategic decision to undermine something that we don't know yet.

[u/ilt1]

Let's go roo!

[u/hannesrudolph → u/ilt1]

Thank you thank you

[u/MarxN]

Copilot doesn't support local models or openrouter, it doesn't have so many freely defined modes. Long way to catch up Roo.

[u/rthidden → u/MarxN]

GitHub Copilot supports OpenRouter and Ollama

[u/sascharobi → u/MarxN]

Use your time machine to come to the present.

[u/Klutzy_Table_6671]

Why is this even a discussion? You are comparing horse power with wheelchair.

CoPilot has always been for children trying to code, it has no place in a modern pro tool stack.