Are changes from copilot cli supposed to be seen on the editor?

[Karstensson]

Hello, I have configured sidekick according to the examples and also installed the copilot lsp server through mason. She. Opening github copilot cli from within nvim and ask it to edit code. The code is of course updated. But I cannot in nvim editor accept or decline chunks of code that copilot cli updated. Is that intended to work with sidekick or have I misunderstood the plugin?

[Nickalus12]

To integrate changes from the Copilot CLI into Neovim for review, you need to ensure that the CLI writes the files to disk. Once the files are saved, sidekick.nvim can detect the changes. However, sidekick.nvim specifically uses Copilot's Next Edit Suggestions (NES) via the LSP for its interactive "Accept/Decline" UI, which is separate from the terminal-based CLI.

To review file changes made by the CLI within Neovim, you can use a workflow like this:

1. Ensure CLI writes to disk

If you are using the Copilot CLI within the sidekick terminal, make sure you allow it to perform write operations so Neovim can detect the file system changes:

# Start copilot with write permissions if it's not the default
copilot --allow-tool 'write'

2. Triggering Diffs in Sidekick

sidekick.nvim provides two distinct experiences:

1. The Terminal: Where you interact with the CLI.
2. NES Suggestions: The inline/block diffs generated by the Copilot LSP.

If the CLI modifies a file on disk, Neovim will update the buffer. If you want the specific "Accept/Decline" UI for those changes, you are looking for Next Edit Suggestions. These are typically triggered automatically by the LSP as you type or move the cursor, rather than being a direct "pipe" from the CLI terminal output to the NES UI.

Why you might not see the "Accept" UI

• CLI vs. LSP: The CLI and the LSP are two different agents. When the CLI edits a file, it's a standard file system change. sidekick's interactive hunk review is powered by the Copilot LSP's NES feature, which predicts your next move based on context.
• Buffer Refresh: If the CLI changes a file, you may need to focus the buffer or run :e! to refresh it if autoread isn't picking it up immediately.

Tip

To get the best of both worlds, use the CLI for large structural changes or refactors, and rely on the NES (which sidekick displays as inline diffs) for the iterative, chunk-by-chunk refinements that you want to manually accept or decline.

If you want to review changes the CLI made using a diff view, you might prefer using a git integration like Gitsigns to stage/undo those hunks, as sidekick's primary UI is designed for the AI's real-time predictive suggestions.

Does the CLI successfully modify the file on your disk, or are the changes only appearing inside the terminal window?

[Karstensson]

Thanks for the thorough reply. Now I understand how it works. Copilot already has write access, and buffers are updated with code changed by copilot. But No diffs are displayed by the LSP. I guess there is some issue with the LSP server I will have to dig into that. But now I at least know what to start to focus on :-)

[Nickalus12]

If there is anything else I can help with, I'm always around! If you did find my answer above helpful, would you mind marking it as an answer? <3

[Karstensson]

I sadly did not mannage to make it work. The files are updated more or less directly in the buffer when copilot cli writes changes. But I do not gett any accept/reject posibility through the NES. I have copilot LSP running and I get inline suggestions, it's just not working with sidekick.

here is a output from checkhealth vim.lsp if it helps.

vim.lsp: Active Clients ~
- copilot_ls (id: 1)
  - Version: 1.465.0
  - Root directory: ~/.config/nvim
  - Command: { "copilot-language-server", "--stdio" }
  - Settings: {
      nextEditSuggestions = {
        enabled = true
      }
    }
  - Attached buffers: 3

vim.lsp: Enabled Configurations ~
- copilot_ls:
  - capabilities: {
      textDocument = {
        completion = {
          completionItem = {
            commitCharactersSupport = false,
            deprecatedSupport = true,
            documentationFormat = { "markdown", "plaintext" },
            insertReplaceSupport = true,
            insertTextModeSupport = {
              valueSet = { 1 }
            },
            labelDetailsSupport = true,
            preselectSupport = false,
            resolveSupport = {
              properties = { "documentation", "detail", "additionalTextEdits", "command", "data" }
            },
            snippetSupport = true,
            tagSupport = {
              valueSet = { 1 }
            }
          },
          completionList = {
            itemDefaults = { "commitCharacters", "editRange", "insertTextFormat", "insertTextMode", "data" }
          },
          contextSupport = true,
          insertTextMode = 1
        }
      }
    }
  - cmd: { "copilot-language-server", "--stdio" }
  - handlers: {
      didChangeStatus = <function 1>,
      signIn = <function 2>
    }
  - init_options: {
      editorInfo = {
        name = "neovim",
        version = "0.12.0"
      },
      editorPluginInfo = {
        name = "Github Copilot LSP for Neovim",
        version = "0.0.1"
      }
    }
  - on_init: <function @/home/apa/.local/share/nvim/lazy/copilot-lsp/lsp/copilot_ls.lua:28>
  - root_dir: "/home/apa/.config/nvim"
  - settings: {
      nextEditSuggestions = {
        enabled = true
      }
    }