Microsoft · 2026-05-03 · major
VS Code Reverts Default Copilot Co-Author Attribution After 1.2K-Point HN Backlash
Microsoft merged a fix today flipping git.addAICoAuthor back to off after a 1,220-point HN thread surfaced commits getting Copilot co-author trailers even when users had disabled AI features.
After a 1.2K-point Hacker News thread, Microsoft reverts the VS Code default that tagged commits with a Copilot co-author trailer.
Key specs
| Hn points | 1,220 |
|---|---|
| Hn comments | 629 |
| Lines changed | +11 / -2 |
| Files changed | 3 |
What is it?
VS Code 1.118 (April 29) shipped with a Git extension default that automatically appended a Co-Authored-By: Copilot trailer to any commit where Copilot suggested code. The setting was on by default and users reported it firing even when they had disabled AI features. PR #313931 reverts that default to off for the upcoming 1.119 build.
How does it work?
The fix changes the git.addAICoAuthor package.json default from 'all' to 'off', updates the runtime fallback in repository.ts to suppress trailers when the setting is disabled, and gates attribution on the existing chat.disableAIFeatures flag so users who already opted out of AI features no longer get co-author lines added to their commits.
Why does it matter?
The trailer has no cryptographic binding to the diff and cannot be verified. With the U.S. Copyright Office holding that non-human authors cannot hold copyright (Thaler v. Perlmutter), legal teams flagged the opt-out default as a copyright-protection risk for code attributed to AI without consent. The reversal restores opt-in attribution before 1.119 ships.
Who is it for?
VS Code users on 1.118, repo owners worried about silent AI attribution
Try it
Set "git.addAICoAuthor": "off" in settings.json on 1.118; the 1.119 default ships with this baked in.