Last updated: March 16, 2026

Install these extensions in order when switching from Copilot to Codeium: first the core “Codeium” extension for inline completions, then Codeium Chat for conversational AI assistance, followed by EditorConfig for consistent formatting that improves suggestion accuracy. Uninstall Copilot completely and restart your editor before installing Codeium to avoid completion engine conflicts. This guide covers the full setup including keyboard shortcut mapping, completion behavior configuration, and language-specific extension pairings.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following ready:

Step 1: Understand the Codeium Ecosystem

Codeium provides AI-powered code completion and chat functionality, but its strength lies in how it integrates with your existing development tools. Unlike Copilot, which relies heavily on Microsoft’s ecosystem, Codeium works with multiple editors and offers a more flexible extension model.

Before installing anything, ensure you have removed the Copilot extension completely from your editor. Leaving both extensions active can cause conflicts and unexpected behavior. Restart your editor after removing Copilot to ensure a clean slate.

Step 2: Essential VS Code Extensions for Codeium

1. Codeium: AI Code Completion

The core extension is simply called “Codeium” in the VS Code marketplace. This provides the basic AI completion functionality that replaces what Copilot was doing for you. Install this first and sign in with your Codeium account when prompted.

# From VS Code command palette
# Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac)
# Type: "Extensions: Install Extension"
# Search for: "Codeium"

After installation, the extension automatically enables inline completion. You will see suggestions appear as you type, similar to how Copilot worked. The key difference is that Codeium often provides more options in its completions menu, allowing you to cycle through different suggestions using the Tab key.

2. Codeium Chat

Codeium Chat brings conversational AI assistance directly into your editor. This extension allows you to ask questions about your code, request refactoring, or get explanations without leaving your development environment. It is particularly useful for understanding unfamiliar codebases quickly.

To access Codeium Chat, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+G (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+G (Mac) after installing the extension. A side panel opens where you can type natural language queries about your code.

3. Editor Config Support

Codeium works best when your editor settings are properly configured. The EditorConfig extension helps maintain consistent formatting across projects, which improves the accuracy of AI suggestions. When Codeium understands your code style, it produces more relevant completions.

Install the EditorConfig extension from the marketplace and add an .editorconfig file to your project root:

root = true

[*]
indent_style = space
indent_size = 4
end_of_line = lf
charset = utf-8
trim_trailing_whitespace = true
insert_final_newline = true

While not specific to Codeium, GitLens enhances your workflow by providing detailed git integration alongside AI assistance. When Codeium understands your git history, it can provide context-aware suggestions based on recent changes and code evolution.

GitLens shows you who last modified a line, recent commits affecting your code, and branch relationships. This context helps Codeium generate more relevant completions when working on large codebases with multiple contributors.

Step 3: Configure Codeium for Your Workflow

After installing the core extensions, take time to configure Codeium to match your preferences. Access settings through File > Preferences > Settings and search for “Codeium” to see all available options.

Setting Up Keyboard Shortcuts

Codeium uses different default shortcuts than Copilot. Review and customize these in your keyboard shortcuts settings:

Action Default Copilot Default Codeium

|——–|—————–|—————–|

Accept Suggestion Tab Tab
Dismiss Suggestion Esc Esc
Trigger Completion Alt+\ Ctrl+Shift+Space
Open Chat Not available Ctrl+Shift+G

Spend time during your first week adjusting these shortcuts to muscle memory. The investment pays off quickly when the shortcuts become automatic.

Configuring Completion Behavior

Codeium offers granular control over when completions appear. You can adjust settings such as:

For developers coming from Copilot, the most noticeable difference is Codeium’s “exhaustive completions” feature. This displays multiple suggestions simultaneously rather than a single suggestion. You can configure this in settings:

{
  "codeium.exhaustiveCompletions.enabled": true,
  "codeium.nInlineCompletions": 3
}

Step 4: Extension Recommendations by Language

Different languages benefit from different extension combinations when using Codeium. Here are targeted recommendations:

JavaScript/TypeScript Projects

For web development, add the ESLint and Prettier extensions alongside Codeium. These tools format and lint your code, ensuring Codeium sees clean, consistent code when generating suggestions. The AI performs better when your codebase follows established style guides.

Python Projects

Python developers should install Pylance for type checking and language support. When Pylance and Codeium work together, you get intelligent completions that understand Python type hints and library signatures. This combination rivals Copilot’s Python performance.

Rust Projects

For Rust development, rust-analyzer remains essential regardless of which AI assistant you use. Codeium works alongside rust-analyzer to provide completions that respect Rust’s ownership and borrowing rules.

Step 5: Verify Your Setup

After installing extensions, verify everything works correctly. Create a test file and try the following:

  1. Start typing a function and watch for Codeium suggestions

  2. Open Codeium Chat and ask about a piece of code

  3. Check that completions respect your .editorconfig settings

  4. Confirm keyboard shortcuts work as expected

If suggestions do not appear, check the Codeium status bar in VS Code. It should show your login status and API availability. A red indicator means there is an authentication issue or service disruption.

Step 6: Manage Multiple AI Assistants

If you use AI tools across different contexts, you might run Codeium alongside other assistants. For example, you might use Claude Code in your terminal for complex refactoring while using Codeium in your editor for inline completions. This combination works well because each tool excels in different scenarios.

However, avoid running Copilot and Codeium simultaneously in the same editor. The competing completion engines create confusion and degrade overall experience.

Step 7: Moving Forward

With your extensions installed and configured, spend your first few days actively using Codeium for routine tasks. The AI learns your coding patterns over time, so using it consistently improves suggestion quality. Do not hesitate to dismiss irrelevant suggestions—Codeium uses this feedback to refine future recommendations.

The transition from Copilot to Codeium requires an adjustment period, but installing the right extensions from the start minimizes disruption. Focus on the core Codeium extension and chat functionality first, then add supplementary tools as needed for your specific language and workflow.

Step 8: Understand Codeium’s Architecture Difference

Codeium uses a different completion model than Copilot, which affects how you should configure it. While Copilot uses OpenAI’s models, Codeium has its own trained model optimized for fast local inference that backs up to their cloud service.

This architecture difference has practical implications:

Speed advantage: Codeium caches completions locally, so repeated code patterns get suggestions instantly without server roundtrip. Typing similar code twice shows faster autocomplete the second time.

Language performance variance: Codeium’s training emphasized certain languages more than others. It performs exceptionally well on:

Less optimized languages (Go, Rust, Elixir) produce decent suggestions but may require more manual tweaking or chat assistance.

Context understanding: Codeium analyzes your current file more carefully than Copilot does. It doesn’t need to see your entire project—it builds a strong mental model from the current file context. This is good for private code (less data sent to servers) but means multi-file changes require explicit request rather than context awareness.

Step 9: Extension Installation Order and Dependencies

Install extensions in this specific order to avoid conflicts:

Phase 1: Core (5 minutes)

  1. Uninstall GitHub Copilot completely (Settings > Extensions > Uninstall)
  2. Restart VS Code
  3. Install Codeium (VS Code Marketplace, search “Codeium”)
  4. Sign in with GitHub/Google account
  5. Test: Start typing and verify suggestions appear

Phase 2: Chat (2 minutes)

  1. Install Codeium Chat (separate extension)
  2. Test: Press Cmd+Shift+G (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+G (Windows/Linux)
  3. Verify chat panel opens on the right side

Phase 3: Language Support (3 minutes per language) For your primary language, install:

Don’t install language packs you don’t use—they add startup time.

Phase 4: Supplementary (optional, 5 minutes)

Step 10: Configuration Tuning for Better Results

After installation, spend 10 minutes optimizing Codeium settings. In VS Code Settings:

{
  "codeium.enableIndexing": true,
  "codeium.indexDirectory": "${workspaceFolder}",
  "codeium.nInlineCompletions": 3,
  "codeium.inlineCompletionDelay": 75,
  "codeium.enterpriseMode": false,
  "codeium.showCompletionsInComments": true
}

enableIndexing: Codeium can index your codebase for better context. Enable this for large projects (10k+ LOC).

nInlineCompletions: Shows 3 completion options instead of 1. Cycle with Tab or arrow keys.

inlineCompletionDelay: 75ms is fast without being nervous. Increase to 150ms if you find suggestions disruptive.

showCompletionsInComments: Allow Codeium to suggest based on comments. Helpful: “// fetch users” gets suggestions for the fetch implementation. Disable if you find it noisy.

Migrating Your Keyboard Shortcuts

If you’ve customized Copilot shortcuts, map Codeium to the same keys:

Action Default Codeium Was Copilot Your Action
Accept Tab Tab ✓ Keep default
Dismiss Esc Esc ✓ Keep default
Open Chat Ctrl+Shift+G Not available ✓ Learn new shortcut
Next completion Ctrl+] Alt+] Remap if needed
Previous completion Ctrl+[ Alt+[ Remap if needed

To customize keybindings:

  1. Cmd+K then Cmd+S (Mac) or Ctrl+K then Ctrl+S (Windows/Linux)
  2. Search for “codeium”
  3. Modify bindings to match your muscle memory

If you had strongly ingrained Copilot shortcuts, consider keeping them the same rather than learning new ones—the adjustment period is long enough without fighting muscle memory.

Step 11: Fine-Tuning Completion Behavior by Language

Codeium allows per-language configuration:

{
  "[python]": {
    "codeium.enableAutocomplete": true,
    "codeium.completionLength": "medium"
  },
  "[javascript]": {
    "codeium.enableAutocomplete": true,
    "codeium.completionLength": "long"
  },
  "[go]": {
    "codeium.enableAutocomplete": true,
    "codeium.completionLength": "short"
  },
  "[sql]": {
    "codeium.enableAutocomplete": false
  }
}

Completion length:

This per-language tuning prevents Codeium from being too aggressive in some languages and too conservative in others.

Step 12: Manage Codeium in Team Environments

If your team uses Codeium, standardize on a few settings:

  1. Create .vscode/settings.json in your repo: 
    {
  "codeium.enableAutocomplete": true,
  "codeium.inlineCompletionDelay": 100,
  "codeium.nInlineCompletions": 2,
  "[python]": {
 "editor.defaultFormatter": "ms-python.python",
 "editor.formatOnSave": true
  }
}
  2. Commit this to version control: 
    git add .vscode/settings.json
git commit -m "Standardize Codeium configuration for team"
  3. Document in CONTRIBUTING.md: “Install Codeium from VS Code marketplace. Team settings are committed in .vscode/settings.json and will auto-apply when you open this repo.”

This prevents “it works great for me but not for you” configuration inconsistencies.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue: Suggestions aren’t appearing

Issue: Suggestions are wrong/irrelevant

Issue: Performance is slow

Issue: Suggestions are too aggressive

Step 13: Comparing Acceptance Rates: Codeium vs Copilot

Track your actual usage in week 1 vs week 2:

Week 1 (Copilot to Codeium transition):

Week 2-3 (Adjusting to Codeium):

Week 4+ (Settled):

If you’re at week 4 with <50% acceptance rate, Codeium might not match your workflow. If you’re >80%, the tool is perhaps too trusted—occasionally review suggestions critically.

Step 14: Integrate Codeium Into Your Development Workflow

The best integration approach differs by role:

For frontend developers: Codeium excels at React/Vue/Angular component generation. Create a template component and let Codeium expand it:

const UserCard = ({ user }) => {
  // Codeium suggests full component implementation including hooks
}

For backend developers: Codeium is strong on API boilerplate and database queries. Use chat for architectural questions:

// Type: "Codeium Chat" > "Design a database schema for a blog with users, posts, and comments"

For data scientists: Codeium’s Python is strong but limited in ML libraries. Use for data manipulation, supplement with chat for model architecture.

For DevOps/Infrastructure: Codeium struggles with configuration files. Disable for YAML/HCL, use chat mode for infrastructure code generation.

Target your usage where Codeium is strong rather than fighting it in weak areas.

Step 15: The Long-term Perspective

By month 2-3 of using Codeium, you’ll have developed habits distinct from Copilot users:

At that point, revisit whether Codeium is genuinely faster than Copilot for your workflow, or whether you’d be happier back with Copilot. There’s no shame in switching back if the tool doesn’t match your style—the goal is productivity, not loyalty.

Many developers eventually use both: Codeium for primary coding, Copilot for specific projects where it’s already installed or required by the organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this article written for?

This article is written for developers, technical professionals, and power users who want practical guidance. Whether you are evaluating options or implementing a solution, the information here focuses on real-world applicability rather than theoretical overviews.

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We update articles regularly to reflect the latest changes. However, tools and platforms evolve quickly. Always verify specific feature availability and pricing directly on the official website before making purchasing decisions.

Does Copilot offer a free tier?

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