copilot in vscode setup fail and can't sign in

[terrysun1216]

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Copilot Feature Area

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from time to time, copilot in vscode would sign out and can't sign in for a while. And from yesterday night, I can't sign in. tried many proxies, nothing worked.
and the output log says:
2025-05-12 11:57:39.363 [info] [certificates] Removed 1 expired certificates
2025-05-12 11:58:38.283 [error] [default] github.copilot.signIn: TokenResultError [CopilotAuthError]: Timed out waiting for authentication provider to register
at getSessionHelper (/home/terry/.vscode-server/extensions/github.copilot-1.317.0/extension/src/session.ts:79:42)
at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:95:5)
at signInCommand (/home/terry/.vscode-server/extensions/github.copilot-1.317.0/extension/src/auth.ts:25:5)
at /home/terry/.vscode-server/extensions/github.copilot-1.317.0/extension/src/telemetry.ts:23:13
at Wb.h (file:///home/terry/.vscode-server/cli/servers/Stable-19e0f9e681ecb8e5c09d8784acaa601316ca4571/server/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:119:41516) {
result: {
reason: 'NotSignedIn',
message: 'Timed out waiting for authentication provider to register'
},
[cause]: undefined
}

Copilot is really a life saver, how would I have you again?

[ahmetcangunay]

The "Timed out waiting for authentication provider to register" error in VS Code with GitHub Copilot typically indicates an authentication issue between the Copilot extension and your GitHub account. Here are steps to troubleshoot and resolve this:

1. Clear Copilot Cache and Reinstall:

• Go to your VS Code extensions folder:

  rm -rf ~/.vscode-server/extensions/github.copilot-*

• Reinstall the GitHub Copilot extension from the VS Code marketplace.

2. Clear Authentication Sessions:

• Go to VS Code settings (Settings > Accounts > Manage Trusted Extensions).
• Remove any existing GitHub or GitHub Copilot authentication.
• Re-authenticate with GitHub by signing in again.

3. Reset VS Code Authentication State:

• Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P).
• Type "Clear Authentication Session" and select "GitHub".
• Restart VS Code.

4. Use Direct Network (No Proxy) for Authentication:

• Disable any proxies you are using temporarily.
• Use a direct connection for authentication and ensure no VPN is active.

5. Manually Refresh Tokens (Linux):

• Delete the authentication token cache:

  rm ~/.config/VSCodium/User/globalStorage/github.copilot-token

• Restart VS Code and sign in again.

6. Ensure Your System Time is Correct:

• Make sure your system clock is accurate. Incorrect system time can cause authentication errors.

7. Check for Server Issues:

• Sometimes, GitHub Copilot servers might experience temporary issues. Check [GitHub Status](https://www.githubstatus.com/) for any known outages.

I hope that it could be the solution for your problem. Please let me know if there is any question. :)

[JohnBelliveauNB]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, this did not work for me, even though signing in to GitHub seems to work otherwise, for instance: pull requests.

Other feedback, which I hope will be useful:

1. Settings > Accounts > Manage Trusted Extensions. This just doesn't exist.
2. Command Palette -> Type "Clear Authentication Session" and select "GitHub". This also doesn't exist...

[CSharperMantle]

Really hated to say, but is this response AI-generated? All options are either generic boilerplate or nonexistent.

• Step 1: Not working. In fact, even removing ~/.vscode-server/* does not help.
• Step 2: No such option. I am using VS Code v1.100.2.
• Step 3: No such option.
• Step 4: I am not using proxies.
• Step 5: There's no such directory. BTW, would Microsoft ever use "VSCodium" for their own product?
• Step 6: I know what my config is.
• Step 7: We know how GitHub's doing.

[ghostinhershell]

Hi @ahmetcangunay,

We’ve clarified our stance on using generative AI tools like ChatGPT within our Community via this announcement. Please review the guidelines to ensure your post meets them as failure to adhere to those rules can result in action taken by our moderator team.  You can read our updated Code of Conduct and the announcement for more details. Thank you for helping us maintain an authentic and beneficial space for everyone.

[tyx8099]

I am facing the same error. Nothing happens when I click Sign in with a Github.com account.

[SrMallol2]

Have you found any solution?

[Arsfiqball]

I got same screen. Try to open developer tool (window menu Help > Toggle Developer Tools), maybe you will get some info. In my case the editor was unable to edit the authProvider config to "github" (so I had to change it manually in settings > github.copilot.advanced). Restart vscode after you edit settings.json

[CSharperMantle]

@Arsfiqball This works for me. In my case, authProvider was set to github-enterprise. I guess it was set by the Copilot Chat GUI (the "Signin with GitHub Enterprise" button), but somehow failed to be switched back. Thanks!

[tyx8099]

@Arsfiqball Works for me too! Thank you so much!

[SrMallol2]

@Arsfiqball Thank you so much!

[JerickaRussell]

@Arsfiqball Worked for me as well. My auth somehow changed to github-enterprise then ALL my instances changed due to settings sync. This was extremely helpful. Thank you!

[JohnBelliveauNB]

This is how I was able to resolve this using VSCode 1.100.2 on Windows 11 (Pro):

1. Navigate to extentions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
   • uninstall GitHub Copilot and GitHub Copilot Chat
2. Close VSCode
3. Remove the following folder contents from your PC
   • C:\Users<username>\AppData\Roaming\Code\User
   • C:\Users<username>\Appdata\Local\Temp
4. Start VSCode
   • reinstall GitHub Copilot and GitHub Copilot Chat
5. Follow prompts in VSCode to sign-in to GitHub

[imamul68e]

Its working for me. Thanks.

[vinodrkumars]

VSCode Copilot chat "Sign in to Github.com" not working, I have active copilot subscription, seeing following error in window/renderer.log

2025-05-26 12:49:21.212 [error] Failed to fetch token entitlements Server returned 403 2025-05-26 12:49:22.990 [info] [perf] Render performance baseline is 8ms 2025-05-26 12:49:23.521 [info] ComputeTargetPlatform: darwin-arm64 2025-05-26 12:49:23.527 [info] Started local extension host with pid 18273. 2025-05-26 12:49:23.941 [info] Settings Sync: Account status changed from uninitialized to unavailable 2025-05-26 12:49:24.341 [error] CodeExpectedError: No default agent registered at SCe.activateDefaultAgent (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Visual%20Studio%20Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:1986:32522) 2025-05-26 12:49:24.396 [error] Failed to fetch token entitlements Server returned 403 2025-05-26 12:49:26.130 [info] [perf] Render performance baseline is 8ms 2025-05-26 12:49:29.324 [error] [chat setup] Unresolvable error from Copilot agent registration, clearing registration. 2025-05-26 12:49:29.341 [error] No activated agent with id "setup.chat": Error: No activated agent with id "setup.chat" at gVe.getChatTitle (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Visual%20Studio%20Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:639:6253) at vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Visual%20Studio%20Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:1986:38105

user settings.json file

{ "editor.defaultFormatter": "ms-vscode.js-debug-companion", "[javascript]": { "editor.defaultFormatter": "vscode.typescript-language-features" }, "[json]": { "editor.defaultFormatter": "vscode.json-language-features" }, "github.copilot.advanced": { "authProvider": "github" }, "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.osx": "zsh", "diffEditor.ignoreTrimWhitespace": false }

[bibble235]

Thankyou adding this to Remote [WSL: Ubuntu-24.04] settings worked for me. First time on windows for 20 years at home what a nightware. Reboots it sleeps arghhhhhhh.

{
    "github.copilot.advanced": {
        "authProvider": "github"
    }
}

Actually did not work. Uninstalling under WSL copilot and co then worked. Sorry reloading windows sigh! Installing wsl 2.5.7 downgrading to 2.4.x and never installing docker. Not brave enough to start it. Machine up 2 days with copilot

[gburgalum01]

I encountered this same issue and couldn't figure out why the web browser wouldn't open to allow me to authenticate into GitHub to use Copilot. I tried clearing out the settings.json file but that accomplished nothing.

On another issue, someone suggested to check if the GitHub Authentication extension was disabled. For some reason, it was disabled. I was stumped because I had no problem cloning repositories or checking in code. As soon as I enabled the extension, I was able to log in to use Copilot.

See microsoft/vscode-copilot-release#3937 (comment) for additional information.

[shinybrightstar]

Hi @terrysun1216  👋🏾,It looks like @gburgalum01's response was the answer to your question here. Can you please mark their response as the answer? When you mark a question as an answer, GitHub will highlight the comment and replies to the comment to help visitors quickly find the answer.