GitHub Introduces BYOK Support for JetBrains and Xcode in Public Preview

Rongchai Wang Sep 12, 2025 02:19

GitHub has launched public preview support for 'Bring Your Own Key' (BYOK) in JetBrains IDEs and Xcode, enhancing flexibility and control for developers.

GitHub has announced the public preview of its 'Bring Your Own Key' (BYOK) support, a feature designed to enhance the GitHub Copilot Chat experience in JetBrains IDEs and Xcode. This new capability allows developers to integrate their own API keys from a variety of supported model providers, expanding the flexibility and control they have over the models they use, according to The GitHub Blog.

Supported Providers and Benefits

The BYOK feature supports API keys from several prominent providers, including Anthropic, Azure, Google Gemini, Groq, OpenAI, and OpenRouter. This integration allows developers to connect their API keys swiftly and utilize these models directly within JetBrains IDEs or Xcode. GitHub also mentioned that BYOK support for Eclipse is on the horizon.

By using their own language model API keys, developers can enjoy several advantages:

• Model Flexibility: Access to a broader range of models beyond the default options available in GitHub Copilot.
• Experimentation: The opportunity to test new models and features as they become available.
• Greater Control: More choice in model selection, with potentially fewer restrictions on rate limits or usage policies.

Integration Steps for JetBrains and Xcode

To take advantage of this feature, developers need to have the latest version of the GitHub Copilot plugin installed for JetBrains or Xcode, along with a valid Copilot license.

For JetBrains IDEs, the integration process involves:

1. Opening the Copilot chat and selecting Manage Models in the model picker.
2. Choosing a provider and clicking Add Models.
3. Entering the API key and necessary details, then saving the configuration.
4. Selecting and enabling the desired models in the Copilot chat.

In Xcode, the steps are similar:

1. Accessing the Copilot chat and selecting Manage Models from the model picker.
2. Choosing a provider, such as Anthropic or OpenAI, and entering the API key and endpoint URL if required.
3. Clicking Add to save and list available AI models in the “Model Settings” page.
4. Enabling the desired models for use.

Future Developments and Feedback

GitHub is actively seeking feedback from users to refine and enhance the BYOK feature. This initiative is part of GitHub's ongoing efforts to provide developers with more customizable and powerful tools to improve their coding experience.

• github copilot
• byok
• jetbrains
• xcode