VS Code merge PR: Copilot signature is added by default to each git commit

Core conclusion

On April 16, 2026, Microsoft merged PR #310226 in the Git extension of VS Code, changing the default value of the git.addAICoAuthor configuration item from off to on. This means that all developers who use the built-in Git function of VS Code will automatically append a line of Co-Authored-by: Copilot to every git commit if they do not actively modify this setting.

The incident hit Hacker News on May 2nd, garnering 1351 upvotes and 726 comments, and the PR itself received 372 👎 reactions (only 2 👍).

Key Points

• Incident time: 2026-04-16 (PR merge) → 2026-05-02 (community outbreak) -Affected objects: all VS Code users (more than 20 million monthly active users)
• Core changes: In the configuration file extensions/git/package.json, "default": "off" is changed to "default": "on"
• Community reaction: 372 👎 / 726 comments / 1351 HN points

Background: PR only changed 4 lines

The disputed PR (#310226), titled "Enabling ai co author by default", was submitted by Microsoft engineer cwebster-99 and merged by dmitrivMS on April 16. The code changes are extremely simple - only two files are involved:

Total net changes: +2 lines / -2 lines, for a total of 4 lines of code.

But it was the change of these 4 lines of code that triggered strong opposition from the entire developer community. VS Code Copilot automatically approved this PR during the review process (Copilot review), and there were 372 👎 reactions from the community.

Core dispute points

1. Default opt-in instead of opt-out

For an IDE with more than 20 million monthly users, automatically adding the AI signature to every git commit means that even if the developer manually writes each line of code, Copilot's signature will still appear in the commit record. Users may not be aware of this change at all - they need to take the initiative to turn it off.

2. Triggered even if Copilot is not used

The strongest point of feedback in the HN comment area is: Even if the developer does not actively use Copilot to complete the code, as long as the Git extension is in the default configuration state, the signature will be automatically added when submitting.

3. Ethical boundaries

Should AI-generated code be recorded as "co-author"? Especially when the AI ​​provides minimal, if any, help.

Close method

git config --global --add git.addAICoAuthor off

VS Code UI "addAICoAuthor" off。

AI Copilot、VS Code、Claude Code.

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