Re-authenticating GitHub Copilot can help when VS Code has an unusable sign-in session. It is not a cure for every missing suggestion, and it should not require deleting your operating system’s credentials or extension-storage folders.
If you only want to use a different GitHub account, first check the Copilot account preference. A working session may simply be assigned to the wrong account for this workspace.
1. Decide whether you need a new session
Record the actual error before changing anything. A sign-in failure is different from a usage-limit notice, an administrator-disabled feature, or a file where suggestions are turned off. Read the status message rather than diagnosing the problem from an icon’s color.
Check the current workspace, profile and intended GitHub username. For account selection, see the VS Code Copilot setup guide. Do not assume the first or last account added always wins. If access is provided by your employer, confirm that the assigned username is the one you intend to use.
2. Prepare without clearing stored credentials
Save your files and finish or stop any active agent task before reloading the window. Ensure that you can complete the browser login, including any required SSO or multifactor challenge. On a managed device, follow the organization’s normal sign-in process.
Signing a GitHub account out of VS Code may affect other extensions using that session. Pick the affected account deliberately. Do not remove all accounts, revoke personal access tokens, delete SSH keys or empty Credential Manager merely to refresh Copilot.
The official procedure does not require deleting an AuthService folder. Leave globalStorage and unrelated application state intact unless support has identified a specific problem and explained a safe recovery procedure.
3. Sign out, reload and sign back in
GitHub’s authentication troubleshooting specifies this sequence:
- Open VS Code’s Accounts menu. Find the affected GitHub username and choose Sign out.
- Open the Command Palette and run Developer: Reload Window.
- Sign back in when prompted. If necessary, use the Copilot status menu’s sign-in option.
During browser authorization, inspect the displayed account and destination. If it is the wrong account, cancel and correct the browser sign-in rather than authorizing it anyway. Never paste a token into chat, a repository file or a troubleshooting screenshot.
4. Verify the intended feature
Return to the original workspace and confirm Copilot is using the intended account. Test the feature that failed with a small, non-sensitive example. For chat, ask a simple question that needs no repository secrets. For inline completion, use a permitted scratch file and check whether suggestions are enabled there.
A successful browser login is not the same as a successful Copilot request. Conversely, one missing completion is not proof that sign-in failed: the editor may have no suggestion for that position. Compare the actual error or status before and after the refresh.
5. Investigate a repeated failure instead of repeating resets
Keep VS Code and its Copilot components current through your approved update process. Check for a relevant service incident using the status link in GitHub’s guide. Do not infer a fixed session-expiration schedule from whether your plan is free or paid.
If authentication still fails, use the VS Code diagnostic guide. Search the Command Palette for Chat Diagnostics, inspect the Copilot output channels around the failure time, and record the client versions and reproduction steps. Restore any temporary verbose logging afterward.
Send a redacted report through an approved support channel. Keep required network protection in place and ask IT to investigate proxy or certificate errors. If the message now concerns a plan limit or policy, follow that specific path; further credential deletion is not an appropriate substitute.
Official documentation checked October 14, 2026.