Keep getting "Co-authored-by: Copilot" in commit messages for no reason

[alekseyt]

Type: Bug

I keep getting those strings in my commit messages:

Co-authored-by: Copilot copilot@github.com

Even though i don't use Copilot, i use another AI which i can disclose if needed, but it's just another AI. Could it be that another AI is adding this message to Git commits?

I also disabled Copilot in UI where i could find it so it doesn't clutter UI.

I don't use Copilot to edit sourcecode or commit messages, but this line keeps appearing for some reason that i'm not aware of.

More so, it appears without my consent, i saw it in CI output, then i checked Git log and saw a lot of those messages in log.

I think it's a bug.

Expected result: commit message is unchanged without my consent.

May i also ask if i could do anything to prevent this from happening?

VS Code version: Code 1.117.0 (10c8e55, 2026-04-21T16:12:14-07:00)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.19045
Modes:
Remote OS version: Linux x64 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	AMD Ryzen 5 7520U with Radeon Graphics (8 x 2795)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled GPU0: VENDOR= 0x1002, DEVICE=0x1506 [AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics], DRIVER_VENDOR=AMD, DRIVER_VERSION=32.0.21030.2001 ACTIVE GPU1: VENDOR= 0x1414, DEVICE=0x008c [Microsoft Basic Render Driver], DRIVER_VERSION=10.0.19041.5794 Machine model name: Machine model version: direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on opengl: enabled_on rasterization: enabled raw_draw: disabled_off_ok skia_graphite: disabled_off trees_in_viz: disabled_off video_decode: enabled video_encode: enabled webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled webgpu: enabled webnn: disabled_off
Load (avg)	undefined
Memory (System)	15.33GB (0.73GB free)
Process Argv	--crash-reporter-id 8cf7d91e-f078-4a0f-a813-35d165bd7d01
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%

Item	Value
Remote	WSL: Void
OS	Linux x64 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2
CPUs	AMD Ryzen 5 7520U with Radeon Graphics (8 x 0)
Memory (System)	7.42GB (2.34GB free)
VM	0%

Extensions (6)

Extension	Author (truncated)	Version
remote-wsl	ms-	0.104.3
codeium	Cod	1.48.2
vscode-eslint	dba	3.0.24
prettier-vscode	esb	12.4.0
vscode-language-pack-ru	MS-	1.110.2026041514
volar	Vue	3.2.7

(1 theme extensions excluded)

A/B Experiments

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binariesv615:30325510
nativeloc1:31344060
dwcopilot:31170013
dwoutputs:31242946
copilot_t_ci:31333650
e5gg6876:31282496
pythonrdcb7:31342333
6518g693:31463988
aj953862:31281341
6abeh943:31336334
envsdeactivate2:31464701
cloudbuttont:31379625
42190218_ostrepl:31403339
ddidtcf:31399634
ec5jj548:31422691
cp_cls_c_966_ss:31454199
inlinechat_v2_hd992725:31499106
4je02754:31466945
8hhj4413:31478653
cp_cls_c_1081:31454833
conptydll_true:31498968
e9c30283:31461165
test_treatment2:31471001
46204921:31447328
idci7584:31464702
e3e4d672:31494082
ei9d7968:31496641
534a6447:31496642
chat:31457767
7e187181:31503455
cpptoolsoff-v2:31475362
ghj88844:31499326
ec1eg703:31491645
client_tst_t:31495907
ddid_c:31478207
getcmakediagnosticsoff:31489825
cp_cls_c_1082:31504161
logging_enabled_new:31498466
db5d2638:31499441
56dj4588:31497896

[Ectropy]

I think you're looking for this setting in VS Code:
"Add AI Co Author"

For some reason it appears to be defaulting to "on" even when the only contribution from Copilot was inline code completions.

IMO this should be an opt-in feature. I didn't notice the co-authored things until after committing

[alekseyt]

@Ectropy You are right, thank you very much.

I can confirm that if i use AI-autocompletion and then commit changes, then i get this string added to commit message even though i don't use Copilot.

Setting "Add AI Co Author" to "off" makes this go away.

I completely agree that this should be opt-in instead of opt-out.

To add to that, i also think that commit message should be changed somehow explicitly instead of implicitly.

[iCrazeiOS]

It seems ridiculous that commits are being co-authored despite me having Copilot disabled within VSCode

I have now switched "Add AI Co Author" to off, so I'll see if that resolves it going forward

[iCrazeiOS]

To add to that, i also think that commit message should be changed somehow explicitly instead of implicitly.

Even just a little hint below the commit message box would be far better than the current implementation

[matraic]

I disabled GitHub Copilot entirely because of this.

This isn’t a “commit message suggestion” issue. This is GitHub injecting an authorship claim into my repository without consent. It polluted my history with a “Co‑authored‑by: Copilot” trailer that I did not write, did not approve, and did not authorize.

I don’t care how “helpful” the feature is supposed to be. You don’t get to silently assert authorship on my work. That crosses a trust boundary that should never be crossed in source control.

I maintain OSS. I care about authorship integrity. I care about not having AI‑generated nonsense stamped onto my commits.

If GitHub wants people to trust AI features, the bare minimum is: DO NOT modify commit metadata without explicit opt‑in.

Until that’s fixed, Copilot stays disabled.

[typed-sigterm]

Should be fixed by #313725