Copilot Tracer

NOTE: This extension was mainly vibe-coded. Thus, not every line of code may be perfectly clean or follow best practices.

Track your GitHub Copilot premium request usage directly in the VS Code status bar.

Copilot Tracer monitors how many premium requests you've used this month, calculates your daily budget, and shows a live pacing bar — so you never blow through your quota without realizing it.

Supports Individual, Business, and Enterprise plans with zero configuration.

Short overview always visible in the status bar, with a rich tooltip for deep insights. Works out of the box using your existing GitHub sign-in in VS Code, or optionally via a Personal Access Token.

When hovering over the status bar item, you'll see a detailed daily budget report with ASCII bar charts comparing your base rate, average usage, and current allowance — plus insights on how you're pacing against your monthly limit.

Features

• Daily budget pacing — see exactly how many premium requests you can use per remaining day
• Live status bar — always-visible daily allowance (20/day) with a multiplier when you're ahead or behind
• Rich tooltip — hover for a full daily budget report with ASCII bar charts comparing your base rate, average usage, and current allowance
• Session counter — tracks how many requests you've used since opening VS Code (+12)
• Color-coded status — green when on track, yellow when over budget, red when exhausted
• Auto-refresh — updates every 30 minutes (configurable) with smart rate-limit handling
• Zero config — works out of the box using your existing VS Code GitHub sign-in
• PAT fallback — optional Personal Access Token path for advanced setups
• Diagnostics command — built-in troubleshooting to verify API access

Status Bar States

Tooltip — Daily Budget Report

Hover over the status bar item for a detailed breakdown:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Copilot Daily Budget                        │
│                                              │
│  ✅ On track                                 │
│                                              │
│  You have 20 requests available per          │
│  remaining day.                              │
│                                              │
│  📊 Daily Rates                              │
│                                              │
│  base rate  ████████████░░░░░░░░  9.7/day    │
│  past avg   █████████░░░░░░░░░░░  7.2/day    │
│  allowance  ████████████████████  16.1/day ◀ │
│                                              │
│  🏦 +42 saved vs expected                    │
│                                              │
│  📅 Day 15/28 · 14 days left · 225 remaining │
│  🕒 Time of Day: 45% through the day         │
│  ⚡ Session Usage: 12 requests since opening  │
│                                              │
│  📈 Pace: ~215 / 300 by month end ✓          │
│                                              │
│  Click to refresh                            │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Connect GitHub Account

When no session is detected, the extension shows a one-click connect prompt.

Diagnostics Output

Run Copilot Tracer: Diagnose API Access to see raw API results.

How It Works

Authentication — Two Paths

Copilot Tracer uses a two-tier authentication strategy:

1. VS Code GitHub Session (Primary — Zero Config)

The extension silently reads your existing VS Code GitHub sign-in — the same session used by GitHub Copilot, Settings Sync, or any other GitHub-connected extension. No extra login, no PAT, no configuration.

VS Code GitHub Auth Session
        │
        ▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ GitHub Internal Copilot API │  ◀─ Same API that Copilot itself uses
│  /copilot_internal/v2/token │
└──────────┬──────────────────┘
           │ (returns quota data)
           ▼
   ┌───────────────┐
   │  Quota Found? │
   │   YES → done  │
   │   NO  → try   │
   │   Business EP │
   └───────┬───────┘
           ▼
┌──────────────────────────┐
│  /copilot_internal/user  │  ◀─ Business/Enterprise endpoint
│  (quota_snapshots)       │
└──────────────────────────┘

The extension never triggers a login prompt on this path — it only reads sessions that already exist. If you're signed in to GitHub in VS Code (check the Accounts icon in the bottom-left), it just works.

2. Personal Access Token — PAT (Fallback)

If no VS Code session is available (e.g., remote containers, restricted environments), you can manually provide a GitHub PAT:

The PAT is stored securely in VS Code's SecretStorage (OS keychain-backed) and is never logged or transmitted anywhere except to api.github.com.

Plan Detection

When planType is set to auto (default), the extension tries Individual first, then falls back to Business if the Individual endpoint returns no quota data.

GitHub APIs Used

The extension calls these GitHub API endpoints:

All requests use API version 2022-11-28 and go to https://api.github.com.

Pacing Calculation

The daily pacing engine calculates:

• Base daily budget = monthlyLimit / daysInMonth
• Daily allowance = remaining / daysRemaining (the hero number shown in the status bar)
• Multiplier = dailyAllowance / baseDailyBudget — above 1.0 means you have headroom, below 1.0 means pressure
• Banked = expectedByNow - usedRequests — positive means you've saved requests, negative means overspent
• Projected end = extrapolates your average daily usage to month end

The calculation accounts for time of day so numbers update smoothly throughout the day rather than jumping at midnight.

Private (Individual) Accounts

For personal GitHub Copilot subscriptions:

1. Sign in to GitHub in VS Code — use the Accounts icon (bottom-left) or any GitHub extension
2. The extension automatically detects your session and fetches quota from the Copilot internal API
3. No further configuration needed — your monthly limit is read directly from the API

If using a PAT instead:

1. Run Copilot Tracer: Set GitHub Token
2. Enter a PAT with read:billing scope
3. Your username is auto-detected on first run

Business / Enterprise Accounts

For organization-managed Copilot seats:

1. Sign in to GitHub in VS Code — the extension detects Business plans automatically via the /copilot_internal/user endpoint
2. Quota, remaining requests, and reset dates are all read from the API
3. No org name or plan type configuration needed

If using a PAT instead:

1. Run Copilot Tracer: Set GitHub Token with a PAT that has read:org scope
2. Set copilot-tracer.orgName to your organization's GitHub login (e.g., my-company)
3. Set copilot-tracer.planType to business
4. The extension queries the org-level billing API

Note: The PAT path for Business plans requires you to be an org owner or billing manager to access org-level billing data. The primary VS Code auth path works for all org members.

Installation

From Source

git clone https://github.com/your-username/copilot-tracer.git
cd copilot-tracer
npm install
npm run compile

Then press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.

Package as VSIX

npm run package

Install the generated .vsix file via Extensions → ⋯ → Install from VSIX…

Commands

Configuration

All settings are under the copilot-tracer namespace in VS Code settings:

Rate Limiting

The extension handles GitHub API rate limits gracefully:

• Caches quota data for at least 5 minutes between API calls
• Delays the initial API call by 10 seconds after activation to avoid startup congestion
• When rate-limited (HTTP 429), backs off automatically and retries after the Retry-After period
• Shows a clock icon with retry information in the status bar during cooldowns

Error Handling

Session Notifications

Every 10 requests used in the current VS Code session, a notification pops up to keep you aware of your spending rate. The session counter resets when you close VS Code.

Architecture

src/
├── extension.ts   — Entry point: activation, commands, refresh orchestration
├── api.ts         — GitHub API calls (internal + billing endpoints)
├── pacing.ts      — Daily budget calculation engine
├── settings.ts    — Settings resolution, token storage, username detection
├── statusBar.ts   — Status bar rendering (text, tooltip, colors)
└── types.ts       — Shared TypeScript interfaces

Data Flow

Activation (10s delay)
        │
        ▼
   ┌─────────┐     VS Code Auth     ┌──────────────────────┐
   │ refresh()├────────────────────►│ tryGetQuotaFromVSCode │
   │         │                      │  Auth()               │
   │         │◄─── quota found ─────┤                       │
   │         │                      └──────────────────────┘
   │         │
   │         │     PAT Fallback      ┌──────────────────────┐
   │         ├─── (no session) ────►│ resolveSettings()     │
   │         │                      │ resolveUsage()        │
   │         │◄─── usage data ──────┤                       │
   └────┬────┘                      └──────────────────────┘
        │
        ▼
  calculatePacing()  →  showPacing()  →  Status Bar

Troubleshooting

1. "Not connected" in status bar — Click the status bar item to sign in to GitHub, or use the Accounts menu (bottom-left in VS Code)
2. Shows 0 usage but you've been using Copilot — Your plan may be Business/Enterprise; the extension should detect this automatically, but you can set planType to business and provide your orgName
3. Rate limit errors — Wait a few minutes; the extension auto-retries. Avoid setting the refresh interval below 5 minutes
4. Run diagnostics — Use Copilot Tracer: Diagnose API Access from the Command Palette to see raw API responses in the Output panel

Requirements

• VS Code 1.90.0 or later
• GitHub Copilot subscription (Individual, Business, or Enterprise)
• Signed in to GitHub in VS Code (recommended) or a GitHub PAT

License

MIT