CodiumAI's PR-Agent vs. GitHub Copilot: The Battle of the Pull Request AI Assistants.
Published: 2023-12-11 20:53:32



![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/tmkdxra66yv5zls0rhda.png)

We have witnessed AI breakthroughs in various fields from transportation to health care, software development, and recently generative AI in natural language processing. In software development, different AI-based tools have been developed to increase productivity and code quality.

Examples of these tools include pull request AI assistance, code documentation generators, and AI-based debuggers.

In this article we are going to discuss AI-based pull request assistance. We will compare "CodiumAI" and "GitHub copilot" PR AI assistance, keeping in mind that we also have "Reviewpad", "DeepCode", and "What The Diff" among other.

**What are AI-based pull request assistances?**

AI-based pull request assistants are solutions that leverage artificial intelligence to assist developers in writing better and more efficient pull requests. 

These tools can automate various tasks throughout the development process, enabling developers to be more productive, write high-quality code faster, and speed up the code review process. As i said earlier there are several tools available for this process which inlcudes, CodiumAI, GitHub Copilot Pull Request Summaries, Reviewpad, DeepCode, and What The Diff among other. 


Now let look at what CodiumAI's PR-Agent and GitHub Copilot Pull Request Summaries. 
 
### **CodiumAI's PR-Agent.**

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bsygekmk4h8831inzrsf.png)

CodiumAI's PR-Agent is an open-source tool that uses AI technology to help developers review pull requests more efficiently and effectively by analyzing code changes, identifying potential issues, and providing insightful feedback to both the author and reviewers.

>> The image used above is extracted from this [video]( https://youtu.be/NI-wYCQBOy0?si=LbhmdGxaOXr3S4UH)

**CodiumAI has the following command:**

1). ``/describe``: This command automatically generates a PR description which includes title, type, summary, code walkthrough, and labels.

2). ``/review``: This command gives adjustable feedback about the PR's main theme, type, relevant tests, security issues, score, and various suggestions for the PR content.

3). ``/ask ..``:  The ask command answers free-text questions about the PR.

4). ``/improve``: This command provides committable code suggestions for improving the PR.

**Other commands include:** 

- ``/update_changelog``, ``/similar_issue``, ``/add_docs``, and ``/generate_labels``. 

You can read more about CodiumAI **[here](https://github.com/Codium-ai/pr-agent).**


### **GitHub Copilot Pull Request Summaries.**

This is copilot's AI assistance for pull requests which includes automatic summaries of changes made in pull requests, exclusively available in the GitHub Copilot Enterprise beta.

### **CodiumAI's PR-Agent vs GitHub Copilot Pull Request Summaries.**

Now let's look at some of the key differences between CodiumAI's PR-Agent and GitHub Copilot Pull Request Summaries. We are going to look at  the functionality, platform support, open-source availability, and accessibility of these two solutions.  

#### **1). Functionality.**
The number of supported commands significantly impacts developers' productivity and workflow efficiency. CodiumAI PR-Agent shines with its extensive command support, enabling diverse code analysis and improvement tasks. In contrast, GitHub Copilot PR assistance operates on a single command, limiting its functionality and flexibility.

#### **2). Platform Support.**
You can use CodiumAI on various Git platforms making it a versatile tool for diverse development setups. Conversely, GitHub Copilot's exclusivity to GitHub restricts its accessibility and potential user base for developers who uses other Git platforms.

#### **3). Open-Source Availability.**
CodiumAI's PR Agent is open-source solution. This allow developers to contribute to its development and customize it to their specific needs. GitHub Copilot, being a closed-code in house project, lacks which limits it's flexibility.

#### **4). Accessibility.**
As we saw earlier on platform supoort  CodiumAI's PR-Agent offers accessibility all Git platforms and IDE extension, providing developers with the flexibility to leverage its capabilities within their preferred workflow, in contrary to GitHub Copilot, which currently only integrates as a Git extension.

Consider a software development team working across multiple Git platforms with distinct requirements. CoduimAI's PR-Agent comprehensive command support and multi-platform compatibility would enable this team to work seamlessly and efficiently, regardless of their preferred Git platform. 

CodiumAI's PR-Agent comprehensive functionality, multi-platform compatibility, open-source availability, and dual accessibility offer significant advantages over GitHub Copilot Pull Request Summaries. This makes it a compelling choice for developers seeking to optimize their code development and collaboration processes on different Git Platforms and Integrated Development Environments.

#### **Installation.** 
To install CodiumAI's PR Agent [here](https://github.com/Codium-ai/pr-agent/blob/main/INSTALL.md) is a detailed guide on how you can install either locally or in your specific git platforms. After successfull setting up CodiumAI's PR Agent you can use [this user guide](https://github.com/Codium-ai/pr-agent/blob/main/Usage.md) to help you get started smoothly. 

**Note:**
>> There are three basic ways in which CodiumAI PR-Agent can be  invoke, either by locally running a CLI command, by commenting on PR, or enabling PR-Agent tools to run automatically when a new PR is opened. 


### **Reference:**

You can learn more about [CodiumAI's PR-Agent here!](https://www.codium.ai/products/git-plugin/)

I also suggest watching the following video from the CodiumAI YouTube channel to learn more about CodiumAI:

1). [Pull Request Assistant - Prepare for your Code Review with CodiumAI](https://youtu.be/virBpnANQCo?si=SeeKcBvzYNk5aGb4)

2). [GitHub Copilot Chat vs CodiumAI | A Code Explanation Face-Off](https://youtu.be/bq4dSpstomQ?si=m0O5Fgf9MECucMHT)

Check out the CodiumAI PR-Agent Project on GitHub [here.](https://github.com/Codium-ai/pr-agent) To join the CodiumAI discord serve community you can use [this link.](https://discord.com/invite/SgSxuQ65GF) This connects you with over 6700 fellow developers and engineers who are currently using codiumAI services.