Use Claude Code with Your GitHub Copilot Subscription

If you're a developer with a GitHub Copilot subscription, you're already paying for access to some of the world's best AI models. But did you know you can use that same subscription to run Claude Sonnet 4.5 in your terminal, without paying extra for Claude Pro?

The Problem

As developers, we're drowning in AI subscriptions:

💰 GitHub Copilot: $10-20/month (you probably already have this)
💰 Claude Pro: $20/month (for Claude Code access)
💰 ChatGPT Plus: $20/month
💰 Cursor: $20/month

That's $70+/month just for AI coding tools!

The Solution

Your GitHub Copilot subscription already includes access to:

✅ Claude Sonnet 4.5
✅ Claude Haiku 4.5
✅ GPT-4.1, GPT-5, GPT-5 Mini
✅ Gemini 2.5 Pro
✅ And more models being added regularly

You just need the right setup to use them.

Quick Start

The fastest way to start a new project with Claude Code:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zerolve-io/claude-copilot-setup/main/create-project.sh | bash

That's it! The script will:

Ask for your project name
Let you choose project type (Python, Node.js, Go, etc.)
Configure Claude Code with GitHub Copilot
Create everything you need (devcontainer, README, .gitignore)

Then just:

cd your-project
code .
# Click "Reopen in Container"
claudecopilot

What You Get

Access to Multiple AI Models

Your GitHub Copilot subscription gives you access to:

| Model | Best For | |-------|----------| | claude-sonnet-4.5 | Complex reasoning, architecture decisions | | claude-haiku-4.5 | Fast iterations, simple tasks | | gpt-5-mini | Fastest responses, repetitive tasks | | gpt-4o | Balanced performance | | gemini-2.5-pro | Long context windows, large codebases |

Project-Specific Configuration

Different projects need different models. Our setup includes templates for:

Python ML/AI → Claude Sonnet (deep reasoning)
Frontend → GPT-5 Mini (fast iterations)
Backend APIs → Claude Sonnet + GPT-4o
Documentation → Claude Sonnet (quality writing)
Legacy Refactoring → Full Claude features
Large Codebases → Gemini 2.5 Pro (long context)

Multiple Deployment Options

GitHub Codespaces (Zero Setup)

Click a badge, wait for container to build
Run claudecopilot
Start coding

VS Code + Docker (Local Development)

{
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/zerolve-io/devcontainer-features/claude-copilot:1": {}
  }
}

Local Installation (No Containers)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zerolve-io/claude-copilot-setup/main/install.sh | bash

Real-World Example

Here's how to build a production FastAPI app in 30 minutes:

./create-project.sh
# Enter: my-api
# Choose: Python
# Choose: Balanced (Sonnet + GPT-5 Mini)

cd my-api
code .
# Reopen in Container
claudecopilot

# Ask Claude:
> create a fastapi app with user authentication, postgresql database, 
> and crud endpoints for a blog post resource. use pydantic for validation,
> sqlalchemy for orm, and include docker-compose for local development.

Total time: 30 minutes. Cost: $0 (already have Copilot)

How It Works

Behind the scenes:

Claude Code CLI
       ↓
Copilot API Proxy (localhost:4141)
       ↓
GitHub Copilot API
       ↓
Claude / GPT / Gemini Models

The copilot-api proxy translates Anthropic API calls to GitHub Copilot API calls. Your code never knows the difference!

Team Benefits

Cost Savings

❌ Before: $20/month × 5 developers = $100/month for Claude Pro
✅ After: $0 (already have Copilot for team)

Standard Configuration

Everyone uses the same devcontainer
Same models, same settings
Consistent development environment

Flexible Per-Project

frontend/     → gpt-5-mini (fast)
backend/      → claude-sonnet-4.5 (complex)
ml-service/   → claude-sonnet-4.5 + haiku
docs/         → claude-sonnet-4.5 (quality)

Get Started

New Project:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zerolve-io/claude-copilot-setup/main/create-project.sh | bash

Existing Project:

{
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/zerolve-io/devcontainer-features/claude-copilot:1": {}
  }
}

Resources:

Conclusion

If you're already paying for GitHub Copilot, you're sitting on access to Claude Sonnet 4.5, GPT-5, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and more. Why pay extra for Claude Pro?

With this setup, you get:

✅ Multiple AI models through one subscription
✅ Project-specific configurations
✅ Team-ready environments
✅ Full DevContainer support
✅ Zero additional cost

Stop paying for multiple AI subscriptions. Start using what you already have.